Nikolaihof Vinothek Riesling 2002

  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
239 99
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Nikolaihof Vinothek Riesling 2002  Front Bottle Shot
Nikolaihof Vinothek Riesling 2002  Front Bottle Shot Nikolaihof Vinothek Riesling 2002  Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2002

Size
750ML

ABV
12.5%

Features
Collectible

Boutique

Green Wine

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

The Vinothek cuvee is the philosophical apotheoses of the Nikolaihof estate. Though Nikolaihof commonly holds back their wines until they believe the wine has fully developed, the Vinothek cuvee is extreme for even these standards. Harvest in 1997 from the Im Weingebirge site near the village of Mautern, this wine has been solemnly resting in barrel for over 17 years in Nikolaihof’s ancient, Roman-built cellar. This profoundly extended barrel aging along with the inherent distance of it’s vintage creates a singular wine not to be experienced elsewhere.

Professional Ratings

  • 98
    At first deep, dark and mysterious. Just like the Nikolaihof cellar, where this dry riesling spent 16 years in barrel. Then, a minty freshness develops that leaps out of the glass at you. By some miracle, it manages to taste ancient and lively at once. The finish is very long with great herbal complexity. From biodynamically grown grapes. Demeter certified. Drink or hold.
  • 94

    From the Weingebirge and bottled in July 2018 after 16 years in oak, the 2002 Riesling Vinothek is deep and complex on the elegant and spicy nose that doesn't reveal any classic Riesling aromas but rather the coolish vintage ("flood vintage") and the long elevage in a traditional 60-hectoliter foudre. Crystalline and refined on the palate, this is an elegant, highly complex and vital yet still firm and initially even tannic and astringent wine that needs lots of patience. 12.5% alcohol. Tasted at the domaine in June 2021. Rating : 94+

  • 92
    This white is fresh and elegant, evoking faded roses, lemon, apple tart and almond flavors. Fades a little on the finish, but really holds together nicely. Pair with delicate seafood like fresh crab or smoked trout. Drink now. 500 cases made, 100 cases imported.

Other Vintages

1997
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 97 Robert
    Parker
Nikolaihof

Nikolaihof

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Nikolaihof, Other Europe
Nikolaihof Nikolaihof at Night Winery Image

Nikolaihof is the oldest wine estate in Austria, whose history goes back almost 2000 years to Roman times. A walk round the estate is like a trip back through history.

The main elements of the present-day appearance of Nikolaihof date from the fifteenth century, but everywhere one is constantly bumping into remains of the old Roman fortress. Every age has left its traces behind. Today Christine and Nikolaus Saahs receive their guests at receptions and wine tastings under the restored Gothic vaulting of the deconsecrated chapel.

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Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.

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As Austria’s most prestigious wine growing region, the landscape of the Wachau is—not surprisingly—one of its most dramatic. Millions of years ago, the Danube River chiseled its way through the earth, creating steep terraces of decomposed volcanic and metamorphic rock. Harsh Ice Age winds brought deposits of ancient glacial dust and loess to the terrace’s eastern faces. Today these steep surfaces of nutrient-poor and fast draining soil are home to some of Austria’s very best sites for both Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.

Wachau is small, comprising a mere three percent of Austria’s vine surface and, considering relatively low yields, represents a miniscule proportion of total wine production. Diurnal temperature shifts in Wachau facilitate great balance of sugar and phenolic ripeness in its grapes. At night cold air from the Alps and forests in the northwest displace warm afternoon air, which gets sucked upstream along the Danube.

Its sites are actually so varied and distinct that more emphasis is going into vineyard-designated offerings even despite grape variety. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are most prominent, but the region produces Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Zweigelt among other local variants.

SRKATNIK2702_2002 Item# 797498

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