2023 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling Trocken, Klosterberg, Alte Reben, VDP Erste Lage, Rheingau, Germany.
The racy and flinty 2023 Klosterberg VDP Erste Lage Alte Reben Riesling highlights both the unique terroir and character of this site and the exceptional nature of the vintage, it is a must have sleeper in the savvy collection of Spreitzer’s 2023 offerings. Formerly known as “Buntschiefer” this Klosterberg is set on colored slate (Buntschiefer), quartzite and loess soils, with the slate influence very much in effect here with smoky flinty aromas and crystalline focus, it shows off a crisp array of pure Riesling flavors on the medium bodied palate, led by lime, tangerine, bitter melon and peach notes, along with wet rock, rosewater, snappy herbs, mineral spice and youthful mouth watering acidity. Not as fleshy dense as the GGs at Spreitzer, and not as flashy, but this pale gold/straw hued Klosterberg makes up for with precision and rewarding complexity and it still has the winery’s signature up front pleasure and elegance in the glass. In the cellar, Weingut Spreitzer strives to maintain fruit intensity, vibrancy and freshness, looking for finesse, so they settle the must (juice) by gravity for 24 hours after a whole-cluster pressing, they then allow the wines to rest on their gross lees and only filter the wine once during the fermentation and aging period. They employ a long cool fermentation, and extended lees elevage to protect the juice from oxidation, using mostly ambient (natural) yeasts for fermentation in both temperature controlled stainless steel and their old wood. They use the classic 1,200 liter casks, made of German oak, which are called Stückfass, as well as smaller fuder and stainless tank depending on the wine. It was fun to catch up with Andreas Spreitzer at his importer’s San Francisco tour this last June and taste through his export collection and I highly recommend the current 2021 and 2022 offerings, but do not miss the upcoming 2023s!
The old vine Östricher Klosterberg Premier Cru Vineyard parcel lies up the hill in Hallgarten, where the slatey soils and cooler nights give make for a very different, edgy and distinctive dry Riesling than the richer styles seen from the sites closer to the Rhein here at Spreitzer. Like the GGs here at Spreitzer this wine usually sees a full fermentation and aging in barrel or fuder, but mainly very old cask with about 9 months on the lees, which gives hints of nuttiness and textural depth here, while retaining the zesty intensity of this Riesling. I’m, as noted here many times, a big fan of this winery and visited their cellars and vineyards in 2016, and their set of 2023s, which I tasted many from barrel samples in San Francisco this last Summer at Skurnik’s West Coast tour stop are going to big huge winners for Riesling lovers, across the board the Spreitzer collection is fantastic, especially the dry or Trockens. Again as mentioned before, Weingut Josef Spreitzer, now run by the brothers, Andreas and Bernd Spreitzer, was originally founded back in 1641, making it one of the oldest family wineries in the Rheingau, is located not far from the Rhein villages of Hattenheim, Östrich-Winkel and Etville, where the Rhein river is at its widest point, it creates an almost lake effect and the terroir is quite unique here with less slate than just down the river in Rudesheim and the soils here vary with areas of loess, clay, shell limestone, gravel, a bit of slates, quartzite, iron-rich stones and sand, all of which forms the individual characteristics and complexities in Spreitzer’s diverse offerings. my favorites at Spreitzer year in and year out include their Estate Trocken, a bargain bottling, as well as their expressive Lenchen Kabinett, their different Spatlese and special Alte Reben (old vine) Feinherb(s), which are outrageous values too, and of course their majestic Premier Cru, like this one, and powerful Grand Crus, like the GG Rosengarten, all of which are exceptional efforts.
($36 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive