Nikolaihof's 2002 Wachau Riesling shows that flinty reduction and taut structure in a biodynamically farmed wine can still be utterly juicy. Apple and lanolin on a poised, fresh palate that tastes like it was made yesterday, not a quarter-century ago. Four generations of Saahs family perfectionism in a glass.
Winemaker Notes
A teasing, flinty whiff of reduction beckons from the glass before the taut, fresh, poised but juicy palate hits you. The flavor is reminiscent both of baked and fresh apple, with a smooth lanolin tone. This is not only and elixir but a whole fountain of youth, a full-flavored jewel of a wine. Still slender, still vivid and like balm for the soul. If only we could age so gracefully. Anne Krebiehl MW
About the Producer
Owned by the Saahs family for more than a century, Nikolaihof is the perfectionist arch-traditionalist of the Wachau, Austria’s greatest wine region. Through methods both ancient and original—including the aging of white wine for up to 17 years in barrel—fourth-generation winemaker Nikolaus Saahs Jr. makes Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners of multi-faceted complexity, surreal texture and fantastic aging potential. But then, the uncommon and the unprecedented are part of the fabric of this hallowed estate—Austria’s most ancient—with a documented history dating back to 470 A.D.
