2021 Burklin-Wolf Langenmorgen GC Riesling, Wachenheim Pfalz

Bürklin's Deidesheim Riesling 2021 Langenmorgen G.C. is deep, clear and stony on the nose, revealing a pure, finely phenolic, aromatic as well as slightly iodine-inflected bouquet of ripe but fresh Riesling aromas. Pure, fresh and enormously vital on the palate, this is a saline, finely tannic and slightly astringent Riesling with green fruit, young and crunchy grip and a tight, linear palate. It remains a bit enigmatic at this stage but already developed well between August (tasted in Wiesbaden) and November (tasted at the domaine). 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in November 2022.

"2021 is a classic German vintage," says Steffen Brahner from Bürklin-Wolf, remembering the cool spring with its late flowering. The summer months brought abundant rainfalls, which challenged the vineyard crew, as even more attention and precision with the vegetation was required than in a dry year. "On the other hand, after three consecutive dry years, the periodic rainfall did the soils of the Mittelhaardt good to compensate for the pronounced water deficit." A similarly wet autumn forced them into meticulously early negative selection, and then they proceeded on a vineyard-by-vineyard basis in order to achieve the ideal ripeness of the grapes. This obviously paid off, and Bürklin was able to harvest healthy, ripe and flavorful grapes in all of the vineyards. When I tasted the premier and grands crus for the first time in August this year, I was still a but reserved since the wines were dense and compact but also still caged in their phenolic grip and firm structure. Some months later, in November, the wines had slightly opened up and showed promising qualities, especially in the Kirchenstück, which is again one of the most magnificent dry Rieslings produced in Germany that year. Unfortunately it is very rare and highly expensive, Pechstein and Ungeheuer are more highlights of the 2021 vintage. I also took the chance to taste the 2020 crus, which come from a much warmer and sunnier vintage represented in full-bodied, rich and concentrated but also structured and in the best cases—Pechstein and Kirchenstück again—also tensioned wines. As always when tasting the young and the previous vintage side by side, the sympathy is with the younger. Time will reveal which is the greater vintage: the lean and classic or the richer one.

93+ points SR robertparker.com

The expansive nose of apricots, ripe grapefruit and guava pulls you into the exceptional dry Pfalz riesling for the 2021 vintage in which a stack of healthy tannins, the concentrated fruit and serious minerality all pull together in the same direction. From biodynamically grown grapes. Vegan. Drink or hold.’

95 points Stuart Pigott JamesSuckling.com August 2022

A Morgen is an old land measurement, the piece of land that one man could work in one morning. Hence long morning. Located in the village of Deidesheim, Dr Bürklin-Wolf owns 0.68 hectares of this south-east facing site, comprised of red and white sandstone with loess deposits. Replanted in 1976.