2023 Riesling Spitzer Federspiel, Weingut Johann Donabaum

Cool, crystalline and quietly complex, this Riesling captures the Wachau’s soul in a glass. Aromas of lime blossom, green apple and crushed slate rise like mist from the Danube, followed by a palate that’s taut yet textural, a dance between citrus purity and mineral depth. The acidity is precise but never sharp, giving the wine an effortless glide and a finish that lingers like sunlight on water. It’s both invigorating and serene, a masterclass in balance and understatement.

For when: You need clarity, calm, and a little poetry in your glass.
Pairs with: Fresh oysters, Thai green curry, or alpine air.
If this wine were: A river at dawn, still on the surface, but alive with quiet movement beneath.

Rooted in the steep, terraced slopes of Spitz, in Austria’s Wachau Valley, Weingut Johann Donabaum crafts Rieslings that express the purity of their origins with remarkable finesse. The “Spitzer” Federspiel hails from the cool, stone-laced vineyards surrounding the village, where the interplay of gneiss soils and the Danube’s reflective light creates wines of linear precision and subtle grace. Fermented in stainless steel and aged briefly on fine lees, it’s a vivid portrait of the Wachau’s unique terroir, elegant, mineral, and endlessly refreshing.