Winemaker Notes
The nose shows a very nice noble reduction, ripe lime, and citrus aromas. Ripe white peach, a juicy structure built on fruit. In the background, there is toasted coconut and more exotic flavors before the wine tightens and moves into the finish. It’s young, but impressive already. Grainhübel shows finesse for the level of ripeness broader texture than some of the other GGs.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Grainhübel GG "VDP. Grosse Lage" is clear, deep, intense and spicy on the well-concentrated and perfectly ripe nose whose oaky notes are fine, fresh and truly noble. Round and charming on the palate, this is a full-bodied, intense and structured dry Riesling with fine tannins from the vinification in oak. The finish is very intense but balanced, salty and fresh with some lush and lingering stone fruit flavors. Excellent but still young.
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Wine Spectator
The 2018 Grainhübel GG "VDP. Grosse Lage" is clear, deep, intense and spicy on the well-concentrated and perfectly ripe nose whose oaky notes are fine, fresh and truly noble. Round and charming on the palate, this is a full-bodied, intense and structured dry Riesling with fine tannins from the vinification in oak. The finish is very intense but balanced, salty and fresh with some lush and lingering stone fruit flavors. Excellent but still young.
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.
This sunny and relatively dry region served for many years as a German tourist mecca and was associated with low cost, cheerful wines. But since the 1980s, it has gained a reputation as one of Germany’s more innovative regions, which has led to increased international demand.