Weingut Emmerich Knoll : Riesling Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2025

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for the Riesling Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2025 from Weingut Emmerich Knoll

Tasting

Appearance

This Riesling shows a very pale yellow colour with green-yellow highlights.

Nose

This Riesling reveals an expressive, fruit-driven profile dominated by ripe stone fruit, complemented by subtle exotic notes and a pronounced minerality that lends depth and definition to the whole.

Palate

This Riesling offers a juicy, structured palate, carried by generous fruit, well-integrated acidity and a lovely length. The persistent finish is underlined by citrus freshness and a distinct minerality.

Food and Wine Pairing

This Riesling is an ideal companion to aperitifs, salads, fish, white meats and hard cheeses.

Serving and Cellaring

The Riesling Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2025 has excellent development potential and will benefit from a few years of cellaring before being enjoyed. It can be appreciated in its youth after decanting, and will keep in the cellar until around 2035, depending on storage conditions.

A Riesling from the Wachau, Expressing the Terroir of the Loibenberg by Weingut Emmerich Knoll

The Estate

Weingut Emmerich Knoll is a family-run estate based in Unterloiben, in the municipality of Dürnstein, in the heart of the Wachau, a wine region of Lower Austria classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Knoll family has been making wine here since 1825. The estate is now run by several generations, including August and Emmerich Knoll junior, who carry on the style established by the Knoll family, long closely involved with the Vinea Wachau association. The estate is renowned for its Baroque labels depicting Saint Urban, unchanged for decades, and for its precise white wines with great ageing potential.

The Vineyard

This Riesling comes from the Loibenberg site, one of the most celebrated slopes of the Wachau, characterised by gradients of up to 80% and altitudes ranging from approximately 212 to 400 metres. The soils are dominated by Gföhl gneiss, mixed in places with loess deposits. The predominantly south to south-east exposure gives this slope a strong capacity to accumulate heat, earning it the nickname “the hotplate of the Wachau”. The steep gradient of these terraces means that viticulture is carried out largely by hand.

The Vintage

The 2025 vintage in the Wachau was marked by a spring budburst that took place under favourable conditions and by a generally even flowering. A few weather episodes caused occasional difficulties in certain areas, but the summer, at times cool and wet, favoured slow ripening, conducive to aromatic expression and to the preservation of lovely acidity.

Winemaking and Maturation

The Riesling Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2025 follows the estate's winemaking tradition, which is geared towards preserving the expression of the terroir and the grape variety. This Austrian Riesling of the Smaragd category comes from grapes harvested at full ripeness to produce a dry, concentrated wine with a generous structure and great ageing potential.

Grape Variety

100% Riesling.