white grape
Riesling
Ancient Rhineland variety; one parent is Gouais Blanc, crossed with a seedling linked to Traminer and a wild Vitis vinifera vine (first documented in Germany in the 15th century)
Late-ripening and exceptionally cold-hardy, which suits the marginal, steep slate slopes of the Mosel, where south-facing exposure and heat-retaining rock are needed to ripen it at all. It keeps piercing natural acidity even as sugars climb, so it spans the full spectrum from bone-dry (trocken/GG) to nobly sweet — and it is the most transparent of white grapes, prized for telegraphing site over any oak signature (it is almost always unoaked or raised in neutral casks).
Structure tendencies
- body
- light to medium
- tannin
- — (none)
- acidity
- high
- alcohol
- low to medium (Mosel styles often 8–12%)
tendencies in prose, as read by critics/consensus — not measured ordinals
Classic descriptors
lime
not in any of your bottles yetlemon
in your cellar: 2 bottlesDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023green apple
in your cellar: 1 bottleDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022white peach
in your cellar: 1 bottleMax Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023apricot
not in any of your bottles yetquince
in your cellar: 1 bottleMax Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023pear
in your cellar: 2 bottlesDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023white blossom
in your cellar: 2 bottlesDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023slate
in your cellar: 4 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Laroque 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023wet stone
in your cellar: 2 bottlesDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023flint
in your cellar: 2 bottlesDomaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023saline
in your cellar: 8 bottlesChâteau Pontet-Canet 2021Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Gloria 2020Château Laroque 2022Domaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru "Forêts" 2022Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trocken GG 2023Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2010Château Pontet-Canet 2022petrol
not in any of your bottles yethoney
not in any of your bottles yetCool-climate Mosel Riesling is defined by lime and green-apple over a wet-stone/slate minerality (a classical association with the region's blue Devonian slate, not literal mineral transfer), often with a wisp of reductive smoke. With bottle age it develops the prized petrol (TDN) and honey notes. Riper or slightly sweet examples lean toward white-peach, apricot, and quince.