2014 Breumel in den Mauern Riesling Gross lage Müller-Catoir

The diamond-bright nose of enormous freshness announces a seriously elegant wine of understated sophistication. The delicate citrus and herbal flavors will expand considerably with a year or two's more ageing, but this already has a finesse that makes it stand out in the strong field of the 2015 riesling GGs from the Pfalz. The very long and subtle finish only confirms that.

Picked the day before the Grosses Gewächs and made from fully ripe and overripe grapes, the 2014 Breumel in den Mauern Riesling Spätlese opens with a very intense, dense and aromatic bouquet. Medium-bodied, highly elegant and piquant on the palate, this is an intense, velvety textured, lush and piquant Riesling with a beautifully salty, mouthwatering finish. An invigorating Riesling with terroir character, this wine is full of tension and expression. Grand Cru as a Spätlese - very rare in Germany beyond the Mosel and therefore highly recommended. "A puristic vintage that needs its time but will be terrific in ten years," says Franzen, who compares the structure of the 2014s with those from the 1990s.

White peach and raw pumpkin are brightly and refreshingly laced with lime and grapefruit in this Riesling, which overcomes any austerity that low residual sugar, high acidity, stony underpinnings, peach pit piquancy and its exceedingly firm texture might have engendered. Marjoram and black tea add smoky pungency to the complex proceedings. Subtle oiliness has an ameliorative effect and a suffusion of mineral salts triggers the salivary glands for a mouthwateringly sustained finish. Intriguingly, there is a cool personality here in the sense of slight aloofness not to mention complete lack of overripe tendencies, yet a faint hint of autumn leaves lends a certain intriguing decadence. This athletically lean beauty should be fascinating to follow.