Grapelive Wine of the Week
By Kerry Winslow
***
2008 Eva Fricke Riesling “Krone” Lorcher, QbA, Rheingau Trocken, Dry White, Germany.
Eva Fricke is, as mentioned by many critics, a star to watch and her own micro label one to buy anytime you see it and be sure to put a few away. After tasting a few of her 2008, 2009 and 2010 wines, there is no doubt she is making wines that will age beautifully and while the wines are stunning now, they will get much better over a 5 to 10 year period, and that includes this dramatic 2008 “Krone” Trocken QbA by Fricke. Having met her, she is consumed by soils and terroir, giving her a no nonsense air and a focus on allowing the soul of the earth show through on each of her wines. The Fricke wines are mostly really dry, and intense with lots of dry extract and tangy acidity, making for a tight and broody young wine, so be sure to give her wines some air the breathe so they open up, these are not your Grandma’s Rieslings! Eva has vineyards above the Rhein and the Wisper river mouth in the small village of Lorch, first inhabited by the Celts, then the Romans and is a Catholic area, Lorch is close to where the Rhein meets the Mainz, up river from Rudesheim where she works as the cellar master for the well known Weingut Leitz. She does usually 3 or 4 bottlings a vintage with the “Krone” her top dry Cru, and it is a fantastic wine which is now highly prized and sought after for it’s depth and unique terroir driven style. The 2008 vintage was one of high acid and can be ultra brisk, but Eva nursed power concentration out of Krone and the weighty mouth feel is something special, while that zingy acidity drives the dryness on the palate giving a near perfect balance. The nose is minerally, but not slatey or petrol fumey as of yet, more clean and bright with lime and citrus blossom that leads to a palate of green apple, white citrus, honeyed mango and pineapple, but this is a tight wine with verve and tension and needs to time to develop. I believe there is more to come here and plan to put down a few bottles for a few years and see what happens, in the meantime I plan to drink a bunch of her wines from 2009 and 2010 vintages, the basic QbA Trocken is a steal at $18 Est. That said, I was blown away by this wine and love the style, terroir and character it shows, bravo!
($34 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive
***