Two bottles of Knoll Loibner Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung, 1999 vintage; Fill level: < 2 cm; Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (2002): 93/100
Two bottles of Knoll Loibner Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung, 2000 vintage; Fill level: < 2 cm; Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (2002): 91/100
Five bottles of F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd M, 2000 vintage; Fill level: 2x < 5 cm, 3x < 3 cm
Loiben, Wachau/Austria
Original filling quantity: 0.75 l

This lot comprises two bottles each of Knoll Loibne Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung from the 1999 and 2000 vintages as well as five bottles of 2000 vintage F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd M from the Wachau wine region in Austria.

The Donau River only travels approximately 35 kilometers on its way through Wachau, a crown jewel of European wine culture. Here, the stream intersects the crystalline of the Bohemian massif. Vines form in its weathered primitive rocks, growing on forest slopes and gentle hills on the right bank of the Donau, whilst vineyard terraces cling to steep inclines on the left side. Some of the most famous Wachau vineyards are situated up there on the mountain: Achleiten, Klaus, Kellerberg, Loibenberg, Hochrain, Honigvogl, Rotes Tor, Kreutles and Hinter der Burg. The Austrian wine revival during the 1980s all began here too. With that, Wachau implemented three levels of quality for their dry white wines: Steinfeder for light wines, Federspiel for concentrated wines and Smaragd for the most intense, long-lasting growths from Riesling and Green Veltliner. Their character is derived from the primitive rocks and they possess stony minerals and structural compactness. The densest of them require some years bottle-ageing in order to achieve their full potential.

1999 and 2000 were both good vintages in Austria and Wacha. The harvest was larger in 1999 and the wines from this vintage are also fruitier and more concentrated than those from the 2000 vintage.

The 1999 vintage Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllungwas rated 93 points in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate in 2002. The 2000 vintage Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung was rated 91 points in The Wine Advocate in the same year.

The fill levels are mostly excellent (3x < 3 cm, 4x < 2 cm), but two fill levels are lower (2x < 5 cm). The labels and capsules are in perfect condition.