2019 Riesling Alte Reben
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Tasting notes
Savory saline and meaty notes are delivered on the nose of the 2019 Riesling Alte Reben and serve for mouthwatering satisfaction throughout. Pit-inflected apple lends juiciness and piquancy to a fundamentally silken palate. The finish, while a touch austere given the stony, alkaline and graphite-like notes to which it is transparent, is brightly juicy and tongue-tinglingly energetic. Here is the exceptional case (among those Van Volxem 2019s that I was able to taste) where the corresponding 2020 is the more pithily concentrated but marginally less dynamic of the two. (As usual, the sources are here downright ancient vines in Wiltinger Klosterberg, Wawerner Ritterpfad and Kanzemer Sonnenberg.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
It’s not that the nose of the Alte Reben is much different from the Wiltinger and Saarburger village wines, but it’s quite a bit more concentrated. There are elements of green fruit, stone fruit, citrus, spice and a faint smoky notion. On the palate, you find that you have still missed out on something, as a clear fresh green herbal flavour teaches you that natural yeasts have their hand in this. The texture feels quite rich, but acidity, sappy herbs and a dash of rock salt on the finish make me timbers shiver. (MS)