2024 Alzinger Riesling Steinertal Smaragd, Wachau

Pale greenish yellow, silver reflections. Multifaceted notes of citrus fruits, zest of oranges and kumquats, yellow tropical fruit, a hint of mango and passion fruit, very inviting bouquet. Juicy, elegant and balanced, yellow fruit notes again, full of finesse, delicately salty on the finish, harmonious, can be enjoyed immediately but has aging potential for many years.06/2025

97-99 points Peter Moser, Falstaff

This is immensely stony, concentrated and packed with aromas of crushed rocks, manuka honey, mango pits and peach pits. It’s full-bodied and powerful, with stony, minerally freshness. So structured and compact, with long aging potential. Drink or hold.

97 points James Suckling

The 2024 Riesling Steinertal Smaragd comes from poor, higher-lying gneiss parcels predestined for Riesling. Very subtle scents of crushed citrus leaf and lime emerge with air. The palate is all citrus, linearity, brightness, purity and precision. Slender yet exquisite, it stands in body and demeanor as the opposite of what many would call an "icon" wine, but it is iconic nonetheless.

96-98 points Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous

Weingut Alzinger is one of the Wachau’s most revered estates, based in Unterloiben and run today by Leo Alzinger alongside the next generation of the family. The wines are famous for restraint rather than flamboyance: pure, finely etched and intensely expressive of their vineyards. Steinertal is one of the great sites of the eastern Wachau, a steep, cool vineyard tucked behind the Loibenberg where Riesling takes on remarkable tension and mineral definition.

Steinertal’s thin, rocky soils sit over ancient gneiss and weathered primary rock, forcing the vines deep in search of water and nutrients. Its cooler position slows ripening, while dramatic day-to-night temperature shifts preserve acidity and perfume. Smaragd denotes the Wachau’s most concentrated dry wines, yet in Alzinger’s hands that power is never allowed to become cumbersome. The 2024 is about intensity delivered with a very straight face.

Pale gold with green highlights, the nose opens with lime zest, white peach and apricot before grapefruit, jasmine and fresh herbs appear. With air come wet stone, citrus oil and a faint smoky note. The palate is concentrated yet wonderfully taut, with lime and stone fruit propelled by bright acidity. Grapefruit peel and apricot skin bring gentle grip through the middle before a long, dry finish of citrus, herbs and crushed rock.

Give this grilled trout with brown butter and capers, scallops with ginger and lime, Wiener schnitzel, roast pork with crackling or sashimi with ponzu. Our pick is the trout sweet fish, nutty butter and salty capers against Steinertal’s citrus and rocky bite is enough to make the Danube feel considerably closer than it is.

Cellaring: Drink from 2028 to 2045.