Domane Wachau Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten 2020

Cellar for up to 5 years. Serve chilled.

Domaine Wachau is a driving viticultural force in Austria’s Wachau region with some 440 hectares of vineyards cultivated by the members of this cooperative winery. These plots are predominantly set on steep terraces on the banks of the Danube bordered by old dry stone walls, and include the famous crus of Achleiten, Kollmitz, Loibenberg and Tausend-Eimer-Berg.

Although one of Austria’s largest wineries, Domaine Wachau focuses on quality above all else and is the only winery to make wines from all of the Wachau’s most prestigious sites. 70% of their vineyards are planted with Gruner Veltliner, including much of the prized Achleiten plot in the village of Weissenkirchen where this wine is born. This legendary vineyard is planted on silicate-rich, shallow soils and is ringed with dry stone walls built in the 12th century.

The challenging growing conditions here produce a small yield of concentrated and intense fruit which are picked when ripe with several passages through the vineyard. After a short maceration on the skins the grapes are pressed, fermented in stainless steel tanks, and aged in large wooden casks for a few months. This creates an elegant yet complex white wine that’s bursting with aromatic notes of floral honey, mountain herbs, ripe stone fruit, and zingy citrus.