2018 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese

The nose hovers between fresh and jellied apple, signaling an advanced sense of ripeness typical of 2018, but there is also a whiff of lemon, which transforms itself into welcome brightness on an at once richly textured yet buoyant and juicy palate. Tang and tingle serve for invigoration on a consummately refreshing finish delightfully sensitive to crystalline stony impingements. Any slight suspicions from the aromas – or, for that matter, from studying this wine’s analysis – that it might lack for animation, delicacy and efficacious acidity are quickly dispelled.