2018 Felsenberg Grosses Gewachs

Pungent scents of juniper berry and huckleberry anticipate the pith and piquancy exhibited on a firm palate. Sage and struck flint heighten the pungency, revealing a reductive tendency familiar from most Schäfer-Fröhlich Rieslings, one that thankfully translates into productive tension on a sappy, subtly resinous midpalate and a vibrantly gripping finish. Look for this to significantly evolve in bottle, hopefully acquiring more generous juiciness as well as textural polish without sacrificing its impressive sense of energy. Felsenberg tends to demand early picking, but Fröhlich said that this year he was able to postpone harvest in certain parcels so as to end up with a more complex whole than might otherwise have been possible.

The 2018 Felsenberg Riesling GG opens with a deep, intense and rich, concentrated and aromatic but also flinty bouquet full of ripe Riesling fruits and coolish herbal/vegetal as well gooseberry aromas. On the palate, this is a lush, intense, very mineral, salty-piquant and tightly structured dry Riesling from volcanic rocks. It's a powerful but elegant, fresh and precise Riesling with great complexity and lingering salinity. A fabulous Felsenberg with lots of vitality and youthful grip. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2019.

From a very stony and steep site, this has elegance and purity with gently creamy notes, as well as a flinty edge. Pithy, dried lemon and grapefruit, too. The palate has a very pure and assertive feel with fresh and powerful fruit that is very much dialed into the mineral zone. Super salty finish. Drink or hold.