2016 Riesling Trocken

The 2016 Nierstein Riesling is sourced almost entirely from the lower 25 meters of the Pettenthal grand cru, with its deeper soils. The wine opens pretty reductive on the nose but is ripe and pure. This is a 12% alcohol, zero sugar Riesling with remarkable grip, finesse and lush fruit. It is pure but juicy and piquant, well structured with fine tannins. A very promising Riesling that will be on the market only next year.

“This was our ‘insurance wine,’ ” quipped Keller, and then explained: “The [mid-October] forecast said ‘maybe rain but not sure,’ and everything was still hanging. So Julia and I thought, ‘Let’s take this opportunity,’ and we harvested, alone, 40 buckets in the Pettenthal and five or six in the Hipping, and that made around 450 liters.” Fermented in a Halbstück, it finished with just one gram of residual sugar, yet at only 11.8% alcohol. “We didn’t bother to run an analysis ourselves,” noted Keller, “so when we got those results back from the lab, we were amazed.” A cooling aura of green herbs modifies site-typical fresh lemon and orange on the nose as well as on a firm palate. The citric, herbal, mouthwateringly salty finish clings with mouth-shaking energy and sappy persistence. This will be utterly fascinating to follow - for the few who can latch on to some bottles.

Delicate lemon and grapefruit aromas with a touch of stony minerality. Pure, piercing, crystal clear and with the utmost precision and juicy persistence. GV (JH)