2017 Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Grosses Gewächs

“Frost, then hail, then rain and botrytis... 2017 was a challenging vintage that demanded radical crop-thinning and rigorous selection at harvest,” opined Kesseler. “But I’m very keen on what was left after that, which got harvested under perfect autumn conditions.” Must weights were higher than at many Rheingau estates, leading to as much as 14% alcohol in the case of a Berg Schlossberg Grosses Gewächs – despite which the wine is hugely impressive. “But with 2018,” related Kesseler, “knowing that physiological ripeness was going to entail high must weights, we said ‘Okay, we can do that, but let’s back off a little on the ripeness, go more in the direction of minerality and of something easier [leichter] to drink,’ and we ended up with two Grosse Gewächse between 12.5 and 13% alcohol.” The 2018 Riesling harvest here commenced at the beginning of September and was finished in just three weeks. “We picked grapes for a Schlossberg for Grosses Gewächs,” reported Kesseler, “but you know about my standards in such matters, and we decided not to release one.” Nor does that represent the only abbreviation of Kesseler’s vintage 2018 Riesling offerings, which, as my notes demonstrate, I do not find to approach his 2017s in quality. It bears further emphasizing – and applauding – the flexibility and self-critical standards that Kesseler exhibits in bottling only wines he deems outstanding representatives of their site or stylistic category, for which reason his lineup varies considerably from vintage to vintage. He will no doubt have trained his loyal customers to accept this practice.

My late November 2019 session with Kesseler involved tasting his vintage 2017 as well as vintage 2018 Riesling collections, since we had been unable to find a mutually acceptable tasting date on our 2018 calendars, and he had not wanted me to taste his 2017s without his being present. In Pinot Noir, we canvassed vintages 2017 and 2016 – minus the Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs, of which Kessler could no longer spare a bottle, all but a dozen magnums in his Schatzkammer having been sold. (For further background on this estate, consult the introductions to my coverage focused on its vintage 2014 and 2015 Rieslings. Some new bottlings in the Kesseler lineup are introduced and explained in my coverage of vintage 2016.)