2016 Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, Riesling Trocken, Abtei Erste Gewächs, Binger Brucke Im Ruppertsberg, Germany.
I walked this vineyard at harvest time 2016, the northern most vineyard in the Nahe, which is on the outskirts of Bingen, once an Abbey owned plot, across the Rhein from Rudesheimer Berg with a beautiful south facing it is a steep site that is terrible hard work to farm, so it has become a special place for me and certainly it is a rewarding set of vines for Georg Rumpf. The winery took this vineyard on in recent years and is restoring it after it was neglected for many years, and even in the short time Rumpf has had it the promise of greatness shines through with both the 2015 and now the 2016 vintages delivering outstanding wines, in what looks set to become a Grosses Gewachs in the future, this vineyard is one to follow, especially now with the price being so reasonable for the quality, and for the difficult hand work this vineyard requires! Farmed organic and on soils that mimic Rudesheimer Berg, this wine has an inner brilliance and powerful energy, it’s an amazing tiny terroir that graces this dry Riesling, giving slate character and remarkable fresh detail, and while the 2015 has a raw/feral side to it’s concentration, the 2016 shows more elegance and finesse, it’s brighter, more intense and pure, both are fascinating wines that are moving and certainly wonderful examples of mineral driven Trocken Riesling. The 2016 Abtei as tasted with Georg Rumpf at the Skurnik Wines West Portfolio Tasting in San Francisco, starts with orange blossom, flinty mineral/stone essences, vivid stone fruit, white peach and melon fleshiness as well as verbena, rosehip tea, tangerine, green apple and lingering lime and saline infused shale. The palate is forceful and crisp, but still refined and generous at the same time, a trait you find in all of Georg’s wines, especially his dry styles, while his fruitier wines are slightly more flamboyant/sexy they never feel overtly sweet or heavy, I love everything he produces, but this Abtei might be my secret favorite, as well as his Scheurebe, tough choices! Drink the 2016 Kruger-Rumpf Abtei Erste Gewachs between 2020 and 2030, though there won’t be any penalty for opening anytime.
($32 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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