2014 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling

Although this is relatively deeply colored for a young wine, lime, apple, white peach and grapefruit deliver an abundance of primary juiciness such as I missed in several other bottlings of this collection; and while it is their bruised skins that dominate piquantly in the nose, accompanied by scents of peach kernel and toasted hickory nuts, a highly satisfying balance is struck between oxidative and leesy notes on the one hand and fresh fruit on the other. Despite harboring less than a single gram of residual sugar, the wine evinces no sense of austerity. Texturally, it exhibits a similarly harmonious juxtaposition, with lushness and subtle creaminess allied to animating cut and (even at 12 percent alcohol) delightful buoyancy. A meadow-like carpet of thyme and flowers along with stony underpinning and saliva-including salinity make for an impressively long, mouthwatering finish. (There is a bit more wine than in past years, since the estate has been able to enlarge its share of this Einzellage.)