What is the drinking window for the following two Knoll Reislings: 2002 Smaragd, Ried Loibenberg 2003 Federspiel, Loibner Riesling I've heard anything less than five years for these babies is "infanticide" Just out of interest, what would they cost me to buy now ? I bought them for around €25 each in Austria shortly after each vintage.
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
I would be speculating with respect to the drinking window as I do not recall tasting either of these two wines personally. Emmerich Knoll is justly admired and has a large range of wines from several grape varieties, producing various quality levels depending on vintage. Wines such as a Smaragd Riesling Loibenberg can certainly age for many years in bottle. 2003 was of course a very hot year with rich wines lower in acidity, but it is often unwise to make assumptions on that basis alone. If I had the two wines, I would open rather than keep them much longer, but that's a personal practice: I prefer a wine which may still be youthful to one which is fading.
I cannot find any Knoll Rieslings from 2002 or 2003 listed at retail in the US, so there is no market benchmark. The retail pricing for various Knoll Rieslings ranges from around $30 to $80 per bottle for recent vintages.
