Ruppertsberg Riesling Goldschmied 2023

Most Rieslings never see a barrel. This one does. And it shows.

The Goldschmied is the wine Dr. Josef Kohr makes when he wants to say something more. Named after the goldsmith, it comes from the Nußbien vineyard in Ruppertsberg, one of the finest sites in the Pfalz, and is aged in small oak barrels which gives it a depth and complexity that sets it apart from anything else in the range.

Pour it and you get mango, citrus, young apple and a whisper of vanilla. On the palate it is juicy and precise, with a lively acidity and a long finish that keeps evolving in the glass. It is dry but rich, complex but never heavy.

This is a wine that rewards patience. Open it now and it is excellent. Give it a couple of years and it becomes something else entirely.

Spätlese on the label means the grapes were harvested late, at peak ripeness. Trocken means it is fully dry. The result is a wine with the concentration of a late harvest and the precision of a dry white. It is a rare combination done very well.