Vinopolis Tuesday Newsletter 11-3-2020

 

Nikolaihof is a giant of Austrian wine—a producer whose history and quality are unrivaled even in a country full of great producers. The estate dates back to Roman times and the Saahs family has run the property for over a century and a quarter. They produce wines of deep resonant flavors, which have fresh brightness but standout for an undercurrent of vinosity. They’re bright, precise and mineral-drenched with the power and density of the Wachau. These are the heights of Austrian wine.

The products of a grossly underrated wine producing country, Nikolaihof’s wines are always a shrewd buy. However, at closeout pricing these are no brainers for anyone who appreciates bright, mineral-driven white wine. As with many of our current closeout specials however, quantities are limited, so don’t sleep on these unmissable deals.

In stock now:

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Gut’s Riesling, Wachau 2013 750ML ($44.95) Was $31.90, Now $19, 7 bottles in stock now
Terry Theise: “23 g/l of residual sugar, as it happened, and every wine here is as-it-happened. So Nikki declined to futz with it. The result tastes like something Florian Weingart would have made in the Wachau, all the mirabelle and herbs but with a different twangy terroir here. I don’t know what “use” you’ll make of it; I only know I like it.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof im Weingebirge Smaragd Gruner Veltliner, Wachau 2012 750ML ($69.95) Was $59, Now $49, 3 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 92 points “An intriguing, ethereal nose suggests iris, ginseng, moss, beet root and a hint of blond tobacco. Beet, turnip and kohlrabi inform a plushly textured, expansive yet for Smaragd amazingly buoyant palate. Alkalinity, stoniness and tincture of iodine lend cut and a certain austerity to a finish that flashes back to the complexity of the wine’s bouquet. Those with a predilection for Nikolaihof wines (such as I) are going to appreciate this bottling more than my score might suggest.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Gelber Muskateller, Wachau 2007 750ML ($49.95) Was $36, Now $27, 1 bottle in stock now
Terry Theise note “The quick-&-dirty on the vintages: ’07 is good and ’08 is stunning and wonderful, ++ quality. ’09 is yellow-fruit, more vintage than Muscat. ’10 remains a favorite, sweet and giving, it nurses the palate. ++ ’11 is Muscat and then some! Even has some Riesling mojo going on. + ’12 is dense, almost tannic, herbal, another kind of complexity. Also +.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Gelber Muskateller, Wachau 2011 750ML ($59.95) Was $36, Now $27, 1 bottle in stock now
Terry Theise note “The quick-&-dirty on the vintages: ’07 is good and ’08 is stunning and wonderful, ++ quality. ’09 is yellow-fruit, more vintage than Muscat. ’10 remains a favorite, sweet and giving, it nurses the palate. ++ ’11 is Muscat and then some! Even has some Riesling mojo going on. + ’12 is dense, almost tannic, herbal, another kind of complexity. Also +.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Neuburger, Wachau 2011 750ML ($39.95) Was $28, Now $21.90, 10 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 89 points “This soft and (at only 12.5% alcohol) full-feeling rendition of Neuburger emphasizes that grape’s inherent nuttiness, though the usual resemblance to white asparagus still applies. A faintly smoky piquancy adds an intriguing counterpoint to an otherwise soothing finish.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2009 750ML ($69.95) Was $59, Now $49, 4 bottles in stock now
Mosel Fine Wines 91 points “[Reviewed April 2019] The 2009er Riesling Smaragd vom Stein presents a ripe and quite advanced nose of toffee, cooked apple, mirabelle in alcohol, bread crust, apricot cream and camphor, as well as some wax polish. The wine is smooth and develops delicately ripe flavors of fruits and nut cream on the palate and leaves a nice feel of grip in the zesty finish. The after-taste of this ripe and slightly oxidative expression of dry Riesling is straight and herbal. Now-2024.”
Wine Spectator 91 points “Features a honeyed, floral aroma, with rich, decadent flavors of baked apple, licorice, dried pineapple and slate. Dried basil and mango notes linger on the complex and powerful finish. Drink now through 2018. 38 cases imported. “

