Riesling

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. A delicate wine that yet has power and fullness, predestined to go with food. 111 cases made.

 Review:
"Fragrant yellow peach and melon notes are accented by earthy whiffs of crushed mineral and slate in this full bodied, luscious Riesling. Ripe yellow peach and apple flavors are rich and penetrating, offset by brisk acidity and a sleek, stony finish. A hedonistic wine to enjoy now through 2030. - Anna Lee C. Iijima"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (February 1st, 2019), 92 points

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.

Bastgen Kestener Paulinshofberg Riesling Spatlese is 100 percent Riesling. 

Yellow color with green highlights.
Beautiful peach aromas on the nose, rich and ripe fruits on the mouth with a refreshing acidity and honey notes. A very pleasing wine.

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.

"Like the Kabinett, this bursts with grapey, generous fruit flavors, tangy acidity keeping theine fresh. The gingery spice and mint edge give it shape, pointing it towards Szechuan food, where the sweetness will tamp the heat while the aromatics play with the floral peppercorns."
- Wine & Spirits Magazine (December 2016), 90 pts + BEST BUY

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.

Delicious Riesling, exotic and mineral, concentrated aromas and flavors of pear, pineapple and honey.
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.

The grapes were planted in 1990.
Aging for 6 months in large oak barrels.
Filtration.

Pairs well with dessert and cheese.

Dr. Leimbrock Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is made from 100% Riesling

Aged 6 months in classic large oak barrel.

Grapes come from 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.

delicious with exotic and candied fruit, flavors of date, honey and caramel, full-bodied Auslese with very concentrated aromas of apricot and dried fruits.

Vines were planted in 1990.
Wine was slightly filtered before bottling

Pair with dessert, cheese or dried fruits.

Typical Riesling, fresh and fruity, easy drinking. 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 barbecue meats, pasta dishes.

Dr. Leimbrock Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 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 Schlossberg Kabinett is 100 percent Riesling. 

The Zeltinger Schlossberg region is known for its fine weathering Devonian slate and extreme steep slopes. The wine offers a pure and bright bouquet of apricot, peach, litchi, ripe fruit aromas. Elegance and complexity on the palate, long flavors, well-balanced, rich and mineral.
A long and persistent finish.

Weingut Gessinger joined the Bernkastel Ring in 1899 and for years their wines only appeared at their September auction. Gessinger is quite small, less than 2,000 cases and all his whites are 100% Riesling planted on Devon Slate (best soil type of the area).

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!

Gessinger Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is a big and rich wine with ripe peach and pear on the nose, honeyed, citrus and mineral aromas. Clean and pure, distinctive character. Very long finish

All vineyards are located in the middle Mosel town of Zelting. Weingut Gessinger joined the Bernkastel Ring in 1899 and for years their wines only appeared at their September auction. Gessinger is quite small, less than 2,000 cases and all his whites are 100% Riesling planted on Devon Slate (best soil type of the area).

Hansen Lauer Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling is a nice Mosel-Riesling with a lot of minerality and a hint of stewed apple, cantalope and dried orange flavors. The finish is long and clean, which make it very easy to drink.

This is coming from grapes grown on 100% Devonian slate soils. After harvest, the grapes are sorted in order to keep only the best quality. It is then aged on the lees for more than 6 months, giving the wine richness and depth.

The Hansen Lauer Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling goes well with turkey and seafood

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.

A very fine bubbles along with a very nice fruit (apple, pear, citrus) and minerality coming from the stony (slate) vineyards.

Production techniques: the Sekt is bottle fermented, stayed on the lees for 12 months, thus giving it very fine bubbles along with a very nice fruit and minerality. The vineyard sites are Bernkasteler Graben, Bernkasteler Badstube, Bernkasteler Bratenhöfchen, Graacher Himmelreich. The vineyards are situated at the beginning of a long stretch of approx. 2 million vines.

Composition: This semi-sweet white wine is made from 100% Riesling.

The soil is granitic and has southern exposure.

