2015 Von Winning Riesling Winnings

This represents the second installment of a diversely sourced blend, mostly from Forst, assembled by Von Winning importer Terry Theise and his old friend, legendary cellarmaster, and Von Winning team spiritual mentor Hans-Günther Schwarz. As with Theise’s collaborative Gutsriesling from Schwarz’s long-time haunts at Müller-Catoir, tasting (and drinking!) this Riesling is a delight, but simultaneously saddens me to think that it is among only two in the Von Winning portfolio (at Müller-Catoir, it’s the only one) to exhibit anything remotely like its hidden sweetness of more-or-less halbtrocken -level residual sugar, a feature that supports the fruit, catalyzes the wine’s finishing complexity, and lends uncanny adaptability at table. On the nose, pure, Normandy-cider-like apple and pear are tinged with cardamom as well as maritime salinity and alkalinity, and that combination then informs a polished, succulent, subtly creamy palate and buoyant, mouthwatering, spice- and mineral-tinged finish.