2018 - Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese, Willi Schaefer

Very ripe but fresh pear and apple are mingled with scents of lime, wet stone and salt spray. The palate is succulent, infectiously juicy, buoyant and bright, with zest of lime and skin as well as seeds of pear and apple serving for piquant, tart-edged counterpoint. The vibrant, generously fruity and refreshing finish is mouthwateringly salt-tinged. Seeing that a mere 7.5% alcohol is present, it comes as no surprise to note residual sugar in the mid-70s, yet the sweetness is supportive rather than extraneous.

AP number 05 19.Not as marked by spontaneous fermentation as the Himmelreich, but riper, almost tropical on the nose – pineapple. On the palate, those same tropical flavours and with what seems like lower acidity. Barley sugar and honey on the finish. More luscious than the Himmelreich, but I prefer the more pronounced freshness of that wine, even if this is equally seductive. Cool and long. (JH)