J.B. BeckerRiesling Oberberg Spätlese 2021 (750ml)

Like I said, no Kabinetts in 2021. Yet, also, Spätlesen like no Spätlese you’ve likely ever had before. All the “sweet” Prädikat wines have around 20 grams of residual sugar – some a bit less, some a bit more – like the Auslese at 21 grams, referenced above. For context, most Kabinetts these days have around 30 to 50 grams of residual sugar, Spätlesen and Auslesen 50-60+ and much more. All this to say, these are very dry Prädikat wines. Yet they were picked later (in 2021 we are likely talking November) and have healthy ripeness levels – over 90 Oechsle in the case of this Sonnenberg Spätlese. These means they have some alcohol; again in the case of this Sonnenberg Spätlese we are talking 12% alcohol. For context, again, most Spätlesen and Auslesen have 7%.

This is all pretty wild. What’s really fascinating here is that these wines are a throwback to a style of wine that made the Rheingau famous in the 19th century – a style that most growers abandoned in the 20th century for any number of reasons. Yet I can’t say I’ve tasted anything like these wines in the Rheingau, or in Germany. They are so anachronistic that the standard critical engagement feels a bit ridiculous. This is just a whole different thing. You have to taste it. As noted in the Oberberg Auslese Trocken note, this is one of the more powerful vineyards Hans Josef farms. It also tends to have one of the higher acidities and that tracks here – compared to the Sonnenberg, the Oberberg is a bit more structured, a bit more linear and zippy.