2014 Weingut Von Winning, Riesling Trocken, Deidesheimer Grainhubel, Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz, Germany.
The Von Winning Grand Crus are some of the greatest white wines you’ll ever taste and winemaker Stefan Attmann’s style is genius and unique in the world of dry Riesling. The latest set from Von Winning highlight the flexibility of the winery and the heavenly elegance of the difficult 2014 vintage, this shows especially in the gorgeous and lifting Grainhubel Grosses Gewachs, this is a Riesling with a sense of refinement and old world charm, but don’t let that first impression of austerity fool you, there is something remarkable shyly hidden just beneath the surface here, power and subtle richness taught and intense like a stalking tiger. The comparison of Von Winning to white Burgundies is cliche, even though I use it often and there is a direct link in style and feel, but the 2014 wines have brought the house style into it’s own league, though if you would forgive me, you could reasonably argue that they do have a striking steely Chablis like character, in the Raveneau and Christophe mold. The Grainhubel Trocken is a dynamic and beautifully detailed wine, grown on red limestone, sandstone and loam soils, aged on it’s lees and in wood, slightly less new oak these days, all give this vintage room to express itself in clear and pure form with lots of mineral driven charm, delicate nature and dreamy length, this is a not an in your face vintage, but still massively impressive with aromatics that will seduce you and a palate that will leave you weak in the knees. The fresh white flowers, spring blossom and rosewater play with chalky eat, saline and tea notes with white stone fruit and lime leading the way in the mouth, this takes a few minutes to unleash peach, tropical essences, basil edged herb, white raspberry and tangerine. There acidity is there and is vital from start to finish, but with air you feel layers of texture and everything is perfectly controlled, and the finish delivers the knockout blow with a dreamscape of minty tang, grapefruit, kiwi, river rocks, lemon, honeysuckle and apricot! Drinking this wine young is not going to be a serious crime, but the rewards of aging it 10 years or more will be amazingly paid with treasures, this is an exciting and glorious wine from one of German’s great estates, check out all of the Von Winning wines from Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc, absolutely world class, but in particular it’s always about the Rieslings, and the Grainhubel Grand Cru with it’s lime infused core stands out and is a great value, drink from 2016 to 2028!
($45 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive
