Rheinhessen, Germany

Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier

Mölsheim Riesling 2018

Great wine from a great vintage. Will improve with more age but already excellent — a month ago

Tom, Vanessa and 10 others liked this

Enderle & Moll

Buntsandstein Pinot Noir 2018

I’ve been following this producer for a few years now and they’re just getting better and better 😋 — 6 days ago

Ira, "Odedi" and 1 other liked this

Dönnhoff

Hermannshöhle GG Riesling 2016

Does not disappoint with power and focus. Thai food doesn’t hurt. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister, Daniel and 9 others liked this

Clean Slate

Mosel Riesling

Our first German Riesling, from Mosel. W’s favorite! Recommended from Total Wine. Acidity to us is perfectly balanced by mild to moderate sweetness. Label says mineral notes (slate in the soil here), peach and slight lime. W found is from the Moselland cooperative with winemaker Dominic Meyer. Imported by Winebow in NY, corporate in Va. — 12 days ago

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese Riesling 2021

I’ve enjoyed several wines now from the 2021 Mosel vintage, a vintage that I personally adore for its classicism, and its departure from the current trend of warm, dry and short growing seasons in the region. J. J. Prüm’s WSU Spätlese from this overlooked vintage is an absolutely sensational young riesling that, for me, represents a benchmark of what this region (and winery) can produce.

The nose is fresh, clear, like an alpine stream, truly elevating and disarmingly pure scented. A meadow of flowers, freshly squeezed lime, wet stones, petrichor. It is utterly pristine on the palate: sea salt, a medley of tropical fruit slightly underripe, fresh lime, hazelnuts, flecks of lavender. Enormous presence, but huge acidity from this cold, long growing season which, really, is how these wines were always made. A monumental finish that persists for almost a minute.

This is up there with the greatest Mosel wines I’ve ever enjoyed. I’m pretty chuffed to have bought this wine and most of their range in multiple formats in 2021, and I’ll hold on to those for the next forty years!
— 8 days ago

Ira, Peter and 3 others liked this
Peter van den Besselaar

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Fine description, I hope you will live long 😉

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling 2023

The new 2023 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett is medium dry and as juicy as can be. Loads of juicy apple, green pear, white peach, wet stone, acacia and other white flowers. Long on the palate, beautifully balanced between the acidity asks sweetness it’s a lovely Riesling though more expensive than others in the same vineyard. The Minerality is so impressive. — 18 days ago

Ira, Paul and 3 others liked this

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Graacher Himmelreich Auslese Riesling 2003

Goldkapsel — 10 days ago

Thijs, Jan and 7 others liked this

Enderle & Moll

Baden Pinot Noir 2022

Of the box. And yes Lyle will kill me for not waiting. But F…..yeah. This is the best most different vintage they ever made. Black currants, raspberries really and i mean really - juicy oh man this is insane drinkable. Light 12% with some acids so much grace and balance. Tasted this vintage in the cellar in May. Unreal vintage across the board. A different take than in the past. Stylistically different but boy is this good. — 3 days ago

Iwan, Scott@Mister and 3 others liked this
Lyle Fass

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Give a glass to the UPS driver next time. Sharing is caring!

Joh. Jos. Prüm

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling Auction 2023

Much topper flavors that in the 2023 Kabinett tasted alongside, but this wine is not that much sweeter. Instead the lime, green apple and pear of the Kabinett are replaced with vibrant peach, apricot and a touch of green pineapple. Mango and papaya hover in the miss with vibrant honeysuckle, wet stonestone and flint. Vibrant acidity frames the abundant fruit - it’s a real triumph but needs three or four years to really show its depth and intensity. Lovely wine and incredibly long on the palate. — 18 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 5 others liked this

Weingut Keller

Abts E de Riesling 2017

One of the best evenings of wine I’ve had this year, and it was just focused on this duo. Opened as inspiration for this year’s red pick at Miao Lu (a name to remember for those reading. I’ll say it here first - some of the best Pinot’s and Chard’s in the world will be coming out of this project high up in Yunnan!), and they both gave great context to the task.

When I harvested with Klaus-Peter in 2017, the vineyards bore the scars of hail, every last one of them. The damage was manifest in what we came to call "hail berries" (misshapen berries). To my untrained palate, they tasted perfectly fine. Naturally, I asked KP why we were discarding them, and his response, while not entirely unexpected, was still astonishing (paraphrasing of course): "I don't need to know precisely what they do," he said, "but if there's even a chance they might diminish the wine by 1%, they're gone. And these? They look capable of much worse."

That unyielding spirit of his was, I must admit, my torment at Abtserde, the vineyard hit hardest by the hail. We spent an entire day sorting and picking a single row - granted, the rows were long, but the pace was glacial. The true enemy, though, wasn’t the relentless sorting, but the wasps. Those little demons made an already grueling task even more daunting, dodging their stings as we plucked berries one by one, like selecting pearls from a troubled sea. What we ended up with were, quite literally, tiny gems - "caviar" berries of purity. By day’s end, the sight was something to behold. Despite the torment, the hard work was unquestionably worth it. The 17’ Abtserde is my wine of the vintage.

I’ve had the 17’ Abtserde on numerous occasions but this takes the cake as the best (note to self: best to decant a young Abtserde hard). It is a marvel of purity and depth, with its nose evoking Meyer lemon, iodine, chalk, and flint. These aromas reappear on the palate with a nearly overwhelming intensity, blending piquant brightness and mineral-rich concentration. With more air, a floral, bittersweet herbal note very typical of the vineyard appears (smells like the place even). As the evening unfolded, the wine seemed to grow younger, each glass more lively than the last. The final sip was almost painfully austere, like drinking pure limestone, its explosive palate held together by sharp acidity and a palpable, phenolic grip. The finish seemed endless. One of my best Keller experiences this year.
— 2 months ago

Lyle, Andrew and 12 others liked this
Ira Schwartz

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@Aaron Tan A very enjoyable read.
Tom Casagrande

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Great story and note!