2015 Lorchhauser Seligmacher Riesling Erste Lage

Kesseler envisions this site as the source for a new Grosses Gewächs, and although I was only modestly impressed by the inaugural 2014, this successor is highly promising, if lacking quite the lift or transparency of several memorable Kesseler 2015s. Instead, here is a concentrated, gripping amalgam of ripe peach and apple near their cores, accompanied by crushed stone and sweaty salinity. The sense of density is practically chewy and the lasting finish is tangy and mouthwatering.

The 2015 Lorchhäuser Seligmacher Riesling Trocken VDP Erste Lage is more cool, piquant and pure on the flinty/quartz nose with its perfumed, bright fruit and lemony aromas. This has a much stonier bouquet than the Pfaffenwies, a pure reflection of devon slate. Full-bodied, generous and piquant on the palate, this is a great expression of the Middle Rhine valley. This is a highly elegant and well-balanced Riesling with good structure and finessed fruit.

Seligmacher literally promises bliss and with this dry Riesling Kesseler fulfils the promise. Exotic fruit and mineral rock come together to mix the juicy with the dusty and make a success of it, the vital link being provided by a luscious texture. An Erste Lage (premier cru) with all the hallmarks of a Grosses Gewächs. (MS)