2015dielgoldlochgg2015 Schlossgut Diel, Riesling Trocken, Dorsheimer Goldloch Grosses Gewachs, Nahe Germany.
A masterwork from Caroline Diel, the glorious Goldloch Grand Cru dry Riesling delivers seamless grace, underlying power and energy with depth that is hard to imagine or explain in mere words, in fact the GG’s I tasted at Diel this last trip to Germany were right up there with the best ever white wines I’ve ever tasted period, I mean they are equal to some fantastic stuff, including great vintages of Batard-Montrachet from Leflaive, Lafon Meursault, Raveneau Chablis and Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume! The thing is, especially if you’ve not ventured into these magical dry style Grosses Gewach, or Erste Lage Rieslings, they have the force and concentration usually reserved for chiseled red wines in terms of density and feel, though the acidity keeps things bracing and racy, and Diel especially has that sense and this one transcends the whole white v. red division. Caroline’s set of 2015 wines just blew me away, everyone has a sense of her style, a certain connection to her terroir and are extremely complex, elegant and wonderfully composed from her dry style offerings to her sweeter Kabinett, Spatlese and her off the charts fabulous Auslese, but without a doubt her 2015 Grosses Gewachs will go down as legend, and in my opinion, this Goldloch especially with it’s amazingly deep detail and potential perfection. Seeing the Dorsheimer Goldloch itself, you almost just know this is a shine to Riesling, it’s unbelievably steep slopes and southeast facing looks impressive and leaves you in awe of what it takes to farm and pick this site, it is composed of an ancient mix of soils a cover of clay, over bedrock and mainly gravel, with slight intrusions of quartzite, slate, volcanic and loess. Caroline loves the hard and gritty work in the vines and really gets into the dirt, she is down to earth, passionate and her wines reflect that and her precision in the cellar clearly is on display in each bottle. The Goldloch stands out as a true great wine, it doesn’t hide behind it’s youth, it shows itself in all of it’s glory even now, though of course it’s just beginning it’s journey to even greater worlds, it has a rich and regal mouth feel, a beautiful transparency and pureness of mission with golden hues and brightness, it begins with a white flower and delicate rose petal perfume, light earthy tones, talc or chalk salty essences along with vibrant citrus leading to a palate of expanding force, layered with lime, green apple, tangy apricot and tropical notes. There’s a peachy/fleshy succulent texture, soft wood notes, sweet herb, fig, lemon tea complexities along with a dominate spicy mineral streak and the extract coats your mouth, but subtle in tone and with elegant grace and the length is just stunning, this wine leaves you with an almost life changing impact, you know you’ve experienced something utterly profound and it leaves a mark! A huge thank you to everyone at Schlossgut Diel for making time for me on a busy harvest time day without much of a warning to make me feel welcome and blessing with such a set of wines, I’m forever grateful! The Schlossgut Diel wines are rare, imported by Terry Theise, and limited, so search them out and cherish them, in particular the GG’s, but don’t overlook anything from Diel! The 2015’s are special stuff, these GG’s, and Caroline’s Auslese are long term investments and should age well for 20 to 30 years!
($70 Est.) 97+ Points, grapelive

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