2016 Nikolaihof, Grüner Veltliner, Zwickl Naturtrüb, Wachau, Austria.
The Nikolaihof wines are always an interesting treat, and with 2016 being a classic and elevated vintage in the Wachau region especially, it was a thrill to unscrew this Zwickl Grüner at ten years old and see how it was, and while slightly oxidative and a bit petrol fumed reductive, it was a lovely and unique expression of the place and varietal with dried pineapple, lemon/lime, peach and toasted almond leading the way. It seems there’s a core of ripeness, a touch of residual sugar present, but overall it feels mostly dry and crisply focused, while being authentically Nikolaihof with some exotic notes, natural elements and funkiness, plus some maturity that comes with the age, again spot on for followers of Nikolaihof and fabulous with some artisan soft cheese and peach salad. This wine, the Zwickl is a unique totally unfiltered version of Grüner and the label says to shake it up to enjoy its yeasty, cloudy sediment in the glass, with this 2016 version, a straw/gold, did throw some that added to the complexity and textural feel, while keeping plenty of zesty acidity and mineral tones. This Nikolaihof Zwickl Grüner Veltliner is sourced from various sites near Mautern, in the steeper Wachau, with mainly Loess soils and some loose stones. For the fermentation and élevage here the Saahs family employed a long, slow and cold fermentation in stainless steel to preserve complete transparency, with just 6 months on the lees. The farming here, as widely noted and explained further below, is all Demeter Certified Biodynamic, which is to keep in harmony with the nature of the place and protect that natural balance, plus it just makes for better and healthier grapes, as witnessed throughout the wine world. In recent years I’ve not had as many of the Nikolaihof wines and though I have a long history of tasting them, sometimes with the Saahs family, it had been a while since I had opened a bottle.
Though the Saahs family has owned Nikolahof since 1894, the estate is much older and historic, in fact Nikolaihof is one of the oldest wine estates in Austria, dating back almost 2000 years to the Roman Empire. Originally chosen by the Romans, the winery notes, because it was considered a Celtic holy site prior to 800 B.C., the foundations of the current house date to a Roman tower which existed as early as 63 B.C. Wine has been produced here since the time of the Celts and continued throughout the time of the Romans. Germanic monks obtained the estate during the collapse of Rome, and the first written evidence of winemaking comes from 470 A.D. This writing documented the monk’s ownership of the vineyard ‘Im Weingebirge’, the earliest named vineyard site in all of Europe that Nikolaihof still farms to this day. Many years ago I wrote that, Nikolaihof was one of the best wineries, period, and they showed total commitment to quality, and to totally Biodymanic farming, before it was really catching on in Austria. These were an artist’s wine and for the wine geek, or a thinking person’s wine, much like Burgundy wines are. Their small estate hangs on steep hillsides in the Wachau region not far from the beautiful Danube River, west of Vienna and the wines from this estate are pure and complex, all hand-crafted, kinda funky and intense, I have in the past ranked them in my personal top ten white wine producers. Now, 20 years or so later, how do I feel about Nikolaihof? Well I still get excited by the wines, but so many producers have risen up and there is a vast number of great wines being made in Austria now, that it would be hard to put Nikolaihof that high up, but I do still love the wines. Nikolaus (Niki) Saahs, Christine and Nicholas’ son, took over in 2005 and has since been joined at the estate by his partner, Katharina Salzgeber who is now the estate’s cellarmaster, but the style has remained pretty faithful throughout the generational shift here at Nikolaihof and I now re-excited to try some of the latest releases.
($30 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive