Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2021

This Grüner Veltliner Smaragd comes from the Wachau, a narrow Danube valley in Lower Austria, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Weingut Roman Gritsch is based in Spitz an der Donau, at the foot of the Setzberg, where the vines are terraced on dry-stone walls. Its most renowned plots, the 1000-Eimerberg and the Setzberg, lie on weathered crystalline and paragneiss soils. Roman Gritsch, the second generation of the family, has run the estate since 2013.

The grapes are harvested at full ripeness: under the charter of the Vinea Wachau association, the Smaragd designation denotes the richest dry wines of the valley, from late harvests. True to his philosophy, Roman Gritsch intervenes only sparingly during winemaking and gives the wine the time it needs to mature and develop its aromas. The result is a classic, unadorned white, designed to reveal its full potential over the years.

This wine reveals notes of yellow apple, pear, honeydew melon, mango, orange zest, meadow herbs, white pepper and acacia honey. The ripe, inviting nose combines yellow fruit with the spicy touch typical of the grape. The palate is juicy and substantial, tightened by fine acidity and a mineral backbone. The long, peppery finish makes it an excellent companion at the table.

Austrian viticulture has made enormous strides in wine quality over the past decade. Today, Austrian winemakers no longer produce cheap wines for mass consumption, but rather refined and complex wines. Austria produces 65% white wines. From a general perspective, Austrian wines are more powerful and richer than those of their German neighbor. The major and most widely planted national grape variety is Grüner Veltliner (an indigenous white grape). Red wine production continues to increase in volume, intensity, and quality. In Burgenland, in particular, producers are making the most of a unique blend of local grape varieties (Blaufränkisch, Saint-Laurent, Zweigelt) and French varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir). Austria's climate is primarily continental, with cold winters and hot summers. The country is influenced by four main weather patterns. To the east, continental influences from Pannonia; to the west, Atlantic influences as well as cold winds from the north; and to the south, Mediterranean influences. The Danube, meandering languidly through numerous vineyards, brings a variety of microclimates to the vines.