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2011 750ML ($79.95) Was $59, Now $49, 5 bottles in stock now
Wine Advocate 94 points “The 2011 Riesling Smaragd Vom Stein opens with the ripe charm and winning self-confidence of a warm vintage. Super clear, with ultra-ripe (not overripe though!) and concentrated fruit aromas on the nose along with floral and herbal flavors, there is no cool soul so far, since the baby-fruit takes it all. Full-bodied, rich and powerful on the palate, this is a very juicy but also pure and complex wine still full of finesse, fresh and very, very long. It is a mighty, firmly structured, but nevertheless, refreshing and very mineral as well as elegant Riesling full of energy and vibrancy. The finish is impressively long and filled with tension and the aging potential should be terrific. It’s a great drinking experience today, and I suppose it will always be in the next 20 or 25 years”
Terry Theise notes: “This is gorgeous. Fresh fruit but a cloistery silence around it. Hay and straw, the fresh profile only hinting at its murmury depths; a wine of the brightest morning, with decades ahead of it.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2012 750ML ($79.95) Was $69, Now $49, 8 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 92 points “this lives up to its name with a stony, alkaline undertone. There is a faintly reductive hint of machine oil that, along with whiffs of gentian and iris, complements fresh and spirituous expressions of apple. The palate impression is fresh, juicy, and buoyant, with floral, mineral and herbal-spicy nuances. It’s a delightful example of the vintage paradox that despite high must weights and advanced flavor ripeness, the best 2012s can be elegant and light-footed. Coriander and fennel seeds add appeal to the sustained finish.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2013 750ML ($74.95) Was $59, Now $49, 2 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 93-94 points “Whereas its 2012 predecessor was bottled in April 2015, this 2013 was still several weeks out from bottling when I last tasted it in June 2016. The combination of richness with juiciness and levity, as well as a complex array of scents and flavors including alkali, wet stone, almond, hazelnut, apple, white peach, sage, ginger, gentian and narcissus, render this a worthy exemplar of its profoundly successful vintage. Subtly waxy in feel, but refreshingly juicy, it finishes with animation and fascinating diversity.”
Terry Theise: “Not surprising how gorgeous this is—’13 rules! The wine is all a swollen umami middle, and all a complex and sweet mélange of grains, leaves, rock dust and flowers. Haunting smoky length, like summer squash on the grill. It’s melted the explicit high-notes of ’13 into a murmur of butter and powdered ginger. Who in the world makes wine like this? Radiance seen through frosted glass. Someone says she loves you, and you can’t believe your ears.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2014 750ML ($69.95) Was $49, Now $44
David Schildknecht 97 points “In a departure from usual Nikolaihof practice – given that it had by then been filtered and assembled into tank – I was offered my first taste of this wine shortly before the initial, December 2017 bottling. The wine was exciting then, and when re-tasted repeatedly in the course of 2018 had only gained in stature. Moss, lemon zest, peach kernel and toasted grain on the nose put me in mind of a relatively austere white Burgundy. But that sense of kinship dims with the emergence of high-toned hints of lavender and mint, mouthwatering ocean breeze and a sappy, juicy abundance of fresh lime and white peach juiciness on the silken palate. There are also faint hints of kirsch and mothball such as one can encounter from time to time at this address and to whose volatility some tasters might object. The finish is transparent to a veritable carpet of mineral matter – albeit a levitating, vibrantly undulating one! Crushed stone, alkali, mineral salts and iodine combine with herbal and protein-rich flavors for something approximating a blend of oyster liquor and clam stock that set my salivary glands to palpitating. And now for the astonishing kicker: This remarkable stuff filled the largest cask in the Nikolaihof cellar, with a capacity of 12,000 liters! Half was bottled in 2017 and 2018; the rest will be held back – let’s hope eventually to inform a Vinothek offering. “The only sense in which this wine needed to be bottled,” noted Saahs, “was in order to avoid Vom Stein Smaragd temporarily dropping from our price list and to make room in the cellar. It wasn’t the phases of the moon calling the shots,” he added with a sly grin. (Re-tasted alongside, the corresponding 2013 showed at the upper end of my earlier projection. But despite issuing from one of the two finest Wachau vintages that it has been my privilege to taste as young wines, that 2013 doesn’t quite reach the complexity nor exhibit the clarity and energy of this 2014 – not for now, at least.)”
James Suckling 95 points “An intensely minerally riesling that combines considerable power with a slim silhouette. Finely etched dried-pear and candied-lemon flavors echo through the long, subtle finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Demeter certified. Drink or hold. Screw cap.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Vom Stein Jungfernlese Riesling, Wachau 2006 750ML ($59.95) Was $39, Now $33, 2 bottles in stock now
Terry Theise notes: “It means the virgin-vintage, the first crop from young vines. And it’s what the Germans would call Feinherb, and it’s what any sane person would call irresistible! A potion of iris and lavender, spicy and penetrating; very long, seductively earthy, like a really profound Nahe Spätlese, almost the 5-spice and wildflower of Dönnhoff’s Felsenberg.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Baumpresse, Wachau 2011 750ML ($129.95) Was $79, Now $69, 11 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 93 points “Nicknamed for the 18th-century “tree press” recently reactivated by Nikki Saahs (the tree in question must have begun growing in the Middle Ages), and now also labeled for its vineyard of origin, this was bottled in 2013 (like the corresponding Smaragd), but only recently released. At 12.5 percent alcohol, this silken-textured Riesling manages, as did other Nikolaihof wines of its vintage, to avoid any sense of heaviness; although there is a rich foundation of succulently ripe white peach and Persian melon, white currant and transparent apple lend tart-edged tang and crunch. A hint of heliotrope hangs over the whole performance, its sweet perfume further pointing to the generous phenolic evolution characteristic of this vintage. There are significant albeit nicely integrated oxidative elements here as well – a legacy of the wine’s upbringing in smaller barrels than are otherwise utilized at the Nikolaihof – with moss, toasted grains and nuts, wet stone and quinine lending a slightly sinister aspect to the long, multilayered finish. As was the case with this wine’s predecessors, Nikki Saahs maintains that it will retain its current level of freshness for many years. I’m skeptical.”
Terry Theise: “It’s painfully spendy, but have you seen that massive press? Apart from which, truth is truth; the wine is superb. Grain and smoke and jasmine and turkey stock and fingerlings at their little sweet best. This wine is intense, though with all of 12.5% alc.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Steiner Hund Reserve Riesling, Wachau 2012 750ML ($89.95) Was $69, Now $59, 3 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 95 points “Prominent lemony brightness and underlying alkalinity do not convey an immediate impression of such a ripe, sunny vintage as this was. Aromatically alluring sea breeze, fennel pollen, and green and black tea persist in the mouth, where this wine also grabs hold of the palate and salivary glands in an outpouring of lemon-drenched oyster liquor. The combination of polish and clarity on display is similarly striking, though by no means unusual in an installment of what is in effect the Nikolaihof’s iconic offering. The long, vibrant finish displays kaleidoscopic flavor interactions no less memorable or mesmerizing for their being nuanced and understated; nor is there any let-up in the onrush of marine salinity. The Saahs family bottled this wine in April 2015 and released it just as stocks of its 2010 counterpart were running low, leaving the 2011 behind in cask for now.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Steiner Hund Reserve Riesling, Wachau 2014 750ML ($79.95) Was $59, Now $49
James Suckling 98 points “A huge dried apricot nose. In spite of the power this is super-elegant with a very long, radically mineral character that makes the wine swell in your mouth at the amazing finish. It may be too dry for some, but I find this spectacular. Drink or hold as long as you dare!”
David Schildknecht 96 points “Like its remarkable Vom Stein counterpart, I tasted this wine after it had been racked to tank, a few months before its December 2017 bottling, then again from bottle in the course of 2018. The penetrating nose is dominated by white peach, white currant and lime, anticipating the brightly juicy palate impression. But suggestions of crushed stone, bittersweet iris, clam stock, radish, kelp and smoky black tea add increasing intrigue as the wine opens to the air and is worked over in the mouth. There is underlying firmness but also a suggestion of silkiness born of lengthy lees exposure in cask, and the sense of levity, remarkably, is that of a typical Nikolaihof Federspiel more than of a Smaragd. The vibrant finishing influx of alkali, crushed stone, iodine, mineral salts, mustard seed and white pepper is almost savagely intense, practically stinging – taking matters in an at once mouthwatering and invigorating but also slightly austere direction. Here’s further proof for any who remain skeptics that the 2014 vintage – its challenges and vicissitudes notwithstanding – has at its very best delivered some of the Wachau’s and neighboring Lower Austria’s most exciting and potentially ageworthy wines of the past two decades. Tasting the outstanding 2013 alongside, this 2014 came nipping right at its heels: attention au chien!”
Wine Enthusiast 96 points “Cellar Selection. The beeswax, wet stone, hayflower and dried lemon notes on the nose of this wine suggest development. Its dry, slender yet concentrated palate has a weightless fluidity that echoes with eloquent beeswax and citrus oil flavors. The combination of lightness and beautiful depth make it so intriguing and moreish. Subtle, lovely, taut and fresh, it’s nowhere near its peak. The finish reveals a brilliant dash of mandarin. Drink 2028–2040.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Magnums in stock now:

