Riesling, 1896, 2024

Sporting a new, dark blue label, the estate “1896” is fuller bodied with that light wispy smoke and red-fruited profile as always. Pithy yet precise, there is no shortage of power here but there is a highly stimulating feel to this Riesling, which is lifted by saltiness, thyme, sage and spearmint. A wine of great tension and at just 12g of sugar, it drinks like a dry wine not like a Feinherb (the official classification). In 2024, the cooler vintage supported the extra gram of sugar. It comes from the lowest parcel in the Herrenberg, abutting the river. The grapes are picked as one full block, are pressed by hand in traditional wooden basket press, and left to settle overnight. It ferments spontaneously on the full lees and is left to run to a natural stop. Production sits at one fuder barrel a year.