Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese Feinherb 2023 Fuder Meyer Nepal AP-11

AP Nr. 3525672 11 21 Meyer Nepal

"This originated with roughly 50-year-old vines on something of a plateau, and hence a gentle slope, at least by estate standards. “There aren’t many grapes on these vines,” noted Erich Weber, “but the ones there are give a puristic, crystalline, transparent wine. My first thought when we acquired them was ‘we need to replant,’ but my second thought was ‘we need to give them a chance,’ and now it’s to the point where we’re going to give them every opportunity we can to keep producing.” Despite harboring close to 30 grams of residual sugar, this wine tastes only very discreetly sweet, in contrast with the impression more typically conveyed by a Weber wine labeled feinherb. The sense of pith and palpable density probably also point to a level of extract that helps buffer the effects of residual sugar. Penetrating scents of lemon, lime and grapefruit anticipate the blazingly bright, generously juicy palate performance, to which a nettle-like prickle and a piquant glow of cherry pit add further invigoration, while marine salinity tugs at the salivary glands. The clear, penetrating, high-energy finish conveys a sense of latent tension that should prove productive. Incidentally, this is the Spätlese feinherb (it’s always that combination) that the Webers chose as their one wine of the vintage to bottle in magnum." 93pts, Vinous, tasted 2018

Soil type: Grey slate with some quartz

Erich Weber of Hofgut Falkenstein makes ultra-traditional, dry-tasting Saar Riesling. He likes to call himself "Winzer Weber" (winzer is German for winegrower). The emphasis is on the work in the 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. 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 wines bottled traditionally by the cask. In true Weber form, even his Auslese drinks like another grower's Spätlese, or even Kabinett.