Emmerich Knoll has been promoted at SommSelect since our inception with great fanfare, and there’s no better time to celebrate the Wizard of the Wachau than during the holidays.
The 2022 releases from Knoll are a collector’s dream — one Grüner Veltliner and three Rieslings that showcase the Wachau at its absolute peak. The Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg Smaragd delivers power and spice with crystalline minerality, while the Pfaffenberg Selection Riesling shines with elegance and citrus‑driven clarity. The Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd offers depth and longevity, and the flagship Vinothekfüllung Riesling Smaragd stands as a rare, monumental bottling produced only in exceptional years. All four wines have earned high critical scores and are rarely found in retail, making this lineup a must‑experience for serious collectors.
Sterling press from Vinous Media and James Suckling underscores their stature, with reviewer Scott Pigott praising Knoll’s whites for their crystalline precision, stony minerality, and balance of richness with freshness. These descriptors — “diamond‑like brilliance” and “samurai sword‑like sharpness” — capture the purity and definition that make Knoll’s Smaragd bottlings benchmarks of the Wachau. With scores reaching 96–98 points, they stand among Austria’s elite.
Hardly any other winery has shaped the perception of the Wachau as profoundly as Knoll, whose iconic Saint Urban label has graced bottles since 1962. Today, the family cultivates 16 hectares across Kellerberg, Loibenberg, Pfaffenberg, and Schütt — sites synonymous with clarity, minerality, and structure. For serious white wine enthusiasts seeking weight and longevity beyond Chardonnay, this is a must‑try lineup. We highly recommend securing multiple bottles to enjoy now and to chart their evolution over time.
Loibenberg Riesling is all about intensity and depth — ripe apricot and citrus layered over smoky minerality. Concentrated yet refined, it’s a benchmark Wachau Smaragd with serious longevity.
95 Points, James Suckling:
“The delicate fresh pineapple and curry leaf nose pulls you into this medium-bodied dry Riesling until you are trapped in its web. What an exciting interplay of exotic fruit ripeness and mountain stream acidity this has on the super-focused palate. Very long almost steely finish. Drink or hold.”
