Emmerich Knoll

In the small village of Unterloiben, near Dürnstein on the northern bank of the Danube, the Emmerich Knoll winery produces some of Austria’s most highly regarded white wines. The estate has no website and shows little interest in self-promotion, which, however, has not prevented it from becoming a benchmark not only for the Wachau region but for Austrian winemaking as a whole.

History

The Knoll family has been growing grapes in Unterloiben since 1825. Regular bottling began in the 1950s, and in 1962 the winery introduced a label that has since become one of the most recognisable in Austrian winemaking: a Baroque depiction of Saint Urban, the patron saint of winemakers, painted by the artist Siegfried Stoitzner. Emmerich Knoll II spent decades building the estate’s reputation as a modern winery.

His son, Emmerich Knoll III, currently manages the winery and, since 2012, has also served as president of Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus, the region’s quality association. The next generation, Julian, is becoming increasingly involved in the business, and the fifth member of the family, Emmerich IV, is already on the way.

Vineyards

The estate covers 16 hectares, situated on some of the Wachau’s most renowned plots. The key vineyards, Kellerberg, Loibenberg, Pfaffenberg, Schütt and Kreutles, are all located in Unterloiben and its surroundings.

Around a third of the estate is situated on steep terraces. Loibenberg is one of the largest and steepest single plots in the region. Kellerberg, a south-facing slope with stony soils containing granite, is considered one of the finest plots in the Wachau. Pfaffenberg is situated in Krems, to the east of the main Wachau area.

Terroir

The Wachau is situated in a narrow gorge carved by the Danube through ancient gneiss and granite rocks, with soils varying from vineyard to vineyard. Loess and alluvial soils favour the Grüner Veltliner variety; stony, rocky soils on gneiss and granite favour the Riesling variety and lend it the mineral, precise character for which Knoll is renowned.

The climate is a balance of cool Alpine air coming from the west and warm Pannonian breezes from the east, ensuring a long and slow growing season.

Grape varieties

The estate’s vineyards are divided roughly equally between Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, which together account for the vast majority of production. Smaller quantities of Gelber Muskateller, Gelber Traminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are also grown.

Winemaking

The approach to winemaking is deliberately traditional. The grapes are harvested by hand, fermented using local yeasts, and aged in large neutral wooden barrels in the estate’s old vaulted cellar. There is no rush to release the wines.

Wines in the ‘Smaragd’ and ‘Prädikat’ categories are stored until September after the harvest, allowing them to spend another summer in the cool cellar before reaching the market. The result is wines that demand patience and reward it, often revealing their best character only after five, ten or more years.

Wines

Knoll produces wines across all three quality levels of the Wachau. Steinfeder are the lightest wines, with an alcohol content of up to 11.5%. Federspiel, named after a falconer’s lure, occupy the middle ground with an alcohol content of 11.5 to 12.5%. Smaragd, named after the emerald lizard that basks in the sun in the region’s vineyards, is the highest tier, with full physiological ripeness and an alcohol content of over 12.5%.

The flagship Smaragd wines are produced from grapes from specific plots, each of which is bottled separately: Schütt Grüner Veltliner, Loibenberg Grüner Veltliner, Kellerberg Riesling, Loibenberg Riesling and Schütt Riesling, amongst others.

Since 1988, in years when the harvest permits, the estate has also produced a Vinothekfüllung from the Grüner Veltliner variety, and since 2000, a Riesling Vinothekfüllung, a selection of the ripest grapes from several plots, which functions as a dry Auslese.

In good years for botrytis, noble sweet wines ranging from Auslese to Trockenbeerenauslese are also produced.