Vinous: 94-95 points

This product of Moosbrugger?s empathetic investigation into the principles and methods that prevailed at Schloss Gobelsburg in the early to mid-20th century (as detailed by me in past Vinous reports) has once again resulted in a wine of elusive and rarified complexity such as you aren?t likely to experience in the early 21st century anywhere other than at the Wachau?s Nikolaihof. Alkaline, mossy, and roasted root vegetable aromas anticipate the flavors to come. Hints of mint, verbena and iris waft coolingly across a satin-textured palate, adding a high-toned layer to a complex performance marvelously transparent to a shimmering array of nuances. The finish here offers a rarefied variation on the peppery and stony impingements that characterized the corresponding ?regular? 2014 Renner bottling, along with a striking evocation of raw scallop, its sweet-saline, iodine-tinged savor setting the salivary glands palpitating. (I last tasted this shortly ahead of its midsummer bottling.)

Review date: February 2017