2017 Weingut Leitz, Riesling QbA “Dragon Stone” Rheingau Germany.
The Leitz Dragon Stone is one of my favorite drinking wines of all time, it never fails to put a smile on my face and way over delivers for the price, it comes off the VDP Erste Lage Drachenstein Cru, a high parcel above the Rudesheimer Berg that backs up against the Niederwald forest and is set on slate and quartzite along with loose top soils. Ultra clean and generous in style the unclassified Dragon Stone is off dry, but with more weight than a Kabinett, and while a QbA it feels more like a drier Spatlese or modern Feinherb with some residual sugar that pleases the palate, but doesn’t present itself as overt sweetness as this site tends to drink drier in style. It’s a wonderfully expressive example of fruit forward Riesling, but with a balancing zesty personality showing some chunky mineral tones, good acidity and tangy extract. This all tank raised Riesling is vivid and full of energy and personality with racy yellow fruits, peach and papaya, zesty citrus, wet shale/stones and musk melon. This 2017 is a beautiful wine with Leitz precision and clarity of form, it’s comes in at 9.5% natural alcohol, making it easy to quaff with your favorite Thai or other Asian dishes, I honestly can’t get enough of this stuff, Johannes Leitz never disappoints and this Dragon Stone Riesling is always a standard barer in it’s price class, it’s an easy go to wine.
($17 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive