Score: |
94 VM. "At 11.5% this doesn’t harbor much more alcohol than did its terrific 'village-level' (a.k.a. 'Reinschiefer') counterpart, and it conveys a correspondingly buoyant impression. The nose is head-turning in its array of musky, bittersweet floral perfumes (peony, iris, mock orange), smoky and crushed stone nuances and diverse pungent citrus zests. Firm, bright and invigoratingly zesty, the palate also loses none of the aforementioned floral or mineral notes, while adding a fascinatingly ashen undertone, piquant hints of peach kernel and saliva-liberating salinity. All of these characteristics make for a clear, vibrant, juicily thirst-quenching, superbly satisfying finishing impression. My guess is that this will age terrifically. And here’s another strong intuition: were one to stick another percentage or so of alcohol behind a wine this firm, bright and piquant, it would come off as very impressive but in a different, somewhat austere and nowhere near as delightful way." David Schildknecht, Vinous.com, May 2018 |