My Store: New Jersey (change store) 888-686-6673
This is nothing at all like drinking young wine. At first, this gorgeous, perfectly mature Riesling Spätlese smells of autumn, with ripe lemon spritzed baked apples, honeyed ginger, and dried apricots moving in and out of the foreground as the nose evolves in the glass. Later, aromas of ripe white peaches, lime blossoms, and crystallized honeycomb emerge, sometimes alternating with yellow freesia and coriander seed. On the palate, the wine is stunning: mouthfilling, deeply mineral-saturated, with positive residual sweetness, and a bracing core of yellow fruit flavors, including orange crème brûlée, grilled pineapple, and white peaches, all comingled with wet slate, in vibrant harmonic tension with firm, electrifying ripe acidity. Then it evolves in the glass like the Mozart E-flat symphony (K.543) – to a Haydnesque finale that goes on forever, leaving an overall impression of fine creamy elegance. And it will live through 2040 and beyond. (!)
About this wine producer: It was perfect timing that brought us to Weingut Ratzenberger on a rainy afternoon in July of 2000. Paolo De Marchi of Isole e Olena had recommended the wines, and the Ratzenbergers had just ended a testy relationship with their famous American importer. So we tasted the thrilling, mineral-infused Rieslings that Jochen poured knowing that they were actually available to buy. We believe that despite flying under the radar of “important” German wine pundits, the Ratzenbergers should be included among the very top producers of Riesling in the world.
$38.00