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Picked between October 5 and 31, the 2018 Ried Singerriedel Riesling Smaragd is clear, deep, pure, precise and flinty on the concentrated and piquant apricot nose with aromas of broken gneiss. Lush and round on the palate, this is a very elegant and balanced Singerriedel with immensely fine and juicy fruit, very fine tannins and great finesse. The acidity is ripe and refined and perfectly integrated and delivers persistent and stimulating salinity. A gorgeous Riesling and perhaps the finest 2018 I tasted in Austria last year. - Stephan Reinhardt, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
This lovely wine caught us and kept us with its hi-def purity and wonderful complexity. While the Hirtzberger style is well known for tending toward opulence and texture, the ’18 Singerreidel Smaragd stands apart for its jeweled purity and uprightness. There isn’t a nip of botrytis to be found, and instead the wine trades on a crystalline expressiveness . In the glass, there is fascinating range to the wine’s fruit, oscillating between citrus oil, ripe stone fruit, and green apply sweet/sour notes. I’m entirely won by the wine’s charming distinctiveness, and the combination of measured richness and precision stands as a paradigm of controlled power. - Jason
The Hirtzberger domaine is located near Spitz in the western end of the Wachau valley. Here they produce stunning Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings from ancient steep terraced vineyards. The wines are among the finest in the Wachau, products of meticulous work in the vines and careful sorting in a region prone to uneven ripening and botrytis.
The Singerriedel is Hirtzberger’s top site for Riesling and indeed one of the most striking sites in all of Austria. This steep vineyard has soils of abundant mica and schist as well as spurs of gneiss that jut out from the terraces. The vines here average 50 years old and the resultant wine regularly combines powerful concentration with pungent smoky minerality.
The 2018 Singerriedel is a stirring success and offers kaleidoscoping aromatics in its perfume as well as waves of flavors on the palate. On the nose, there’s a heady mix of clementine, apricot and dried mango along with white pepper and dried flowers. There’s an appealing smokey note here as well, with flinty notes above pressed citrus oils. The palate is full of raspy green fruit, pithy and textural and with persistent minerality. There is impressive layering on the somewhat viscous palate. This is a powerful wine with a strong sense of identity- it’s a wine of singular Wachau excellence.
Cheers,
- Spencer
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