2021 Zilliken Saarburg Rausch Riesling Kabinett, Saar

The 2021 Riesling Saarburger Rausch Kabinett was harvested in several parcels across the mid-slope of the Rausch vineyard, mostly from younger vines, which here means 20 years old. The nose needs much swirling and comes almost with a touch of orange zest, tart, aromatic, and alluring. The palate is wonderfully juicy, sunny, ripe yet so utterly fresh, so light, so joyful. It is the acidity here that makes this wine, lending its verve and brightness, subsuming everything into its totally citric focus that lasts and lasts. Analytics are 59g/L of residual sweetness and 9g/L of acidity. (Sweet)

96 points vinous.com

A very concentrated and complex wine for this light wine category. Serious structure and subtlety with chamomile, mint, Amalfi lemon, lime and wet stone character rippling over the palate. Intensely mineral, very long and pure finish. Drink or hold.

95 points jamessuckling.com

Floral fragrance and endless slate savouriness on the palate. Kabinett wines should be fine and delicate, and this one comes very close to the ideal. The mineral acidity takes away any heaviness from the extract. A dancing wine.

93 points falstaff.com

From the steep slate slopes of the Saarburger Rausch vineyard, this Kabinett captures the electric, featherweight style that defines the Saar at its best. Zilliken farms some of the region’s most prized parcels, where blue Devonian slate and cold air from the river slow ripening and preserve razor sharp acidity. The Saar is cooler than most German regions, and that chill translates into Rieslings that feel weightless yet intensely flavoured. Rausch is known for its mineral drive and floral perfume, and in Kabinett form it shows delicacy wrapped around precision.

Winemaking is all about timing. Fermentation is stopped early to retain natural sweetness while locking in acidity, creating a wine that feels bright and crystalline rather than rich. The balance is the magic, sugar and acid in perfect tension.

Pale straw with silver flashes, the aromas open with lime blossom, green apple and white peach, layered with wet slate and a faint smoky note. The palate is light bodied and shimmering, with citrus and orchard fruit floating on piercing acidity. Flavours of lime juice, apple and mineral tones run long, finishing clean and mouthwatering with a gentle sweetness that never weighs the wine down.

It pairs beautifully with spicy Asian food, seafood, pork and dishes that play with sweet and heat. Served well chilled, it becomes dangerously drinkable. While irresistible now, it will cellar effortlessly for twenty years, developing honeyed and petrol complexity.

This is Saar Kabinett in its purest voice, delicate, mineral and thrillingly alive.