2021 Prager Achleiten Riesling Smaragd Wachau Austria

• 97 Point Top Austrian Riesling
• One of Austria's Best Producers
• One of Austria's Most Important Vineyards Dates from Roman Era
• 2021 was a "Dream Vintage"
• Free Shipping on 12 or More Bottles

About the Wine

"This is a great Wachau Riesling from one of the proudest sites in the area." ~Robert Parker

Franz Prager, the co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers. 

Toni is a biologist, geologist, and historian. He’s completely passionate about Austrian terroir, and he has dedicated his life to studying the region’s terroir. His expertise and knowledge have managed to elevate Weingut Prager to a world-class and cult-status winery since 1990. Today, this first-class winery is led by Toni’s son, Robert, who has followed the same steps as his father.

The exceptionally steep, southwest-facing site has a cool mesoclimate due to its proximity to the forest, and its soil is a unique “kalksilikatmarmor,” a limestone silicate marble rarely found elsewhere in the Wachau. 

With a rich history and favorable climate, the Wachau is known as one of the greatest terroirs in Austria. Although the region is less than 15 miles long, the unique landscape and vineyards make it renowned. Located a short hour’s drive northwest of Vienna the Wachau is famous for the unique steep stone terraced vineyards rising up on the Northside or “left bank” of the Danube River, as it flows West to East.

Achleiten sits east of Weissenkirchen and is one of the most famous vineyards in the Wachau. The steeply-terraced vineyard has existed since Roman times. Some sections have just 40 cm of topsoil over the bedrock of Gföler Gneiss, amphibolitic stone, and slate, or “destroyed soil,” as Toni Bodenstein prefers to say.

The vintage 2021 was an incredible year for this region. The Austrian Wine Association called it a dream vintage and stated that this year delivered “Crystal-clear wines from perfect grapes. A year that we will be hearing about for many years to come. A glorious autumn brought balanced, elegant white wines with a profound fruitiness and zesty structure, and this was the case for all of Austria’s wine-growing regions."

This 100% Riesling is an incredibly dynamic wine with an extremely bright finish that will pleasantly surprise everyone lucky enough to taste it.

Tasting Notes: 100% Riesling. 
See Critical Reviews for detailed tasting notes.

Reviews

Very enticing nose of white peach and fresh mint with a hint of white flowers. At once succulent and delicate, this is a joyful Wachau riesling that has such wonderful harmony it should appeal to anyone looking for great dry white wine. Super-elegant and very long finish with delicate wet-stone minerality. Drink or hold. ~96 James Sucking

With a clear, somewhat reductive, and restrained nose of bright fruit and dark rock, Robert and Toni Bodenstein's 2021 Ried Achleiten Riesling Smaragd opens very concentrated but fresh. So too on the palate, which is crystalline, fresh, and zesty but also very intense and complex. The persistent finish is powerful and still somewhat astringent. Again, this is a great Wachau Riesling from one of the proudest sites in the area. Tasted at Schloss Dürnstein, Wachau, in September 2022. ~95 Robert Parker

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