2015 - Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett, Julian Haart

Picked at 84 Oechsle (its 2014 predecessor came in at 80) and fermented only to 7.5 percent alcohol (a whole point less than that 2014), this still somehow manages to harbor only marginally more residual sugar than the 2014, and the 60 grams in question does not engender dominant sweetness. A youthfully yeasty, cheesy veil has to part before scents of grapefruit, lemon and red currants emerge. Those fruits dominate a firm, juicy, zesty, buoyant palate and a lusciously lingering finish transparent to stony and pungently green herbal nuances. (Unbeknownst to me when I tasted with him, Haart bottled a Kabinett labeled “J.J.” from younger vines in Goldtröpfchen. I could not subsequently connect with a bottle.)

Opening clear, pure and interesting but still pretty reductive on the nose, the 2015 Riesling Goldtröpfchen Kabinett is a bit untamed and herbal at this stage. Light, round, lush and piquant on the palate, with a lot of salt and roughly 50 grams of unfermented sugar, this is a lean and racy Goldtröpfchen with a lot of Saar features.

AP number 05 16. Delicate but arguably less tense than the regular Piesporter trocken. Not that sweet. Wait for it to gain a bit of weight? (JR)