2018 Enkircher Ellergrub Spatlese 02 19
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Tasting notes
From up to 100-year-old vines on blue slate, the 2018 Ellergrub GE (Grosse Eule) displays an intense citrus color and opens with a deep, complex and flinty nose of slate intermixed with ripe fruit aromas wrapped in a coat of lees. Full-bodied and very elegant on the palate, this is a fine, piquant and refreshing dry Riesling with power and lingering salinity. The grapes were pressed very gently in that warm and dry vintage, and the maceration time was significantly shorter than usual to keep the freshness in the 2018s, which have a firm tannin structure anyway and need some time to polymerize the tannin. Tasted in May 2020.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
White peach, pear and nectarine dominate an effusive nose and a luscious, polished palate, backed by considerable residual sugar but entirely unobtrusive sweetness. “Ellergrub manages to hide away [ wegzustecken ] the sugar,” observed Weiser. A tongue-tingling, nipping note of zesty lime lends invigoration to a lusciously sustained finish only marginally less transparent to mineral nuances than that of the corresponding Kabinett.
Complex aroma where the fruit is tied up in a stony/spicy mineral character, with a touch of that fumy character I associate with spontaneous fermentation. So deep and compact it is almost chewy, some dried mixed peel without unwanted sweetness even though it is a sweet wine. Fabulous intensity and yet wonderful mouth-watering freshness. VGV (JH)
The 2018 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Spätlese is smoky, deep and lush on the concentrated and elegant nose. Racy-piquant on the palate, this is still a quite reductive Spätlese with very fine, nervy acidity and lingering salinity. To be bottled at the end of April 2019. Tasted from the vat in March 2019.