Hipping Riesling

Our Lunar New Year celebrations kicked off with this absolute beauty hailing from one of my favourite vineyards anywhere. Kabi-like sweetness with GG-level extract! An auslese feinherb perhaps?

So fragrant. Floral, herbal, and mineral (ranging from flint to sea spray), with a melange of fruits like pineapples, candied lemons, fresh limes and even grapefruits (especially on day 3). Very pure, juicy, and salty on the palate, with an uber-long and energetic finish. I felt that this was a less structured and fruiter version of the 13’ we had not long ago, but the overall profile and my love for it was similar.

I opened this for our 11th anniversary, which was a really special one for us this year - it’s the first one celebrated with our son. The wine couldn’t have been any better… for the occasion of course, as it was frankly still a bub at 10 years old. Incredible depth, texture, and energy from one of my favourite vineyards anywhere. On the nose, it was all pineapples, tangerine, honey, herbs, and slate, as well as a touch of marzipan and some toasty, smoky elements. The palate was very textural (grippy even), weighty (gained even more weight the next day), and super salty. There was still a touch of residual sugar which could use some time to integrate, but I thought it gave the wine a sort approachability (juicy almost). Concluded with an elegant peacock tail finish that seemed endless. Possibly the best riesling I’ve had this year.

Hipping has to be one of my favourite vineyards from KP, and 17's firmly one of the best iterations I've tried. My last note here on the 17' is still applicable - the wine has changed little and may well need another decade or more to hit its peak. Notably less open than the 17' G-Max.

So breathtakingly aromatic and ripe tropical fruits on the nose. Impeccable texture. Might be a bit overwhelmed for some people but this is undoubtedly delicious wine!

A real treat. Gorgeous aromas and great focus on the intense yet airy palate. Stone fruits, honeyed notes and zingy acidity on the layered finish. Superb!

Hip hip HOORAY!

Instantly recognisable on the nose as Keller but slightly lighter...a little bit of fresh wood. Insane concentration of tropical fruits and herbs. The finish of salted caramel goes on for minutes. A legendary wine that was served to the queen to commemorate the 60th coronation anniversary. Happy new year!

Just amazing. Instantly recognisable as Keller. Fantastic wine

In the presence of the 17' Schönleber AdL, there should not have been another riesling that outclassed it during the night... But then this appeared. Young as it may be, KP's Hipping approaches perfection. Dumbfounding!

I think Jean and David at MFW described this perfectly, so I'll just leave it here:

This 2017er Niersteiner Hipping GG delivers a beautiful nose where reductive elements including minty herbs, smoke, bacon and needle provide the frame for some glorious scents of grapefruit, tangerine, candied lime, fresh almond and coconut. The wine has the purity and lightness of mountain water yet its complexity and density on the mid-palate are just stunning. One can feel the intensity from the high levels of dry extracts but these are magnificently wrapped into spicy and salty elements. The length and impact in the finish are stunning. The after-taste seems to last for minutes. The wine is almost painfully dry at this stage, but the sheer freshness, intensity and complexity are simply breathtaking. This grandiose expression of dry Riesling may well turn into wine perfection in a decade: It is THAT impressive!

Too evolved, maybe even a tad disjointed...