2014 kupp Riesling Fass 18 Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
From Ayl's most extended vineyard, the 2014 Riesling GG Ayler Kupp Fass 18 'VDP Grosse Lage' displays a highly clear, attractive and finesse-full bouquet of ripe yellow fruits (pineapples, melons, mangoes, nectarines), some herbal flavors (Waldmeister included,) and the purity and elegant flintiness of an exclusive slate perfume. Medium to full-bodied, round, rich, intense and very juicy on the palate, this is a gorgeous, almost lush but elegant and well structured dry Riesling with a good acidity, a firm mineral core and a complex, very persistent finish. There are ripe tropical fruit flavors in the aftertaste. This is great dry Saar Riesling that wine lovers shouldn't miss. Very good aging potential.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
This Riesling from the summit of Ayl’s great hillside took seven months to finish fermenting to legal dryness, encouraged by lees-stirring and positioning in a relatively warm part of the cellar. (It didn’t undergo malolactic transformation.) In the nose it signals a strongly stony, charred, cyanic cast, all of which is reflected in the rather austere piquancy on the polished, palpably extract-rich palate. Fortunately, lees-working has not precluded a fine sense of clarity or refreshing juiciness of apple and white peach in the wine’s lingering finish. A bottle that had been open for 12 days still showed rather austerely but impressively, but I am not convinced that sheer stamina will translate into a wine that is as much fun to drink for as long as will be a number of other Lauer 2014s.
Pungent and punchy, ripe fruit but the intensity is only moderate on the palate. Finishes with subtle petrol aroma. Lingering finish. The relative lightness of this Grosses Gewächs is a big part of its appeal, considering how overbearing some of the others can be. (RH)