2024 Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Spätlese, Hofgut Falkenstein

The 2024er Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Spätlese Klaus (the reference to this internal cask name is provided in small print on the label after the AP number) comes from fruit harvested on 60-year-old vines in the prime Gross Schock sector of the vineyard and was fermented down to sweet levels of residual sugar. A whiff of initial reduction slowly gives way to fresh and minty notes of vineyard peach, candied grapefruit, lime, thyme, plum, and white pepper. The wine proves gorgeously juicy, yet fresh, spicy, and smoky. The finish is marked by acidity, which brings a lot of tension and zesty freshness. This remarkable Spätlese now only needs a bit of time to reveal all its facets. 2034–2054 95/100 Mosel Fine Wines Erich Weber of Hofgut Falkenstein makes ultra-traditional, mostly dry-tasting Saar Rieslings. He likes to call himself “Winzer Weber.” Winzer is German for winegrower. In other words, the emphasis is on the work in his vineyards. With his tan and rugged face, he looks the part, too. Erich ferments exclusively with wild yeasts in old wooden casks in a deep, cool cellar, and most of his wines end up either naturally dry (trocken) or off-dry (feinherb). Falkenstein, therefore, is one of the rare Saar producers that specializes in distinctive, bracing, light, dry Rieslings, bottled traditionally by the cask. Falkenstein makes light-bodied, tangy, wholesome, dry-tasting Saar Rieslings, as well as residually sweet Spätlesen and Auslesen. These are old-style wines for drinking, which often retain a lively (spritzig), natural efferverscence from fermentation. In other words, they go down well — Trinkfluss in German. © 2014 Lars Carlberg