2014 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling
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Tasting notes
Although this is relatively deeply colored for a young wine, lime, apple, white peach and grapefruit deliver an abundance of primary juiciness such as I missed in several other bottlings of this collection; and while it is their bruised skins that dominate piquantly in the nose, accompanied by scents of peach kernel and toasted hickory nuts, a highly satisfying balance is struck between oxidative and leesy notes on the one hand and fresh fruit on the other. Despite harboring less than a single gram of residual sugar, the wine evinces no sense of austerity. Texturally, it exhibits a similarly harmonious juxtaposition, with lushness and subtle creaminess allied to animating cut and (even at 12 percent alcohol) delightful buoyancy. A meadow-like carpet of thyme and flowers along with stony underpinning and saliva-including salinity make for an impressively long, mouthwatering finish. (There is a bit more wine than in past years, since the estate has been able to enlarge its share of this Einzellage.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
From more than 80-year-old ungrafted vines on weathered blue slate soils, the 2014 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling displays a pure and intense bouquet of ripe Riesling and crushed slate. Rich and full-bodied, but also very elegant and almost silky on the palate, this is well concentrated, really mineral and astringent Riesling with less than two grams of residual sugar; it also has serious power and length. Impressive, but it needs time.