2017 Felsenberg Grosses Gewachs

Aged on the lees until June of the following year, the 2017 Felsenberg Riesling GG is clear and spicy/reductive on the stony and pure but intense nose with its yeasty notes. Ripe and intense on the palate, this is a rich and concentrated, powerful and persistent wine that is still terribly young and needs a while to start singing. 12.5% alcohol. Tasted from AP 18 18 in July 2019.

Displaying much brighter, crunchier fruit than the corresponding Kupfergrube – though analytically-speaking the two wines’ acid levels hardly differ – this leads with penetratingly smoky and zesty scents of lime, grapefruit, apple, marjoram and black tea. Tart-edged, piquant citricity is buffered by an impression of palpable density and crushed stone suffusion as well as by an almost plush palate feel. Generous primary juiciness serves to guarantee refreshment, and considerable dissolved CO2 enhances a sense of animation that persists into a rapier, vibrantly-sustained finish transparent to myriad herbal and mineral nuances.

Pronounced herbaceous aromas are a trademark of Tim Fröhlich's wines and the Felsenberg does not let him down. On the palate it's all a little more user-friendly with cool spearmint, racy acidity and rich eau de vie texture. A hint of fresh camembert could be a figment of my imagination, or the consequence of malolactic fermentation. Either way, I find it quite compelling. (MS)