2019 Weingut Korrell, Riesling Trocken, Von den Grossen Lagen, Nahe Germany.
Martin and Britta Korrell have been getting much deserved attention for the last three vintages, all of which have shown this Nahe estate to be one of the region’s best has led us to the 2019 vintage, a year that is looking to join the hall of legends and I can tell you from the early releases from Donnhoff and Korrell that I’ve tried, including this new Von den Grossen Lagen this is not a vintage to miss, especially these dry Nahe Rieslings! Korrell, as mentioned in my last vintage review, won the incredibly prestigious Riesling Cup award with their unique multi (Grand) cru 2017 Von den Grossen Lagen Trocken Riesling, and this 2019 is already eclipsing that awesome wine with an extra sense of life and mineral intensity as well as a sharper definition of fruit which really pops on the gorgeously crisp and chiseled medium bodied palate. Based in the Bad Kreuznach-Bosenheim area of the Nahe River Valley, Weingut Korrell Johanneshof, as noted, is one of the breakout stars to just hit the American wine scene and the latest releases are spectacular terroir driven efforts, in particular I love their Monopol (single estate cru) Paradies Trocken and this Von den Grossen Lagen, which comes from an amazing selection of GG’s (VDP Grosse Lage) sites and a mix of the regions different soils. It can’t be called a Grosses Gewachs because it is not a single vineyard, but it has the class and the depth to certainly be considered a true Grand Cru with its cool crushed rock and sunny array of yellow fruits, spice, vitality and impressive concentration.

The delicately pale golden 2019 Weingut Korrell Von den Grossen Lagen is a complex wine that continues its run of ultra quality, following the last three releases, with layers of bright tree picked peach leading the way along with tangerine, apricot, kumquat and quince fruits, which is again supported by steely/smoky wet shale, rose oil, lime blossoms, verbena and grey sea salts, all in a tight and vigorous, well structured form. The Von den Grossen Lagen Riesling Trocken comes from some of the middle Nahe’s greatest vineyards including Schlossbockelheimer in den Felsen, a site that Donnhoff uses in one of their own great Grosses Gewachs, Schlossbockelheimer Konigfels, which is on porphyritic (volcanic) soils, Norheimer Kirschheck, again a famous Donnhoff vineyard set on slate soils, and an ultra steep parcel at Niederhauser Klamm known for it’s driving minerallity. Martin notes that, the fermentations for the single sites is done separately, the Norheimer Kirschheck begins as always with native yeasts and it is fermented in oak barrel, adding that he uses more classical methods on the other three crus, employing special yeasts and colder ferments in steel tanks, then all the wines see more than six months on the lees, allowing a sensational mouth feel to develop, then expertly blended to make a wine that highlights the very best of the region and the vintage, which this one does without a doubt. Still a bit under the radar in the United States, but I highly recommend searching out this small estate, all of the 2016, 2017 and 2018s are well worth buying up and are top bargains and these 2019s, like this subtly perfumed Korrell, are even better and will classics in the cellar, Riesling fans, myself included, are already grabbing all they can, with good reason.
($35 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

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