2015 Morstein Riesling Grosses Gewachs

White peach, bright lime and tart crab apple make for cheek-tugging intensity of fruit acids and, when allied to alcoholic fullness, a firm feel and chalky underpinnings, result in a rather austere personality and a severe albeit impressively persistent finish. A welcome hint of salinity serves to activate the salivary glands, though not with such mouthwatering results as in the corresponding Brunnenhäuschen bottling. Rather than a sense of interaction between fruit and mineral elements, the overall impression here is of compact flavor layers. Wittmann has generously opened numerous older bottlings of Morstein for me, and formidable intensity, like stoniness, was common to all. But I can’t say that elegance or interplay of mineral with fruit and floral elements struck me as having been achieved through bottle age.

Big oak casks. More savoury than the Kirchspiel, more spicy but equally fresh. Broader and more full-bodied than the Kirchspiel, perhaps less elegant, at this stage at least, but probably with the potential for greater complexity. (JH)

Savoury, complex nose. Masses of energy and extract. Almost painful acidity. Needs time but is already promising. (JR)