Maximin Grunhaus Abtsberg Riesling Spatlese 2016
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The Abtsberg Spätlese is a selection from vineyard parcels harvested late in the season. The longer hang time produces more fully developed aromas and flavors, and greater complexity. The Abtsberg vineyard is one of the greatest sites in all of Germany, with wines characterized by a fine structure, subtle minerality and great delicacy.
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Wine Enthusiast
Vibrant acidity shines a spotlight on pristine yellow peach, pineapple and tangerine flavors of this ethereal spätlese. It's lusciously fruity yet spine tingling and spry. The finish is seemingly endless, silky and sweet. This is irresistible already, but it should continue to improve through 2027.
Editors' Choice -
James Suckling
Another stunning wine that combines power and elegance in a stunning way. The sweetness is there, but the more important thing is the mineral freshness that is really complex. Now or whenever you feel like until mid-century.
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Tasting Panel
Apricot nose; lush and sweet with tangy acidity and notes of honey and stone fruit; racy, exuberant, and fresh from one of my favorite Mosel producers.
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Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Following the Mosel River as it slithers and weaves dramatically through the Eifel Mountains in Germany’s far west, the Mosel wine region is considered by many as the source of the world’s finest and longest-lived Rieslings.
Mosel’s unique and unsurpassed combination of geography, geology and climate all combine together to make this true. Many of the Mosel’s best vineyard sites are on the steep south or southwest facing slopes, where vines receive up to ten times more sunlight, a very desirable condition in this cold climate region. Given how many twists and turns the Mosel River makes, it is not had to find a vineyard with this exposure. In fact, the Mosel’s breathtakingly steep slopes of rocky, slate-based soils straddle the riverbanks along its entire length. These rocky slate soils, as well as the river, retain and reflect heat back to the vineyards, a phenomenon that aids in the complete ripening of its grapes.
Riesling is by far the most important and prestigious grape of the Mosel, grown on approximately 60% of the region’s vineyard land—typically on the desirable sites that provide the best combination of sunlight, soil type and altitude. The best Mosel Rieslings—dry or sweet—express marked acidity, low alcohol, great purity and intensity with aromas and flavors of wet slate, citrus and stone fruit. With age, the wine’s color will become more golden and pleasing aromas of honey, dried apricot and sometimes petrol develop.
Other varieties planted in the Mosel include Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), all performing quite well here.