Weingut Emmerich Knoll : Riesling Loibner Federspiel 2024

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Riesling Loibner Federspiel 2024 from Weingut Emmerich Knoll

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a straw-yellow hue with pale golden highlights, a sign of optimal grape ripeness.

Nose

The nose reveals an elegant, complex bouquet. Aromas of white flowers intertwine with notes of stone fruit, notably white peach and apricot. Hints of citrus, particularly lemon and white grapefruit, bring freshness. A characteristic mineral dimension emerges through notes of flint and a delicate salinity.

Palate

The attack reveals lively freshness and remarkable precision. The structure is delicate yet perfectly balanced, with a natural acidity that supports the whole without ever dominating. The harmonious texture offers a roundness in which no single element takes over. Tangy, mineral notes define the palate, creating an elegant profile free of any heaviness. The fresh, saline finish lingers with fine aromatic persistence.

Food and wine pairing

This dry Riesling pairs harmoniously with delicate white-fleshed fish such as sole or turbot. It is also a wonderful match for seafood, especially crustaceans and shellfish, where its natural salinity enhances the flavours of the sea. Roast white poultry, pork in a white sauce, and vegetables such as asparagus and mushrooms also make excellent partners. Its vibrancy also allows it to pair well with spicy Asian cuisine.

Serving and cellaring

The Riesling Loibner Federspiel 2024 is ideally served at a temperature between 8 and 10°C. It can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve until around 2032.

An elegant, mineral Riesling from the Wachau by Emmerich Knoll

The estate

Weingut Emmerich Knoll is one of the estates that built the Wachau's reputation as a wine region, with a family history dating back to the early 19th century. Commercial bottling began in the 1950s, and in 1962 the estate adopted its iconic Baroque label depicting Saint Urban, the patron saint of winegrowers. As a co-founder of the Vinea Wachau association in 1983, the estate plays a major role in establishing regional quality standards. Today, Emmerich Knoll III runs the property alongside his father and has chaired Vinea Wachau for more than a decade. The estate covers around 16 hectares of vineyards spread across the prestigious terroirs of Loiben, in Lower Austria, and stands out for its commitment to the authentic expression of terroir through Lower Austrian wines of remarkable elegance and precision.

The vineyard

The Riesling Loibner Federspiel comes from the varied terroirs surrounding the village of Loiben, in the Wachau region, a stretch of the Danube Valley listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area enjoys a unique climate shaped by the convergence of cool Atlantic influences and warm continental currents from the Pannonian Basin, resulting in significant differences between day and night temperatures. The vines are rooted mainly in gneiss soils, a metamorphic rock formed around 350 million years ago, which gives the wines their distinctive mineral character. The terraced topography alongside the Danube demands intensive manual work, amounting to around 300 hours per hectare each year.

The vintage

The 2024 vintage in Austria was marked by a relatively warm summer, though less dry than expected, allowing the vines to develop without excessive water stress. However, the September harvest was affected by exceptional rainfall, with 200 to 400 millimetres falling between 13 and 16 September, nearly half of the average annual precipitation. Despite these climatic challenges, the estate succeeded in producing wines of remarkable quality, reflecting exceptional expertise and perfect mastery of hand harvesting.

Winemaking and ageing

The grapes for the Riesling Loibner Federspiel 2024 are harvested entirely by hand. The bunches are kept whole and undergo a pre-fermentation maceration of one to four hours, allowing for a gentle extraction of aromatic compounds. Fermentation takes place spontaneously with indigenous yeasts at controlled temperatures of between 20 and 23°C over five to ten days. The wine is then aged in large wooden casks ranging from 250 to 5,000 litres, with no perceptible oak influence. It rests on its fine lees for at least four months, without lees stirring, in keeping with a non-interventionist philosophy. No chaptalisation or sweetening is carried out, in accordance with the strict rules of Vinea Wachau.

Grape variety

100% Riesling