Oestricher Doosberg, Alte Reben, Trocken, 2016

Peach and Persian melon are mingled on the nose and polished palate with pungently bittersweet, positively vegetable suggestions of carrot, parsnip and fennel. A chewy tartness of peach skin and sizzling impingement of radish, along with saline and chalky inflections, lend invigorating and complex counterpoint to the wine’s textural polish and luscious fruitiness. The vibrantly-sustained finish is amazingly wafting for a wine of nearly 12.5% alcohol. Here’s one of those where every time you return to the glass you catch some delightful or intriguing new nuance. And I’ll be surprised if it isn’t also the longest-lived of Spreitzers’ dry vintage 2016 Rieslings. Technically, this “should” be bottled as Grosses Gewächs, but the Spreitzers are mindful of market realities and they already have three well-established Grosses Gewächs bottlings in their portfolio. So in this instance, we consumers benefit from an underpriced gem. (Spreitzers’ Doosberg has not overachieved this way in other recent vintages.)

DRINKING WINDOW 2018 - 2028

date of review 07/2018