Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One year after release, the 2020 Vogelsang Grosse Lage sourced from my private cellar opens with a delicate and subtle bouquet of ripe yet refined Riesling and savory flinty notes of crushed gray and red slate. It is very subtle and harmonious, and despite its natural ripeness, it is also precise, detailed and very well articulated. Very intense and rich on the palate, this is a generous and very complex yet crystalline and thus refined and elegant Vogelsang Riesling with a long, intense and super complex finish. It's deeper, finer and richer than the 2021, as well as more intense, and its finish is very long, physical, intense and saline. If I am not at 100/100 today, this is because I know it will improve and refine from here over the years in the bottle. It has a very long and stimulating finish with so much on board that you think it can never get old. 12% stated alcohol. Natural cork.
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James Suckling
Super-cool and youthful for the hot and dry 2020 vintage, with a wide spectrum of aromas from damp moss to pink grapefruit plus notes of fresh thyme and white flowers. Staggering vibrancy on the medium-bodied palate that’s very focused, the concentration of wet stone minerality and lime character climbing precipitously at the very long, tensile finish. Drink or hold.
Recognized as a top quality grape here since the Middle Ages, Germany retains its high reputation as a premier source of the finest Riesling. Heavily planted throughout the Rheingau and Mosel, Riesling responds splendidly to these regions’ extreme climatic and topographic challenges. Cold-hardy enough to survive freezing winters, and sturdy enough to withstand the warm sun, Riesling has enough natural acidity to maintain balance, even in wines with the highest levels of residual sugar. While high quality is possible in all points of the sweet to dry spectrum, Riesling typically produces wine with relatively low alcohol, high acidity, steely minerality, stone fruit, citrus, spice and floral notes. With age, Riesling can become truly revelatory, developing unique, complex aromatics, often with a hint of petrol.