An absolutely brilliant Riesling Loibenberg. I really dig these lighter and mineral driven 2010s. For my palate a perfectly balanced Riesling, not overextracted, not dominated by botrytis, this is racy and very mineral - even a hint salty, with a reserved fruit of stone fruit and pears, classy white flower perfume; not very intense and not super long on the finish, but these are not necessarily feautures that characterize a good wine anyway in my opinion. Allegorically speaking this reminded me of a river that has calmed down and is now gently flowing out into the ocean. Drinking very well now and it was a great partner to the oven baked trout. One of those bottles that is empty way too soon. - 93 points
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The fruit has dimmed a bit over the past couple of years. Subdued citrus notes dominate. Plenty of fresh stony minerality remain on the finish. Past peak for my taste.
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I like this wine a lot, although I don’t think it’s a great wine. The nose is interesting and attractive with tropical fruit - pineapple juice, and also some darkly mineral aromas. It is a powerful nose but not entirely harmonious and without great complexity of character. Balanced on the palate, and shows good energy and density without any excess weight. Good wine, just something is missing from the overall package.
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Tasted blind. Clearly a dry style Riesling, I wasn't sure whether it was Austrian or German. Pleasant surprise, first time tasting this wine. Very mineral-driven with chalk and seashells, very fine acidity backbone, light on its feet and lacking some of the gravitas (better and worse) of German GGs. I like.
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Bright and breezy, with lemon grass, tea and an orange twinge. The body is crisp and dry with an almost spritzy energy to it. This is tightly wound and possesses good minerality on the backside, where it emerges out of the bright and airy fruit. Short on acidity on day one but it became much more concentrated on the backside on day two. Very Good – Hold
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Pizza and wines @ Salil's (Vernon, CT): Excellent wine, but suffered a bit in the company it shared tonight. Nice citrus, wet stones and orchard fruits notes, and well balanced, but not quite as "driven" as other Alzingers I've had.
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Pizza night with Austrians and random reds: This is a bit of a disappointment by Alzinger's standards - an excellent wine, though not quite showing the level of finesse and depth that I usually expect from Alzinger. Lots of bright, focused citrus, pear and riper peach fruit tinged with mineral and floral notes, though the palate seems rather ripe and fleshy without the cut and focus of Alzinger's other Smaragds. Time and air bring out more mineral and herbal notes, but it perhaps suffered a bit in contrast to the Prager and Jamek poured alongside.
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Probably our WOTY thus far. Luscious ripe melon and apricot fruit, perfectly balanced with a crisp layer of mouthwatering acidity. A joy to savor over there course of 2-3 h. Wish I had a few more bottles to see how this evolves.
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Riesling on both sides of the Alps (Salone di Gusto, Torino, Italy): Medium(+) rich lemon, slow-moving legs. Medium developing aromas, mineral notes earth, stone fruits, hard to pin down. Dry, high acidity, medium(-) body and medium alcohol. Medium flavors of dominantly lemon, green apples, white pepper and silex. Structured but sinewy, medium length with lemony finish. Austere; may be caught in a less favorable point in its development.
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Yellow with some green. Dried peach and juniper. Fantastic glycerine feel, completely dry, powerful quinine and acidity at the end. Like the Steinertal tasted earlier this week, another monumental young Smraragd from Alzinger.
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Oh my! This is terrific Austrian juice. Where the Pichler came across as a little hot and clumsy, this wine leapt from the glass with beautiful aromas of minerals, flowers and ripe fruit. Yet another great "mouthfeel" wine for me. This yummy, tart, delicious baby had an abundance of tart yellow fruit and apple and a lengthy show stopping swallow.
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Petrol and green apple aromas. Honeyed apple flavors with distinct minerality and some petrol notes that should smooth out with age. Needs at least a couple of years to achieve its promise.
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This wine is simply lovely. Seemed a bit austere next to a Julian Haart feinherb on the first day, but recorked and the wine came together beautifully on day 2. Not as powerful as some of the other big boys from the Wachau, but extremely elegant. Citrusy, stone fruit pips, lemony, just a delight to behold. Very complete wine....
