2016 Heymann-Lowenstein Uhlen Riesling R Roth Lay

Last tasted from cask right after assemblage – and, as usual, not due for bottling until spring 2018 – this leads with powerful scents and luscious palate presence of ripe white peach and apricot, hauntingly garlanded in headily perfumed buddleia. The textural counterpoint engendered by creaminess playing against piquancy of fruit pit, prickle of peach fuzz and underlying stoniness is captivating. Site-typical tarragon and anise emerge on a finish that displays a remarkable sense of lift for a wine of around 13% alcohol; a remarkable degree of refreshment, animation and transparency to crystalline stony nuances for a wine this rich; and a salinity that set my salivary glands palpitating. (The bottled 2015, tasted alongside, met the upper end of my expectations when I reviewed it from cask. Note that a large letter “R” will once again stand in for “Roth Lay” on this 2016’s label, but beneath that will appear in tiny letters “Schieferformation Roth-Lay.”)