2023 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling Feinherb, Alte Reben, Rheingau, Germany.
One of my favorite wineries and a top producer in the Rheingau, Weingut Spreitzer, makes a beautiful collection of Rieslings, so it was awesome to catch up with Andreas Spreitzer and taste through his upcoming releases, including this fabulous, just off dry, Alte Reben (Old Vine) Feinherb Riesling, that knocked my socks off. This vintage, just came in above the Trocken threshold in residual sugar, but drinks crisply dry and is wonderfully balance, making it a pleasing all around Riesling that is hugely flexible with cuisine choices. The lush medium bodied palate is led by juicy citrus, white peach, earthy melon and tropical fruits, along with lime blossom, wet stones, tart herb and citron oil. This vintage of the Spreitzer Old Vines Riesling was sourced from two of their top crus, Oestricher Lenchen and Oestricher Doosberg and was fermented in stainless steel tank and aged in old wood, large German oak 2,400L casks, which are neutral, but allows for texture and complexity as seen here. Here at Spreitzer, the wines are fermented with mostly native yeast or Spent, which they prefer, believing it adds to the distinctive personality in the wines at this historic estate in the middle Rheingau. The Oestricher Lenchen and Oestricher Doosberg vineyards are set on mainly a base of loess and quartzite soils, which transmits a pure mineral tone and the terroir here is unique, being at the widest point of the Rhein River, that has an almost lake effect allowing for a warm riper opulence in the wines, while retaining good structural acidity.
The Weingut Spreitzer estate, also known as Josef Spreitzer, as originally founded back in 1641, now run by the Spreitzer brothers Andreas and Bernd, is also one of the oldest privately run wineries in the Rheingau region and has some tremendous vineyard holdings in the middle Rheingau, where the Rhein River runs at its widest point. These vineyard sites, many Grosse Lage and Erste Lage crus are set on an amazing combination of different soils including loess, loam, sand, slate, quartzite, red iron rich stones and clay, all of which add complexity and the climate here is slightly warmer which aids in ripening, helping develop exotic flavors and textures. As noted, this Old Vines Riesling, and Spreitzer’s Estate Trocken, are heavily influenced by the Lenchen vineyard in Oestrich, the heart of Spreitzer’s holdings, which is composed mostly of loam and loess soils, is also the basis of one of their majestic GG’s, the Rosengarten, which is one of the most prestigious wines of the lineup and the region. The latest set of GGs at Spreitzer, which are from the 2021 and 2022 vintages are stunning wines, and I will be following up on them soon here, but as a tease I will let you know that the 2021 Spreitzer Wisselbrunnen Grosses Gewächs and the 2021 Rosengarten Grosses Gewächs are truly outstanding dry Rieslings that offer tremendous value and are wines that are just starting to reveal their full potential. Also, I remain a big fan of the classic Kabinett and Spatlese here at Spreitzer, which go great with spicy Asian dishes, and in particular I love the wonderfully pure and expressive 2023 Lenchen Kabinett. Even as a long time fan, Spreitzer always has something to keep things exciting and this lovely Old Vines Riesling hits it out of the park!
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive