Prager Achleiten Riesling

Riesling Ried Achleiten Smaragd bottle image

Wine Description

Franz Prager, 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.

Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have a minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.

Achleiten sits east of Weiβenkirchen and is one of the most famous vineyards in the Wachau. The steeply-terraced vineyard has existed 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.

Prager Vineyards
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Acclaim
“A stunning high-end dry riesling that's still quite shy on the nose, but really concentrated and very finely-nuanced on the palate. Devastatingly beautiful peachy fruit, some honeysuckle and enormous depth at the long, graceful finish. This will age well if you can resist it now.”
— James Suckling, Nov 2017
“A stunning high-end dry Riesling that's still quite shy on the nose, but really concentrated and very finely-nuanced on the palate. Devastatingly beautiful peachy fruit, some honeysuckle and enormous depth at the long, graceful finish.”
— James Suckling, Dec 2017
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Ried Achleiten
Vineyard size
55 acres
Soil composition
Gföler Gneiss
Elevation:
686-1,175 feet
Vines/acre:
2,960
Yield/acre:
1.6 tons
Exposure:
Southeastern
Year vineyard planted:
1952-1953
Harvest time:
November
First vintage of this wine:
1955
Bottles produced of this wine:
6,900
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Riesling
Fermentation container:
Stainless steel tanks
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
28 days
Fermentation temperature:
64 °F
Type of aging container:
Stainless steel tanks
Length of aging before bottling:
7 months
Length of bottle aging:
2 months
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Analytical Data
No relevant data were found.