Fass Severin Riesling Vinothek

Nikolaihof is one of the oldest wine estates in Austria, based in the Unesco-recognized region of Wachau with history goes back almost 2000 years to the Roman empire. Originally chosen by the Romans because it was considered a Celtic holy site prior to 800 B.C., the foundations of the current house date to a Roman tower which existed as early as 63 B.C. Wine has been produced here since the time of the Celts and continued throughout the time of the Romans. Nikolaihof has been practicing Bio-dynamics since 1971, making them one of the longest Bio-dynamic practicing wineries in the world. Natural fermentations are the rule, in Austrian oak vessels, deep in the cold, 700-year-old cellar. Long lees contact and aging are the norms, with some wines aging as long as 15 years before being bottled.

The 1997 Riesling Vinothek Fass Severin was bottled in February 2022 after almost 25 years in a 3,000-liter barrel, on whose headboard is a carving of Saint Severin—hence the name.

A cooling sense of lemon and Mirabelle rises from the slightly waxy, slightly yeasty nose. All is subdued, and nothing is up-front. Concentration and linearity of lemon brightness is immediate on the palate. This is a pure, very ripe, intense Riesling of unusual freshness. It has a salty, waxy depth that draws you in but comes across as immensely youthful. This is so clean-cut, so hair-raising, so pristine—a wonderful depiction of Riesling's essential nature as a life force of freshness and inherent drive. Profound lemon freshness echoes long.