Riesling Lenchen Auslese 2018 375ml

An Auslese whose concentration never turns into weight. At 7.5% vol., the wine stays light on its feet, and the acidity carries the high residual sugar without ever feeling cloying. Transparency and minerality matter more here than sheer richness.

Rheingau, Oestrich-Winkel: this is where Jacobus Kühn founded the estate in 1786, now run in its twelfth generation by Peter Bernhard and Viktoria. Within the estate, the Lenchen vineyard is the source of its nobly sweet Auslese and Beerenauslese wines. Slate and quartzite give the estate's Rieslings their cool, crystalline backbone.

Pure Riesling, like almost everything on the estate's 21 hectares. Farming follows biodynamic principles, and the estate has carried the Demeter seal since 2009 – an early and bold decision in a tradition-bound Rheingau. The cellar shows the same restraint: spontaneous fermentation, no fining, minimal use of sulphur, no heavy oak ageing. Peter Bernhard Kühn's years in Alsace and with Burgundy producers gave him a finer sense for acid structure and extraction.

Dense and juicy, with ripe apricot, honeydew melon and candied ginger, followed by honey and citrus zest. The sweetness is held together by pronounced acidity, and the finish stays long, saline and mineral.

VDP Grosse Lage Lenchen, Demeter logo on the label, 7.5% vol. and 375 ml: a nobly sweet rarity in a half bottle that also rewards years of cellaring.