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11/24/2018 - isbjoern Likes this wine: 93 Points
An absolutely brilliant Riesling Loibenberg. I really dig these lighter and mineral driven 2010s. For my palate a perfectly balanced Riesling, not overextracted, not dominated by botrytis, this is racy and very mineral - even a hint salty, with a reserved fruit of stone fruit and pears, classy white flower perfume; not very intense and not super long on the finish, but these are not necessarily feautures that characterize a good wine anyway in my opinion. Allegorically speaking this reminded me of a river that has calmed down and is now gently flowing out into the ocean. Drinking very well now and it was a great partner to the oven baked trout. One of those bottles that is empty way too soon. - 93 points
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6/2/2018 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 92 Points
The fruit has dimmed a bit over the past couple of years. Subdued citrus notes dominate. Plenty of fresh stony minerality remain on the finish. Past peak for my taste.
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1/6/2018 - brooklynguy wrote:
I like this wine a lot, although I don’t think it’s a great wine. The nose is interesting and attractive with tropical fruit - pineapple juice, and also some darkly mineral aromas. It is a powerful nose but not entirely harmonious and without great complexity of character. Balanced on the palate, and shows good energy and density without any excess weight. Good wine, just something is missing from the overall package.
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4/19/2016 - Rani Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted blind. Clearly a dry style Riesling, I wasn't sure whether it was Austrian or German. Pleasant surprise, first time tasting this wine. Very mineral-driven with chalk and seashells, very fine acidity backbone, light on its feet and lacking some of the gravitas (better and worse) of German GGs. I like.
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8/16/2015 - fraundor wrote: 92 Points
- Yellow color.
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6/24/2015 - WMWG Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bright and breezy, with lemon grass, tea and an orange twinge. The body is crisp and dry with an almost spritzy energy to it. This is tightly wound and possesses good minerality on the backside, where it emerges out of the bright and airy fruit. Short on acidity on day one but it became much more concentrated on the backside on day two.
Very Good – Hold
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6/24/2015 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
Pizza and wines @ Salil's (Vernon, CT): Excellent wine, but suffered a bit in the company it shared tonight. Nice citrus, wet stones and orchard fruits notes, and well balanced, but not quite as "driven" as other Alzingers I've had.
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6/24/2015 - salil wrote: 90 Points
Pizza night with Austrians and random reds: This is a bit of a disappointment by Alzinger's standards - an excellent wine, though not quite showing the level of finesse and depth that I usually expect from Alzinger. Lots of bright, focused citrus, pear and riper peach fruit tinged with mineral and floral notes, though the palate seems rather ripe and fleshy without the cut and focus of Alzinger's other Smaragds. Time and air bring out more mineral and herbal notes, but it perhaps suffered a bit in contrast to the Prager and Jamek poured alongside.
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3/13/2015 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 94 Points
Probably our WOTY thus far. Luscious ripe melon and apricot fruit, perfectly balanced with a crisp layer of mouthwatering acidity. A joy to savor over there course of 2-3 h. Wish I had a few more bottles to see how this evolves.
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10/19/2014 - Osiris021 wrote: 91 Points
No formal notes.
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10/26/2012 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 88 Points
Riesling on both sides of the Alps (Salone di Gusto, Torino, Italy): Medium(+) rich lemon, slow-moving legs. Medium developing aromas, mineral notes earth, stone fruits, hard to pin down. Dry, high acidity, medium(-) body and medium alcohol. Medium flavors of dominantly lemon, green apples, white pepper and silex. Structured but sinewy, medium length with lemony finish. Austere; may be caught in a less favorable point in its development.
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6/28/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Yellow with some green. Dried peach and juniper. Fantastic glycerine feel, completely dry, powerful quinine and acidity at the end. Like the Steinertal tasted earlier this week, another monumental young Smraragd from Alzinger.
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6/20/2012 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 93 Points
Oh my! This is terrific Austrian juice. Where the Pichler came across as a little hot and clumsy, this wine leapt from the glass with beautiful aromas of minerals, flowers and ripe fruit. Yet another great "mouthfeel" wine for me. This yummy, tart, delicious baby had an abundance of tart yellow fruit and apple and a lengthy show stopping swallow.
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5/13/2012 - VHJV wrote: 92 Points
A wonderful Riesling with an excellent structure and lovely aromatics. For my taste needs time, though.
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12/6/2011 - kosinski wrote:
Petrol and green apple aromas. Honeyed apple flavors with distinct minerality and some petrol notes that should smooth out with age. Needs at least a couple of years to achieve its promise.
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11/29/2011 - baroloboy55 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine is simply lovely. Seemed a bit austere next to a Julian Haart feinherb on the first day, but recorked and the wine came together beautifully on day 2. Not as powerful as some of the other big boys from the Wachau, but extremely elegant. Citrusy, stone fruit pips, lemony, just a delight to behold. Very complete wine....
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