2016 Alzinger Riesling Loibenberg Smaragd

In keeping with the chilly conditions attending 2016’s harvest and the concomitant potential for letting Loibenberg fruit hang without risk of alcoholic excess, this bottling exhibits an unusually cool and animating combination of fruit and herbs for a wine from that site. But Alzinger was quick to remind me that it originates in a high-elevation, unusually cool and wind-exposed sector of that enormous, heterogeneous vineyard, a spot appropriately known as “Rauereck” (“harsh corner”). Crunchy apple and juicy, strongly rind-inflected honeydew melon are laced with mint and fennel on a polished palate. Smoky, incisive nips of Szechuan peppercorn, sizzling lime zest, mineral salts and crystalline stony impingements grippingly, invigoratingly and mouthwateringly extend a finish further enlivened by a generous dose of fresh lime.