Weingut Emmerich Knoll : Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024

Tasting characteristics and advice for the Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024 from Weingut Emmerich Knoll

Tasting

Color

The color shows a straw-yellow hue with golden highlights.

Nose

Relatively discreet on opening, the nose needs a little aeration to reveal its full complexity. It gradually opens on aromas of white fruits and citrus, alongside mineral notes and a subtle hint of white miso that reflects aging on lees.

Palate

The palate charms with its creamy texture and rich character, while retaining remarkable freshness. The balance between concentration and vibrancy is exemplary, with no heaviness whatsoever. Yeasty aromas and savory notes add depth, while the finish lingers with elegance.

Food and wine pairings

This Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024 pairs perfectly with premium fish, seafood, poultry in a creamy sauce, and spicy Asian dishes. It also matches beautifully with Wiener Schnitzel and aged cheeses.

Serving and cellaring

It is recommended to serve the Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024 at a temperature between 11 and 12°C. Decanting for one hour will allow the wine to fully reveal its aromatic potential. This wine can be enjoyed now but will express its full greatness after a few years of cellaring. Best enjoyed between around 2029 and 2054.

An exceptional Grüner Veltliner from Wachau, crafted by Weingut Emmerich Knoll

The estate

The Weingut Emmerich Knoll is an iconic estate in Wachau, in Lower Austria, whose family winemaking history dates back to the early 19th century. Commercial bottling began in the 1950s, marking the estate’s official founding. Today, Emmerich Knoll III and his brother August run the 16-hectare vineyard, perpetuating know-how passed down through three generations. The estate is recognized worldwide for its baroque label depicting Saint Urban, patron saint of winegrowers, created in 1962. A founding member of Vinea Wachau since 1983, Emmerich Knoll III currently serves as its president, embodying the excellence and tradition of this outstanding wine region listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The vineyard

The Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024 comes from a selection of the estate’s ripest parcels, located across three distinct terroirs of Wachau: Kreutles, Loibenberg and Kellerberg. The Kreutles vines are rooted in rich, deep loess soils at lower altitude, encouraging roundness and stone-fruit aromas. Loibenberg and Kellerberg feature steep, south-facing terraces composed of primary gneiss, which gives the wine minerality and precision. These parcels benefit from a continental climate marked by strong day-to-night temperature swings, enabling optimal ripening while preserving remarkable acidity. Harvesting is carried out exclusively by hand, in keeping with Vinea Wachau requirements.

The vintage

The 2024 vintage in Austria proved particularly demanding for winegrowers. After a mild winter, late frosts in April affected early budburst. Flowering took place very early, during a humid period from late May to early June, leading to partial shatter. Summer was marked by high temperatures and drought from mid-June to early September. The most significant event occurred between September 13 and 16, when torrential rains brought between 200 and 400 millimeters of water in four days, damaging certain terrace infrastructures. Despite these climatic challenges, the harvested grapes reached exceptional ripeness and remarkable quality.

Winemaking and aging

The Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd 2024 is produced from the ripest grapes of the harvest, including a tiny proportion of botrytized berries that bring richness and aromatic complexity. Fermentation begins in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, using both indigenous and cultured yeasts. The wine is then transferred to large neutral wooden casks for extended aging on fine lees for six to ten months, with regular bâtonnage. This method preserves the purity of the fruit and the expression of the terroir, while developing texture and depth. The wine is neither fined nor filtered before bottling, which takes place after May 1 following the harvest, in accordance with Smaragd rules.

Grape variety

100% grüner veltliner