During our tasting trip to Austria last month for JamesSuckling.com, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott and I shared several excellent wines during our many dinners. A number of gruner veltliners stood out, of course, but there were also some fantastic rieslings – a grape variety capable of achieving astounding complexity and concentration with a few years of bottle age.
Eight of these rieslings are great to buy now, and all are available for under $100. They are typically released one to two years after harvest and will cellar well under either cork or screwcap.
Half of these are from the beautifully balanced 2021 vintage, a golden year for Austrian winemakers in terms of both quantity and quality because of excellent, moderate weather conditions throughout the growing season, unlike other regions in Europe, which suffered challenges including early frosts, too much rainfall or excessive heat. Two of the 2021 Austrian rieslings are from the picturesque Wachau valley, which has its own three-tier classification based on ripeness, with the highest level being smaragd. The Rudi Pichler Riesling Wachau Ried Kirchweg Smaragd 2021 and Alzinger Riesling Wachau Ried Steinertal Smaragd 2021 are concentrated and deep, with the delicate and pristine freshness of the Kirchweg and the finely chiseled, cool minerality of the Steinertal making them supremely drinkable.
In neighboring Kremstal and Kamptal to the north, Nigl and Hirsch, respectively, made a couple of dry, single-vineyard riesling standouts in 2021. The perfect Nigl Riesling Kremstal Ried Hochäcker EL Privat 2021 is intensely mineral, reminiscent of the great 2001 vintage. Hirsch’s biodynamic Riesling Kamptal Ried Heiligenstein EL 2021 likewise has stunning crushed-rock minerality with a seemingly weightless palate.
Another biodynamic, mineral riesling is the Nikolaihof Riesling Niederösterreich Ried Steiner Hund 2017, from a warmer vintage but remaining cool and restrained. For more intensity, the full-bodied Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Kamptal Ried Heiligenstein EL 2018 will delight with yellow fruit, saffron and beeswax. And for a seven-year-old, old-vine riesling, check out the Bründlmayer Riesling Kamptal Heiligenstein EL Alte Reben 2016, which was tightly wound upon release and should be opening up beautifully now.
We also have one stunning wine from 2022 that will be perfect for the cellar: the Prager Riesling Wachau Klaus Smaragd 2022. It is long and seamless, impressing us with its tension and focus. This is one that can wait a couple of years before being opened.
– Claire Nesbitt, Associate Editor
Nigl Riesling Kremstal Ried Hochäcker EL Privat 2021 – JS100
K&LWines.com: $79.99
Bründlmayer Riesling Kamptal Heiligenstein EL Alte Reben 2016 – JS98
K&LWines.com: $99.99
Zachys.com: $99.99
Prager Riesling Wachau Klaus Smaragd 2022 – JS98
Zachys.com: $89.99
Hirsch Riesling Kamptal Ried Heiligenstein EL 2021 – JS97
K&LWines.com: $79.99
Alzinger Riesling Wachau Ried Steinertal Smaragd 2021 – JS96
K&LWines.com: $69.99
Rudi Pichler Riesling Wachau Ried Kirchweg Smaragd 2021 – JS96
Wine.com: $69.99
Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Kamptal Ried Heiligenstein EL 2018 – JS96
Zachys.com: $69.99
Nikolaihof Riesling Niederösterreich Ried Steiner Hund 2017 – JS95
Wine.com: $89.99
