2016 Riesling, Eiswein, Kiedrich Gräfenberg, Robert Weil, Rheingau, Germany

Harvested on January 7, this displays an Eiswein-typical aromatic aura of sugar-glazed, candied fruits mingled with high-toned fruit distillates. On the custardy-rich yet buoyant palate, the impression is of a pineapple-studded, quince jelly-slathered lemon meringue, generating a productive tension of bright citricity with confitured and candied fruits. The finish is formidably penetrating and persistent, clean, clear and vibrant, with lemon, pineapple and candied white currant to the fore.

Amazingly, there is such purity and focused brightness on display from fruit that hung out, exposed to the elements, for so long. This will certainly be exciting to follow and may well prove exceedingly long-lived, though the inherently capricious behaviour of Eiswein should always serve as something of a warning (which is also what I intend with my intentionally conservative quantitative “drink by” estimate).

Drink 2018 - 2050

David Schildknecht, Vinous.com (July 2018)