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Riesling Vinothek Fass Severin
Aged 27 years but bottled only in February 2022, the extraordinary 1997 Riesling Vinothek Fass Severin represents a truly great vintage of rare qualities in the Wachau and all along the Danube between Spitz and Vienna. Mainly sourced in the vineyards Im Weingebirge (amphibolite, loess and paragneiss) and Vom Stein (loess and Danube gravel) as well as from other vineyards in Mautern, the white-golden 1997 Vinothek Riesling is from a cask named Severin and is clear, fresh and savory on the deep and intense yet elegant and even in part leafy nose that shows coolish, mineral depth and even reveals some sweet saffron and vegetal or even greenish/nutty nuances just like acorns. Is this Riesling the perfect match with Ibérico de Bellota? Full-bodied, dense and very complex yet also vivacious and even frisky on the palate, this is a great, comparably lean rather than rich and powerful Riesling from the Nikolaihof whose Jura-like flor note is highly delicate and discreet and perfectly intermingled with flinty tones. Surprisingly, the flor nuance disappears with generous aeration. This 1997 is tight, fresh and elegant on the lively, incredibly young palate, leaving intensity, salt and complexity. The wine is very long and highly promising, a stellar vintage for the Wachau and Nikolaihof. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2025. Very low temperatures at the end of December 1996 caused frost damage in the lowlands. Budbreak was late, but beautiful May made up for it. The vines flowered between June 10 and 20. A cooler July with a good water supply was followed by a warm August and a fantastic September. The winegrowers were able to harvest ripe, healthy grapes. The large temperature differences between day and night in the fall gave the wines of the 1997 vintage an unmistakable, classic character with elegant fruit, a rather slender body and vital acidity. It's perhaps the last classic vintage—certainly the last great one of a time that is over due to global warming.