Tasting Notes: This wine has a pale yellow color with intense notes of citrus fruit dominated by lime and balanced by an incredible freshness. After a light aeration, the minerality takes over. On the palate, there is more citrus fruit flavor and minerality. With bottle age, the wine will acquire a typical mineral nose reminiscent of gunflint.

Pairing: This Riesling will be perfect with fish, or with the traditional “Choucroute” (sauerkraut and sausages).

Medium yellow green. Fine nuances of ripe apricot, a hint of yellow apple, delicate herbs and spices, mineral Touch, hints of candied orange zest. Juicy, elegant, fine stone fruit, touch of finesse acidity, salty minerality in the finish, remains long, already well to drink.

Review:

"Scents of buddleia, gentian, thyme and lavender immediately hint at the site in which this grew, and there is corresponding inner-mouth perfume to delightfully complement luscious apple and white peach on the satiny, palpably extract-rich palate, as do also a glowing piquancy of pits and pips and Veltliner-like savor of blond tobacco. The buoyant and profoundly protracted finish here leaves behind a soothing and intriguing carpet of flavors while not forgetting its first duty to refresh. - David Schildknecht"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2015), 93 pts

Leindl Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein Kamptal is made from 100 percent Riesling.

Medium yellow green. Fine nuances of ripe apricot, a hint of yellow apple, delicate herbs and spices, mineral Touch, hints of candied orange zest. Juicy, elegant, fine stone fruit, touch of finesse acidity, salty minerality in the finish, remains long, already well to drink.

Cold Fermentation. 
Aged on the lees for 12 months in Stainless Steel tank. No Oak. 
No ML

Leindl Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein Kamptal is made from 100 percent Riesling.

Medium yellow green. Fine nuances of ripe apricot, a hint of yellow apple, delicate herbs and spices, mineral Touch, hints of candied orange zest. Juicy, elegant, fine stone fruit, touch of finesse acidity, salty minerality in the finish, remains long, already well to drink.

Cold Fermentation. 
Aged on the lees for 12 months in Stainless Steel tank. No Oak. 
No ML

Review:

"A hint of dried pear and dried lime zest plays before juicier lime speaks. The palate has a similar tension between ripe, almost dried fruit richness, while zestiness tones it all down into taut slenderness. This is exciting, textured, juicy and totally moreish. There is something concentrated and pervasive that hits several pleasure buttons at once. Drink now–2035. - Anne Krebiehl MW"
- Wine Enthusiast (March 2019), 95 pts

Tasting Notes: The Poet's Leap Riesling offers aromas of white peach, jasmine, Thai basil and nutmeg. Flavors of ripe melon, apricot and an appealing minerality continue across the palate. An underlying hint of honey sweetness is balanced by a streak of bright acidity that provides a long, clean finish.

Review:

"The 2016 Riesling Poet's Leap is very pretty, offering up aromas of lime, lemon oil, white flowers and very subtle petrol that wouldn't be out of place in the Mosel. On the palate, it's light to medium-bodied, racy and mouthwatering, with lovely intensity and purity, concluding with a stony finish. It's a beautiful wine and carries a very modest price tag. - William Kelley"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #237, June 2018), 92 pts

SALE!

Maringer-Reif Piesporter Michelsberg (liter) is 100 percent Riesling.

A beautiful wine with delicate perfumed aromas. Medium bodied, well balanced, filled with peaches and green apples, crisp and fresh acidity.

QBA stands for "Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete", which means that the wine comes from one of the 13 designated wine regions.

Ideal by itself or to complement a variety of meat and seafood dishes.

Matheus Piesporter Michelsburg QBA  (liter) is 100 percent Riesling

A beautiful wine with delicate perfumed aromas. Medium bodied, well balanced, filled with peaches and green apples, crisp and fresh acidity.

QBA stands for "Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete", which means that the wine comes from one of the 13 designated wine regions.

Ideal by itself or to complement a variety of meat and seafood dishes.