2015 Quarzit Oestrich

Brightly sunny and invigoratingly zesty in its aromatic and palate expression of fresh lemon and orange, this is another Kühn offering that combines flatteringly satiny, rich texture with animation and refreshment, in the process demonstrating that complete malolactic transformation is entirely compatible with the just-mentioned virtues. Maritime alkaline and saline elements serve for saliva-inducement, not to mention added complexity, on a vibrantly sustained finish.

The 2015 Rheingau Riesling Trocken Oestrich Quarzit has a straw-golden color and opens with a clear and concentrated, ripe Riesling bouquet with piquant lemon, paprika, gooseberry and coolish stony flavors. On the palate, this silky textured, very elegant wine is perfectly balanced, intense and firmly structured. It is a tightly woven Riesling with a long and grippy, tension-filled finish. This village wine is from the deep loess-loam soils of Oesrtrich Doosberg with its characteristic quartzite veins. Keep this wine for another two or three years.

Herbaceous and herbal aromas mix it on the nose, supported by a light dusty note. The Quarzit is slightly gentler than the Rheinschiefer in its delivery of stony minerality and a rich texture provides just the right balance for the mouth-watering expression of citrus fruit. A subtle nuance of caraway adds another dimension. (MS)