Albert Boxler - Riesling Sommerberg D 2015 (750ml)

Wine Advocate 94 points

"From vines planted between 1946 and 1953 on the limestone section of the granite terroir, the 2015 Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg Dudenstein is very clear, pure and flinty on the nose, stunningly cool, very precise and with lovely notes of lemon leaves and peel! Boxler picked the Dudenstein at the first of his grands crus and very early at around 100 degrees Oechsle. The deeper soil produces large Rieslings, but this 2015 is most of all pure, finessed and salty and reveals a lot of vitality and finesse."

Bright straw-green. Citrus and floral aromas and flavors are complicated by strong spicy notes. Ripe but juicy, offering suave flavors that persist nicely on the lime-accented, youthfully chewy finish. This surprisingly refined wine (the Dudenstein never strikes me as giving especially elegant wines) is one of Boxler’s Rieslings from this site that I’ve liked best at a similar stage of development. This site has richer, slightly deeper soil than other sites on the Sommerberg (it can get as deep as two feet), so the Dudenstein rarely suffers from water stress and always gives a much richer wine than other nearby slopes. It is, however, a very difficult site to harvest because the grapes have to be picked quickly - in fact, it’s always the first site to be harvested by Boxler, as sugar accumulates so easily that it becomes hard in some years to make a totally dry wine. (Drink between 2023-2030)