Riesling Roche Calcaire
2020
Olivier Humbrecht is one of the world's most renowned winegrowers. He is a Master of Wine and has been described by Robert Parker as the greatest white winemaker on earth. Yet he is very soft spoken, humble, and self-deprecating, which makes him perfectly suited to his assumed role as a global ambassador of wine. He is a champion of terroir, biodynamic farming principles, and non-interventionist winemaking, whose family have been winegrowers in Alsace for 12 generations (since 1620). He is...
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Pale yellow colour. Discreet nose, opens gently towards aromas of citrus fruits and lemon. Decanting well before serving is imperative if this wine is opened in its youth. The tension palpable on the nose is found on the palate, with an ample, sappy attack, marked by a fine acidity. This wine displays superb maturity while remaining precise. The finish shows a beautiful ripe acidity presence which enhances the wine serious texture of a great dry wine.
Still very young, this needs some aeration for the acacia, lemon-cream and beeswax notes to emerge. On the medium-to full-bodied palate there’s a great marriage of creaminess and ripeness, then the wine flips in the chalky direction, the mineral character building impressively at the long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.
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This ample and vibrant dry riesling has an intensely chalky and flinty personality. Stacks of Amalfi lemon and ripe grapefruit character, too. Extremely stony finish with so much depth and energy. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Very attractive yellow fruit with the emphasis on Amalfi lemon, but also some stone fruit and just a hint of caramel. Very elegant and polished, this has vibrant acidity that very neatly matches the chalky character from the tip of your tongue right to the back of the mouth. Only just beginning to open up! From biodynamically grown grapes.
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A glint of flinty reduction entices on the cool, lemon nose on this wine. Lemon becomes more precise on the palate, tingling with freshness and pithy zest. The wine has cool, expansive depth, despite the hot vintage. Vivid lemon freshness persists to the long, bright finish, where zestiness lingers.
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From vineyards around Gueberschwihr and a small portion of young vines from the Hengst, the 2020 Riesling Roche Calcaire offers a clear, fresh and stony, lemony bouquet of crushed limestones and even flint stones. Full-bodied, pure and tensioned on the palate, this is a limestone-driven, silky-textured, elegant and refreshing Riesling with fine tannins and a finish that is pretty intense, finely bitter and quite long. This is an excellent wine for its price range.
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