2024 Julian Haart Wintricher Ohligsberg Kabinett, Mosel

The pronounced density is married to incredible white peach and Amalfi lemon intensity. Vivid acidity on the dangerously racy, light-bodied palate. Gigantic mineral power in the huge finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.

98 points James Suckling

Julian Haart is one of the cult figures of the modern Mosel, producing tiny quantities of Riesling that disappear almost as quickly as they arrive. Based in Piesport, Haart honed his craft with an extraordinary collection of mentors, including Egon Müller and Klaus Peter Keller, before establishing his own domaine. His wines are celebrated for their lightness, energy and almost obsessive expression of vineyard, and Wintricher Ohligsberg gives him one particularly dramatic piece of Mosel terroir to play with.

Ohligsberg rises steeply above the Mosel at Wintrich, its old vines clinging to precipitous slate slopes overlooking the river. The combination of steep exposure, slate soils and the Mosel’s cool climate allows Riesling to ripen slowly while retaining piercing acidity. In the 2024 Kabinett, a delicate touch of residual sweetness plays against that acidity, creating the wonderfully weightless sweet-and-sour tension that makes great Mosel Kabinett so addictive.

Pale straw with flashes of green, the nose dances between white peach, lime and green apple, followed by jasmine, elderflower and crushed slate. With air come grapefruit zest, fresh mint and a faint smoky note. The palate is feather-light yet intensely flavoured, with juicy peach and citrus carried by bright, mouthwatering acidity. A gentle sweetness rounds the edges before lime zest, wet slate and a salty mineral note pull everything into a long, energetic finish.

This is where spicy food gets interesting: Thai green curry with prawns, crispy pork belly with chilli caramel, Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, Korean fried chicken or pork dumplings with ginger and chilli oil. Our pick is the Korean fried chicken — crunchy, spicy, sticky and salty against cold Kabinett’s delicate sweetness and racing acidity is frankly unfair on every other bottle in the fridge.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2040.