2016 Reichsrat von Buhl Grosses Gewächs Ungeheuer Riesling, Pfalz, Germany

Another Von Buhl vineyard with a storied history and an unusual name. The name Ungeheuer—German for 'monster'—originated in the 19th century, when the then chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, tasted the 1873 vintage from this site and exclaimed that it was ‘Ungeheuerlich gut!’—Monstrously good! The name was soon changed. The site is less basaltic than Von Buhl's other Grosse Lage vineyards and it is also drier and warmer. It is, therefore, often the source of Von Buhl's most decadent Grosses Gewächs. As with all the Grosses Gewächs vineyards, the Ungeheuer vines are cropped at something like 30 hl/ha, (a phenomenal figure in the wider German setting), and the juice is naturally fermented and matured in large Franconian casks. Bottled without filtration.

This was raised in a Doppelstückfass (from which I last tasted it), which has left behind just a hint of oak resin that is easily integrated into intense site-typical scents and pungent, piquant palate impingement of sage and rosemary, joined by smoky Latakia tobacco and evocations of apple, quince and lychee. The texture here is flatteringly lees-enriched, accompanied by an impressive sense of sheer stuffing without any sense of weight let alone alcohol. The long finish, absolute dryness notwithstanding, is unusually generous in fruit flavours for a Grosses Gewächs, but without stinting on herbal pungency or stony underpinnings.