Nikolaihof Klause Riesling 2016

With almost 2,000 years of history, Nikolaihof is the oldest winery in Austria and one of the first in the world to have begun working by biodynamic principles according to the regulations of the Demeter Association. In 1894 the Saahs family took over the estate and carried on the traditions the monks had established here. Integrated farming continued, and even as winemaking and grape growing took a larger role at Nikolaihof in the 1960s, chemicals were never used in farming. Nikolaihof has been practicing Bio-dynamics since 1971, making them one of the longest Bio-dynamic practicing wineries in the world. Nikolaihof became Demeter certified Biodynamic in 1998. Annual bottle production of 95 000 bottles.

Grape Varietals & Region:This single-plotRiesling comes from an approximately 25-year-old vine planted on the Steiner Gaisberg. On this high altitude terroir (between 350 and 400 meters) laid out in terraces, the soils are quite thin (50 centimeters maximum) and stony. The root system of the vine quickly penetrates into a crystalline subsoil of paragneiss, which will give the wine this intensely mineral dimension, perfectly intertwined with the crunch of the fruit and an irresistible sensation of floral and honeyed voluptuousness.

A fascinating jewel from Nikolaihof: a wine of stone and fruit with abundant and constantly renewed aromas. It is a concentrate of soil and energy, of insolent youth.

Taste Profile:At first nose, it is the stony nature of the soil which is expressed, with notes of pumice, cold ash and oil.A minerality quickly overtaken by the delicious brightness of the fruit, around apricot, quince paste, yellow peach and pineapple, but also by an irresistible sensation of sweetness and floral voluptuousness: we think of honey candies, flower pistils loaded with pollen, we think of acacia, violet and lavender, we think of rose fields near Grasse (as surprising as that may seem!), to bees busy foraging in lush gardens with rare species.

Winemaking Process:This Riesling Klause remained in large casks for 4 years, before spending 3 additional years in bottle