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Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein 2012 750ml

size
750ml
country
Austria
region
Wachau
WA
93
WS
92
WA
93
Rated 93 by Wine Advocate
The nose of Bodenstein’s 2012 Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Toni Bodenstein is utterly fascinating, though some may find it off-putting in its suggestion of butchered animal innards, musk, peat, as well as white peach and diverse citrus. The nearest analogy I can think of is to certain Jurancon. Salty and meaty savor on a polished palate runs all the way through a mouthwatering and mysteriously nuanced finish. This genetically-diverse planting in the upper reaches above Weissenkirchen – about which I have written more in several reports – is singular in its location, and here is an instantiation that displays correspondingly unique and unusual scents and flavors. There have been many instances amid these vines previous 15 dedicated bottlings when you had to shake your head in disbelief that not only father-in-law Franz Prager but a great many other experienced vintners told Toni Bodenstein that Riesling would be lucky to ripen in this nose-bleed site more than one year in ten. On this 2012 occasion, though, it can at least be said that the Wachstum is Bodenstein’s one Riesling to have finished closer to 13% than to 13.5% alcohol! ... More details
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Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein 2012 750ml

SKU 746600
Out of Stock
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Winery Prager
barrel

Vintage: 2012

2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in. The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
green grapes

Varietal: Riesling

Riesling grapes have produced some of the finest wines of the Old World over the past couple of centuries, and are quickly becoming much loved by New World audiences as their influence continues to spread across the globe. They are generally grown and cultivated in colder climates, as is found in their native Germany, where they have the remarkable ability to pick up and express interesting features of their terroir, or the ground on which they are grown. As such, wine enthusiasts generally find Riesling one of the more interesting white grape varietals, as they produce aromas which are highly floral and perfumed alongside both fruit flavors and refreshing notes of stone and alpine water, depending on where they have been grown. Furthermore, Riesling grapes produce a large variety of fine wines, from still to sparkling, sweet to dry, and wineries which work with this grape have long since been experimenting with both frozen and rotten grapes to find out just how versatile and exciting this varietal can be.
barrel

Region: Wachau

The ancient and grand wine region of Wachau is by far the most well known and respected of all the Austrian wine regions. With a history which has survived through the rising and falling of empires, the wineries of Wachau have always been dedicated to quality and refinement, and were once producing many of the favorite wines of the European aristocracy and royal families. Today, the wineries of Wachau deal primarily with Gruner Veltliner and Riesling grape varietals, two wonderful species which are renowned for their ability to take on the finer features of their terroir, and express plenty of interesting flavors in the bottle. These, amongst several other grape varietals, thrive beautifully in the long, hot summers the region enjoys, and ripen fully thanks to the mineral rich soils the Danube river provides.
fields

Country: Austria

Archaeological evidence suggests that grapevines have been grown and cultivated in what is today modern Austria for over four thousand years, making it one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world. Over the centuries, relatively little has changed in Austrian wine, with the dominant grape varietals continuing to be Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir and others. Austria is renowned for producing excellent and characterful dry white wines, although in the eastern part of the country, many wineries specialist in sweeter white wines made in a similar style to those of neighboring Hungary. Today, Austria has over fifty thousand hectares under vine, split over four key wine regions. The domestic wine industry remains strong, with Austrians drinking their local produce outside in the summer, and people around the world are beginning to once more rediscover this fascinating and ancient wine culture.