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Steiner Hund Reserve Riesling, Wachau 2012 1.5L ($179.95) Was $149, Now $119, 2 magnums in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 95 points “Prominent lemony brightness and underlying alkalinity do not convey an immediate impression of such a ripe, sunny vintage as this was. Aromatically alluring sea breeze, fennel pollen, and green and black tea persist in the mouth, where this wine also grabs hold of the palate and salivary glands in an outpouring of lemon-drenched oyster liquor. The combination of polish and clarity on display is similarly striking, though by no means unusual in an installment of what is in effect the Nikolaihof’s iconic offering. The long, vibrant finish displays kaleidoscopic flavor interactions no less memorable or mesmerizing for their being nuanced and understated; nor is there any let-up in the onrush of marine salinity. “

This is the lowest listed magnum price in the USA today!

Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Smaragd, Wachau 2012 1.5L ($149.95) Was $99, Now $89, 2 magnums in stock now
David Schildknecht–Vinous 92 points “this lives up to its name with a stony, alkaline undertone. There is a faintly reductive hint of machine oil that, along with whiffs of gentian and iris, complements fresh and spirituous expressions of apple. The palate impression is fresh, juicy, and buoyant, with floral, mineral and herbal-spicy nuances. It’s a delightful example of the vintage paradox that despite high must weights and advanced flavor ripeness, the best 2012s can be elegant and light-footed. Coriander and fennel seeds add appeal to the sustained finish.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Love Austrian wine? We have over 50 wines from Austria currently available.
Shop our entire selection, including famous names like Alzinger, FX Pichler, Gobelsburg and more on our web store!

Thanks for reading!