2023 Weingut Leitz, Riesling Spätlese, Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz, Rheingau Germany.
The Leitz Magdalenenkreuz Spatlese, as I’ve said before, is a happy place wine for me, is always expressive and pure, the name of this vineyard, translates to “the cross of Mary Magdalene,” and named after a red sandstone cross that can be found amongst the vines here. Johannes Leitz, one of the Rheingau’s best producers, nicknamed this wine his “Maggie” and it has always been a traditional favorite of his and mine, so for many reasons it was the perfect wine to celebrate with at a recent visit to The Slanted Door restaurant in Napa Valley. The celebration included the life of the late Charles Phan, founder and chef of The Slanted Door, who I’ve followed from the Mission in San Francisco to here in Napa, as well as Riesling’s 590th birthday which is on March 13, along with my own birthday that comes up next weekend. This absolutely spot on, bright pale gold and delicious 2023 Leitz “Maggie” Spätlese flows across the slightly sweet palate with fleshy peach, apricot, green apple, tangerine and tropical fruits, as well as slatey flint, petrol, wet stones, white flowers, chamomile and dried spicy ginger notes. This youthful Riesling easily played along with all the courses, Vietnamese inspired, refreshingly cleansing the palate and provided a serious engagement of the flavors. The mineral intensity and nice acidity cuts into the residual sugar and I couldn’t imagine a more pleasing way to enjoy a traditional Riesling.
The Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz vineyard, a highly regarded VDP site, is located east of the village of Rüdesheim and is influenced by the wider part of the Rhein and the soils here are comprised of mainly sandy loam, loess, a touch of clay and with much less slate than down Rhein, in the Rüdesheimer Berg crus.The climate here makes for fatter less edgy hedonistic wines, I mean, as mentioned before in my reviews, it is better suited to producing richer Rieslings, that has more mouth feel and more fruity presence, and it is an ideal site, as Leitz notes, for a riper expression of Riesling that is perfect for Spätlese. To highlight the terroir and to express transparency, this Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz is precision made with 100% stainless steel and it is wine of ultra clarity that is always rewarding, concentrated and complex even in its youth, though it should drink fantastical well for a decade or longer too. I am always so pleased with this wine and even though I usually drink Leitz’s Trockens, I do try not to miss this bottling that also goes fabulous with hotter Asian cuisine and spicy foods in general, as seen here with Leitz’s 2023 version. The Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz, or Maggie, Spätlese usually comes in between 7.5% to 8.5%, but drinks well balanced and highlights the single vineyard terroir here, which it should be noted, really being a perfect transmission of place into the bottle. Again, this is one of my go to wines, it is a great way to celebrate Riesling’s upcoming birthday, especially since it was originally born in the vines of the Rheingau, not too fa from where Leitz is located and this vineyard sits.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive