Nikolaihof

Bright lemon and lime zest aromas with green pepper and fresh herb character. A very fresh and crisp, light-bodied gruner veltliner with so much energy and crisp acidity for this grape. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

From the cellar. Nikolaihof is the oldest wine estate in Austria, and credited with being the first biodynamic estate in the world. It is currently run by Nikolaus Saahs Jr. Grüner is one of those amazingly age worthy whites, transforming from a youthful, vibrant and verdant steely and white peppery wine into a striking, truffled, honeyed, waxy wine, still with that streaming, sleek minerality. The Hefeabzug (meaning lees-aged) Grüner is sourced from multiple sites near Mautern on loess soils, native fermented long and slow in in wooden barrels before transferring to 2,000-12,000 litre wooden foudres to continue aging on lees. This is certainly showing it has cusped into a more mature wine, with that truffled honey, fresh almonds, lemon blossoms, and a profound generous stony expansiveness to the base. This feels much more mouthfilling than the 12% would imply, finishing long with ample buzzing salinity. This wine is one with a long plateau.