Bastgen Kestener Paulinshofberg Riesling Spatlese 2018

Bastgen Berncastel-Cueser Weisenstein Riesling Spatlese Trocken is made from 100 percent Riesling.

Bright, clean, fresh and zesty. Grapefruit like flavors. Fruity aromas and a nice minerality, typical of the Riesling grape grown on blue slate soil. Round, rich and a very long finish. The grapes for this wine are vigorously selected. Botrytis is not tolerated. At harvest the grapes are fully ripened, have a golden color, and a soft tartness. After a long spontaneous fermentation in a traditional 1000L barrel, the wine just reaches the dry stage. This gives the wine a creamy structure that interplays with ripe yellow and exotic fruit aromas.

They meticulously tend 4.5 ha (11.11 acres) of which 80% is Riesling. The soil is made of slate. Their vineyards are located in Kesten and Brauneberg, on a steep terrace, and planted to 50-year old vines. Fortunately for Bastgen, they own part of the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr. The vines produce very small, ripe berries that are very tasty.

Bastgen Blauschiefer Riesling is 100 percent Riesling.

Bright, clean, fresh and zesty. Grapefruit like flavors. Fruity aromas and a nice minerality, typical of the Riesling grape grown on blue slate soil. Round, rich and a very long finish.

They meticulously tend 4.5 ha (11.11 acres) of which 80% is Riesling. The soil is made of slate. Their vineyards are located in Kesten and Brauneberg, on a steep terrace, and planted to 50-year old vines. Fortunately for Bastgen, they own part of the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr. The vines produce very small, ripe berries that are very tasty.

Dr. Leimbrock Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese Feinherb is made from 100 percent Riesling 

Aged in large oak barrels for 6 months

The Graacher Himmelreich vineyard has an excellent southwestern exposure. The cultivation of the vine is done by the classic single pile education.

Harmonious and fruity with aromas of exotic fruit, peach and green apple, candied fruits and hints of honey. Delicate, juicy with well integrated acidity, full-bodied and an attractive finish.

Classic large oak barrel, cultured yeast.

Pairs well with Asian cuisine, Mediterranean vegetables with raw ham, spicy dishes.

Gessinger Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese is a late harvest wine produced from grapes picked around 7 days after regular harvest time. The wine is rich, intense, full flavored. Pear, honeysuckle, apple and great acidity that make it a balanced and elegant wine.

Timeless Notes:

Let's have a quick recall of German Riesling labeling. There are four main tiers of sweetness that I usually stick too. There are others, but I find these four to be the most enjoyable: The Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, & of course, the famed Trockenbeerenauslese.

Today, we are talking about a semi-sweet to sweet which is the Spatlese from the Gessinger family estate. It comes from a fully ripe grape and is the lightest of the late harvest Rieslings. These wines drink very young or within a few years of age. In this case, the wine is on the sweet side, and I have to admit I am not one that usually reaches for the sweeter wines. This one, however, is nearly impossible to put down after trying.

The majority of Rieslings worth mentioning are grown along the Mosel river. The bank of the Mosel is made up of different types of blue or red slate.  The soil type we are dealing with today is the best of the best, Devonian slate. This very porous slate combined with the clay soil give the wines grown in the region a fine mineral taste as well as excellent balance.

The Gessinger family moved from Italy to the Mosel region of Zelting in the 1500's. In 1680 their winery was founded and in 1820 they became one of the first family owned vineyards in the middle Mosel. In 1899, they joined an exclusive group of winery owners dedicated to the Mosel called, "The Bernkastel Ring". They have been members of this elite group for over 100 years. The Ring is composed of the finest producers in Germany which sell to connoisseurs all over the world. Because of the Ring's reputation, for years Gessinger's wines were only sold at their September auction. This made it impossible for anyone outside of the "click" to get a hold of these top Rieslings.

I spent a week in Bernkastel, a small hamlet in the middle Mosel, a true story book town. Each morning looking out over the town, I would almost expect to see medieval peasants totting their grapes down from the river banks. On my final day, I had a chance to catch up with the Gessinger family. We tasted their fabulous wines in a small underground tavern. Even with the smoke spilling out of the flu from the chimney, I was still able to smell the aroma of apricot, pear, and some granny apples rising from the glass. The wine is well balanced, rich, flavored and intense. It has good acidity to help balance out the late harvest grapes. Elegant and food friendly. 

This is a wine I would use to start a meal off and it works just as well to finish one up. It will drink well for the next few years... no rush in consuming this one.

With only 2000 cases produced total, this includes their Spatlese and Auslese, there is not much to go around!

A late harvest Riesling with fruity sweetness and great aging potential, aromatic bouquet of honey, melon, ripe fruits. Grapes come from Brauneberger Juffer and Juffer-Sonnenuhr - one of the most prestigious vineyards in the Mosel winegrowing region. The vineyard faces south and provides the best conditions for growing Riesling.

Pairs well with pâté, Asian cuisine.

Review:

"Possessing a richer, off-dry style, yet still clean and balanced, the 2015 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese offers terrific notes of crushed rocks, dried herbs, and sugared citrus to go with a medium to full-bodied, textured, layered style on the palate that makes it incredibly drinkable. As with the other Riesling from this estate, it’s impeccably made and is going to shine on the dinner table."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 91 pts

Hansen-Lauer Bernkasteler Graben Riesling Spätlese was grown on grey devonian slate and comes from a vineyard overlooking the picturesque town of Bernkastel-Kues located in a bend of the Middle Mosel. The wine shows everything that makes a classic Mosel Riesling, minerality, acidity and fruit nicely balanced.
The ageing potential of this wine is 15 years.

The grapes were hand-picked at the end of October. The fermentation took two months at low temperatures to preserve some residual sugar. The young wine was left sitting on the fine lees for another three months afterwards giving a rounder balance. 

Bottling occured seven months after harvest.

This is a full-grown wine which doesn't need any accompanying dish, but if you are looking for one try to pair it with Roquefort cheese (blue cheese), foie gras or desert like fruit cake.

Review:

"A step up, the 2015 Bernkasteler Graben Riesling Spätlese offer more complexity in its sugared peach, honeyed minerality, and subtle petrol aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, with bright acidity, it’s a winner as well as about as easy-drinking as it gets.”
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 90 pts