2024 Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese 'Trocken', Hofgut Falkenstein

The 2024er Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken comes from 60-year-old vines planted in the similarly named lieu-dit in the Altenberg vineyard, underpinned by Diabas elements. It offers a beautifully refined, elegant, and complex nose of smoke, bergamot, white flowers, herbs, spearmint, greengage, and lime. The wine develops a nice sense of grip and presence on the palate, with energy and superb zesty notes. The finish is very long and layered. This is a beautiful, straight, and animating dry Riesling. 2030–2044 93/100 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