2021 Weingut Karthäuserhof, Riesling Trocken, Schieferkristall, Ruwer-Mosel, Germany.
The steely, zesty and racy bone dry 2021 Schieferkristall Trocken by the famous Karthäuserhof winery based in the Ruwer Valley, off the Mosel, is full of energy and shows off pithy lime, earthy melon, peach, green apple and tart quince fruits, along with smoky slate, wet flint, bitter almond, citron oil, rosewater and orange blossom in a fine lighter framed Riesling. It’s always a treat to sample these wines and this was no exception with its vivid purity and terroir driven flavors, though it truly is at its best with food, I really enjoyed it with a combination of sushi offerings, especially a fatty toro tuna roll. Karthäuserhof, one of the top ten oldest wineries in the world, a founding member of the VDP, also does some monumental dry Grosses Gewächs, which are highly coveted, slate intense and age worthy collectors items. While almost entirely known for Riesling, Karthäuserhof does a few other varietals, including Pinot Blanc, a grape that is showing a lot of promise throughout the Mosel region. The dry Trockens, like this one, off dry, fruity and nobly sweet Prädikat wines at Karthäuserhof, show off the many facets of the rich history and terroir influence here and I’ve always enjoyed the Kabinett and Spälese level wines here, as I’ve said many times before. A big thank you to Karthäuserhof’s importer The German Wine Collection for showing off a range of estate grown efforts from Karthäuserhof and their Bruno line, where I tasted this wine.
Originally founded in 1335 and run by Carthusian monks, Karthäuserhof has close to 700 years of history making wine from a small estate on the Ruwer, an offshoot of the Mosel and is one of the most iconic wines of the region, with the same family running the winery since Napoleon’s time and the secularization of Europe’s vineyards. The 19 hectare vineyard of Karthäuserhofberg, long recognized for its outstanding quality, is a Grand Cru site and has different exposures that allows Karthäuserhof the flexibility to make both outstanding dry and sweet wines, all set on iron-rich grey and blue slate, very typical of the Ruwer Valley, giving the wines here their distinctive terroir character, The Ruwer Valley which is one of Germany’s smallest winemaking regions, doesn’t get much attention, but these Karthäuserhof wines are ones to search out. All sustainable and traditionally made from hand picked grapes, Karthäuserhof uses a hands off approach in the cellar with a combination of stainless steel and old fuder (oak) being used for fermentation and aging. The Schieferkristall Trocken, a baby cru style bottling, typically sees exclusively stainless steel fermentation and elevage with some lees maturing to add some roundness to this vibrant and vigorous Riesling. This was another serious Riesling to help celebrate the upcoming 590th birthday of the Riesling grape on March 13, 2025 and I highly recommend Karthäuserhof and their second label Bruno offerings, which are exceptional values.
($48 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive