2020 Saar Riesling

The 2020 Riesling Saar is a legally trocken cuvée, based as usual on estate sites whose vines are under 30 or 35 years in age. On the nose there are intimations of the saline and crustacean savor that serve for mouthwatering appeal in the wine’s midpalate and finishing stages. There is cheek-tugging concentration of phenolic material, but without the least sense of bitterness and nicely buffered by a waxy and subtly creamy feel. Billowing, bittersweet inner-mouth florality adds considerable allure, and the finish is vibrant, refreshing and mouthwateringly saline. (Intriguingly, I only picked up such saltiness – and less of it – in one of the four village-designated bottlings from this vintage, impressive though those are.) Like the vintage 2016 rendition of this cuvée – of which I drank my last bottle only a year ago – this is a sure bet for a considerable number of years to satisfy both sensually and in terms of intrigue.