Summary
Weingut Emmerich Knoll in Unterloiben is one of the most classic and respected addresses in the Wachau. Across around 19 hectares, planted almost exclusively with white varieties, it produces long-lived, precise wines from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. What makes the estate unmistakable is its deliberately traditional signature: ageing in large, neutral wooden casks, spontaneous fermentation, minimal intervention and often a late release. To the outside world, Knoll is known above all for one detail – the baroque label with Saint Urban, the patron saint of winemakers, which has adorned the bottles for more than sixty years.
History
The Knoll family has been rooted in viticulture in Unterloiben since 1825. Over generations the estate remained a classic Wachau family winery; in 1947 bottling became standard. The defining figure of its recent history is Emmerich Knoll (born 1950), who led the estate to international renown. Today his sons August and Emmerich junior run the winery and consistently continue the traditional style.
A special chapter is the label. Since the early 1960s the bottles have carried the image of Saint Urban, the patron saint of winemakers. It was based on a painting after the Urban statue in the village church of Unterloiben. According to legend, Urban was a bishop who, as tradition has it, hid behind grapevines from his persecutors – which is why he is usually depicted with grapes. The motif keeps the Knoll bottles unmistakable to this day.
Location & Terroir
Unterloiben lies in the eastern part of the Wachau, where the Danube cuts through a narrow valley of primary rock. The vineyards are steep, terraced and criss-crossed by dry-stone walls. Decisive is an interplay of warm days and cool nights: during the day heat builds up in the rocky terraces, at night cool air falls into the valley from the Waldviertel. This tension gives the wines their freshness together with great ripeness.
The soils change on a small scale between meagre, weathered primary rock (gneiss, mica schist) and loamy-sandy overlays. On the primary rock Riesling thrives above all, with mineral tautness, while on the somewhat deeper soils Grüner Veltliner grows with spice and power.
Style & Philosophy
Knoll stands for a markedly traditional approach to ageing. The grapes are picked fully ripe, the musts fermented spontaneously and the wines aged mostly in large, neutral wooden casks – without intrusive new oak, but with time. The often late release is by design: the wines are meant to convince both young and mature and to age for many years.
The result is clear, mineral and profound wines of great longevity. The top wines mostly appear as Smaragd – the most powerful, fully ripe category of the Wachau – complemented by filigree Federspiel wines and, in suitable years, light Steinfeder qualities as well as noble-sweet rarities.
Notable Sites & Wines
Knoll’s best wines come from the famous steep sites around Loiben and Dürnstein:
- Schütt – cool and mineral, one of the estate’s top sites for Grüner Veltliner
- Loibenberg – powerful and ripe, great Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings
- Kellerberg – regarded as one of the very great Riesling sites of the Wachau
- Pfaffenberg – Riesling of finesse and length (a Ried in the neighbouring Kremstal)
- Kreutles – more approachable Grüner Veltliner
Within these sites the range runs from Federspiel to Smaragd; the Schütt and Kellerberg wines are among the most sought-after white wines in Austria.
Awards
Emmerich Knoll has for decades been undisputedly among the absolute top of the Wachau and of Austria, and is consistently highly rated in the leading national and international wine guides. The estate has preserved the classic Wachau style aged in large wooden casks over decades and made it a benchmark – precisely at a time when many wineries turned to more technical vinification. The combination of uncompromising quality and the unmistakable St Urban label has made Knoll one of the best-known brands of Austrian wine.