Visit to Weingut Knoll

My wife and I visited this estate during our trip to Austria last month. Let me begin by saying that this winery is pronounced "ka-nole". When we arrived at this winery, the winemaker, Emmerich Knoll was in the middle of a happy hour with some other local winemakers and open bottles of his wine were everywhere. He was willing to interupt his good time to pour us his wines.

Knoll probably has the widest assortment of wines available for tasting in the Wachau. These wines include white, red and rose'. Dry and sweet. And, by my count, about 6 different varieties of whites. Knoll is located in Unterloiben and has an excellent reputation. They were on my short list of wineries to visit in the Wachau. The aging at Knoll is done in large old barrels. As is typical in the Wachau, new oak is not used.

Across from the winery is the best restaurant in the valley, Restaurant Loibnerhof, which is owned by the Knoll family. Do not miss this restaurant if you visit the Wachau. If the weather is nice, dine outside in their apple orchard.

Here are my notes:

• 2004 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Kreutles 89 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This wine was a straw color. It was spritzy when first sampled from the glass. It possessed vibrant acidity with some apple and spice notes. 89 points.

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• 2004 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Schütt 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This wine showed more balance than the Kreutles. Stone fruit, white pepper and apricot notes with solid acidity. Medium bodied. 90-91 points.

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• 2004 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Loibenberg 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  The WA liked this wine giving it 90-92 points. I agree. This wine was fuller than either the Kreutles or Schutt. It was very aromatic with creamy fruit notes of green apple and tropical fruit. 91 points.

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• 2000 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Beerenauslese Loibner 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  I tried this dessert wine after dinner at Restaurant Loibnerhof across from the Knoll winery and paired it with apple strudl. A typical nose for Knoll. The wine was loamy and moderately sweet. Full bodied with notes of carmelized pear, allspice and clear botrytis character. Good acidity balanced the sweetness. A little bitter on the finish or this would have scored higher. 92+ points

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• 2004 Weingut Knoll Riesling Federspiel Ried Loibenberg 87 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This was the lowest pradikat level wine I tried at this estate. I found it to be a straightforward wine but very nice. 87-88 points.

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• 2004 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Schütt 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  I liked this wine better than the WS which gave it an 87-89. It had a stern nose and was quite young. However, I thought it showed great potential. Restrained now but showing some spice and soil nuances with concentrated white fruit. This is a late harvest wine which I believe was picked in November. Full bodied. Give it 8-10 years at least. 93-94 points.

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• 2003 Weingut Knoll Gelber Traminer Smaragd Loibner 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This grape is actually known as the Gelber Traminer which is a relative of the Traminer grape. It is higher in acidity and more aromatic than the Traminer. Only 3000 bottles were made and only 60 are imported into the US so I decided to buy it. This was a little sweeter than I expected. It can be drunk on its own or as an apertif. Rather spicy and medium to full bodied. Notes of pear and clove. Very unique. 90 points.

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• 2002 Weingut Knoll Blauer Burgunder Loibner 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This was another wine that I ordered at Restaurant Loibnerhof with dinner. This red wine had cherries and molassis on the nose. Notes of pencil shavings, red fruit, cassis and subtle floral nuances on the finish. Medium bodied and on the elegant side. Integrated tannins. This one surprised me. 90-91 points.

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We purchased the 2004 Riesling Schutt and the 2003 Gelber Traminer. This was the last winery we visited and we just did not have any room to buy more, otherwise we would have.