2019 Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Kabinett
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Tasting notes
“Two thousand nineteen was a hundred percent Kabinett vintage in Nierstein,” says Keller, explaining the absence of either Grosse Gewächse or upper-Prädikats. His thinking? “When you have 82, 83 Oechsle in Nierstein with 11 grams of acidity, and they taste like these, what could be better?” Smoky black tea and enticing floral perfume share aromatic billing with intimations of white peach and grapefruit. Ultra-delicate yet seductively silken in texture, the palate offers a smoky and floral inner-mouth floral reprise, animatingly bright fruit juiciness, along with bittersweet flower-chomping piquancy and a mouthwateringly sweet-saline savor akin to seared scallop. Sweetness is quite discreet on a finish remarkable for its sheer persistence, if for now far less dazzling than that of the corresponding Pettenthal. (Keller suggests that this Hipping just needs time to reveal its true stature – not that it isn’t hugely impressive and a sensual delight already.)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
So concentrated and focused that you better watch out it doesn\'t knock you off your chair! Wonderful stone-fruit aromas that are fully ripe, but packed with "nuclear" energy. And yes, somewhere in this maelstrom of aroma and flavor is some sweetness. Very piquant freshness at the powerful finish. Drink or hold.
A little more topsoil (clay) over the red slate here than in nearby Pettenthal. Basket press and spontaneous fermentation. RS around 38 g/l and TA c 9 g/l. Cask sample. Tasted blind. More smoky than the Pettenthal in this vintage. So fresh you might think it had a light spritz, with a stony/mineral layer over the pure clementine and citrus fruit. A little more tension than in the Pettenthal – if that is possible. A little more grip. Deep and long and totally embryonic. Clementine and just-ripe apricot on the finish. (JH)
About the producer
Based in the Rheinhessen, Keller is one of the finest Riesling producers in the world, and has set the benchmark for German Pinot Noir.