Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 93 points

Very clear and fresh, with a ripe honeydew and cool, flinty mineral aroma with hints of smoked bacon on the nose, the 2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Im Weingebirge is full-bodied, very dense, yet pure and well balanced. Highly elegant on the palate, this is a deep, rich, tension-filled and highly complex Gruner with a long and expressive mineral finish. Powerful and slightly bitter when poured directly from the bottle, this wine benefits a lot from aeration and indicates a great aging potential.

Review date: April 2015

Vinous: 94 points

Bottled in November of last year, this repeatedly failed the official test for Qualitätswein, a detail that Niki Saahs imparts with seeming relish as well as amusement. High-toned suggestions of floral distillates mingle with hints of moss and intimations of the fruits to come. Rhubarb, apple and lime team up for a palate performance of Riesling-like brightness, sap and clarity. A sense of infused crushed stone, black tea and shrimp-shell reduction makes for a fascinating and almost preternaturally persistent finish.

Review date: November 2015