Prager Achleiten Riesling
Wine Description
Toni Bodenstein describes the grapes from the grand-cru-like Achleiten vineyard as coming from “destroyed soil.” So prized has this walled vineyard been over the years that it has been worked down by man and by nature to a point where the coverage of soil is only 40 cm in some parts. The loess soils just barely cover the granitic rocks underneath and yield grapes with great minerality. The long growing season of this southeast-facing vineyard allows the grapes here to attain a level of richness and complexity not often found in cool climate wines. The resulting wines are a stunning mix of finesse and structure.
Achleiten is one of Austria's greatest vineyards and is known for producing wines with a distinctive mineral character. Achleiten sits near the town of Weissenkirchen with steep terraces that face the Danube between 200 and 400 meters of elevation. The vineyard has very little top soil with various Gneiss in its parent rock. The name Achleiten comes from the Latin "Ach" (aqua) and "Leiten" meaning a conduct for water. Wines from Achleiten have a signature aroma and flavor of flint, smoke and minerals.