Professional reviews
James Suckling (96)
This fantastic dry riesling glides over your palate as if it was on a magic carpet. Wonderfully peachy, with delicate orange blossom nuances on the medium- to full-bodied palate. Stunning finesse in the long, silky finish, where there’s no hint of the strident acidity many associate with the riesling grape. Drink or hold.
Jancis Robinson (17.50)
Spitz. West of Wösendorf. Hochrain is a mountain vineyard with south-east orientation. Black soils over loess. Certified Sustainable Austria.
Golden aroma of yellow plum and honey but without sweetness and balanced by the impression of crushed stones and creamy lees. Remarkably complex for such a young wine. Captivating from the first. Firm, taut and yet full in the mouth. A powerful but harmonious wine with attractive golden spice on the finish. (JH)
Vinous (95)
The 2023 Riesling Hochrain Smaragd is, atypically, planted in loess in this vineyard, a subparcel of the Axpoint site. Planted in the 1950s, this made sense this far west in the Wachau, when Riesling would not have ripened at higher altitudes. The nose shows the juiciest apricot, followed by superbly fragrant citrus peel and foliage, majoring on tangerine. The palate is ripe, juicy, bursting with tangerine juiciness and channeled ripeness. The 2023 is incredibly animating, super-juicy and a total citrus party in the glass. This is a Riesling to convince skeptics with. (Bone-dry)
Falstaff (97)
Light greenish yellow, silver reflections. Delicate herbal savouriness, white peach, a hint of mango and passion fruit. Taut, tightly meshed, white fruit nuances, complex, mineral-salty, finesse-rich acid structure, a light-footed, finely chiseled style, lingers for a long time, already seductive, certain ageing potential.
