2013 Weingut Eva Fricke, Riesling Trocken, Kiedrich, Rheingau Germany.
Eva Fricke, former vineyard manager and winemaker at Leitz, has turned out some poised dry Rieslings for the 2013 vintage, these are austere and salty wines that show good vivid flavors, tangy fruit and have superb extract and structure. Her efforts under her own Eva Fricke label are really coming into their own, and these 2013 wines clearly show her talents and unique characteristics of her style, and that of the terroir, she is passionate about soils and she focuses on the dry wines, this is an area where she excels especially in her region. She has found distinct sites in the Rheingau that give her wines their special profiles, her crisp and mineral laced wines seem perfectly chiseled from the soils and showing glorious transparency and brilliance, in particular I admire the latest addition to her lineup, the Kiedicher Trocken, most of Fricke’s wine are from the Lorch area of the middle Rhein, area of the Rheingau not too far from Rudesheim, the soils here are mixed quartzite, slates and other ancient sub soils, her vines are mostly older, 30-45 years average with some much older still, and give lots of quality to her offerings. The 2013 Eva Fricke Kiedrich starts with citrus, white flower and tropical notes with a sea salt, brine and spicy mineral, leading to a vigorous palate of dusty dry flavors, bright peach, grapefruit, lime and mango lead the way, along with tangerine, apple skin, chalk and flinty spice, but the dry/crispness is super refreshing, sizzling and lip-smacking, this is a food wine, and there is serious extract here, intensity drives this Riesling throughout and the stony/mineral elements always stay at the forefront of your attention. This wine needs a bit more bottle age to develop, but it is a stunning example of dry Riesling and is well worth the search to find it, drink from 2016 to 2021.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive
