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Expert Review - Vintage 2022

A great entry into the distinct house style of Heymann Lowenstein - offering a textural and plusher experience than your average mosel producer. The Shieferterrassen (slate terraces) see's a small amount of contact with the skins broadening the mouthfeel and adding deeper flavours of citrus and stone fruit with flinty smokiness riding the taut acid spine. Full of personality with immediacy, tension and interest on display. Mitch Milicich, FWC

“A delicate, acutely elegant and mineral wine with an extraordinarily expressive body for this category. A model for the region’s winegrowers!” La Revue du Vin de France

Winemaker Description 

Deep yellow in color, with golden hues. On the nose it evokes aromas of hazelnut, orange peel, and butter. Rich and round on the palate with well balanced acidity and a long finish.

Moser · Riesling x Sylvaner · Austria

The Moser family is one of Austria's great wine dynasties, with generations of winegrowing behind them. This bottling celebrates Riesling x Sylvaner, the classic Central European crossing better known as Müller-Thurgau, which gives bright, aromatic whites that are easy to love.

Tasting Notes

Fresh and fragrant, with notes of green apple, white peach, and citrus blossom over a light herbal, gently floral edge. The palate is crisp, light-bodied, and refreshing, with lively acidity and a clean, juicy finish. It's the bottle you open on a warm afternoon and suddenly it's empty.

Food Pairings

• Salads, fresh goat cheese, and spring vegetables
• Grilled fish, shellfish, and sushi
• Schnitzel, roast chicken, and lightly spiced Asian dishes
• Serve well chilled, 45–50°F

Specs

• Producer: Moser
• Country: Austria
• Grape: Riesling x Sylvaner (Müller-Thurgau)
• Type: White wine
• Style: Dry, crisp, aromatic
• Size: 750 ml

A bright, food-friendly Austrian white that punches well above its price.

Warehouse stored item - please allow two to five business days to fulfill.

Winemaker Description 

Laser-focused and mineral-loaded with ripe layers of sun-kissed citrus fruits, mango peel, and crunchy yellow/green apple on a bed of crushed white rock and honeysuckle. It’s unabashedly delicious yet complex and bone-dry; a quintessential snapshot of a storied terroir. 

Want an authentic, elite bottling of Kremstal? This is it! Enjoy now and over the next 3-5 years.

Expert Reviews 

Winemaker Description 

Max Ferdinand Richter · Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spätlese · 2023

The Richter family estate has been in the family for more than 300 years and is now owned and run by winemaker Dirk Richter. Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr sits at the heart of the Brauneberg slope, near the river and surrounded by Juffer. The producer describes the south-facing site as rich in iron minerals, with weathered grey slate across its steep vineyards.

James Suckling finds concentrated fresh apricot, mineral energy and a long finish in this medium-bodied 2023 Spätlese. Vinous adds mango, peach compote and pink grapefruit peel, noting the wine’s striking lightness alongside its sweetness.

James Suckling · 97 Points · 2023
This youthful Mosel riesling has an extraordinary depth of fresh apricot character on the very concentrated, medium-bodied palate. Restrained succulence in the Spatlese context, but there’s nothing restrained about the wine’s mineral energy and the drive in the extremely long finish. And if you pay close attention, you will find a wealth of mineral, herbal and spicy nuances. Reminds me of the great 1990 vintage of this wine. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.

Vinous · 94 Points · 2023
The 2023 Riesling Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spätlese, made with just 10% botrytized fruit, opens with a touch of mango and plunges into vivid peach compote sweetness. Pink grapefruit peel counters and intensifies it. Simply gorgeous, with absolute lightness. A dream.

Winemaker Description
The Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr vineyard is the heart section in the Brauneberg vineyard mountain, close to the river and surrounded by the Juffer vineyard. In Burgundian terms the Juffer-Sonnenuhr is a kind of Premier Grand Cru.

• Producer: Max Ferdinand Richter
• Vineyard: Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr
• Vintage: 2023
• Region: Mosel, Germany
• Varietal: Riesling
• Style: Spätlese, sweet Riesling
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting notes: Apricot, mango, peach compote, pink grapefruit peel, mineral, herbal and spicy nuances
• Vinous notes: 10% botrytized fruit

A concentrated Mosel Spätlese with vivid stone fruit, vibrant mineral drive and an exceptionally long finish.

Tasting Notes

Bristling with kinetic energy, the Rossatz offers a hugely expressive nose of tangy yellow fruits with a laser-like, salt-drenched palate that prompts salivation. Its acidity is juicy rather than cutting, and its 1.5 g/L of residual sugar are rendered completely invisible — a textbook example of dry Wachau Riesling at its most vibrant.

About the Wine

Fischer's village-level Rossatz Riesling is a blend of fruit from his various premier crus — grapes that don't quite make his rigorous cut for single-vineyard bottlings, yet still deliver exceptional quality and character. The Federspiel classification — the middle tier of the Wachau's ripeness hierarchy — signals a wine of elegant, food-friendly weight: lighter than Smaragd, yet with more depth and structure than a Steinfeder.

Food Pairing

A natural match for freshwater fish, sushi, oysters, light poultry, and herb-driven dishes. Serve well chilled.

Product Details

• Appellation: Wachau (Rossatz), Niederösterreich, Austria
• Varietal: Riesling
• Classification: Federspiel
• Vintage: 2022
• Format: 750ml
• Producer: Josef Fischer

Expert Reviews — Vintage 2023

The Wine Advocate 93+ Points | The 2023 Bin 51 Riesling leads with an austere, searing nose of grilled lime, bath salts, lemon zest, crushed quartz, preserved citrus and pear skin. In the mouth, the wine is fleshy in its way and light on its feet — poised without being heavy or concentrated, with a cleansing, rounded finish.

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Tangy and bright lemon-lime flavors on a sleek frame, with green apple, white pepper and sea salt minerality, plus lingering grapefruit zest. 660 cases imported.

About Bin 51

Penfolds Bin 51 captures the essence of Eden Valley, South Australia — a high-altitude, cool-climate region with worldwide recognition for producing definitive, world-class Riesling. The region's elevation gives the wines great finesse, elegance, and a capacity for long-term cellaring.

The 2023 vintage shows lifted orange blossom and pink lady apple aromatics. The palate brims with blood orange, passionfruit, and lime, balanced by natural zesty lemon acidity. In youth, these wines possess scented floral and citrus aromas with a mineral edge and marked natural acidity that drives the palate texture.

Tasting & Pairings

Grilled lime, lemon zest, crushed quartz, green apple, white pepper, sea salt minerality, and grapefruit zest. Fleshy yet light on its feet with a cleansing, rounded finish. Serve well chilled.

• Seared scallops with citrus beurre blanc — mirrors the wine's lime and mineral notes.
• Thai green papaya salad — the acidity and fruit stand up to chili and lime dressing.
• Fresh oysters or ceviche — classic pairing for high-acid, mineral-driven Riesling.

Warehouse stored item - please allow one to three business days to fulfill.

James Suckling 95 Points | A great riesling Spatlese that makes it clear why this category has not disappeared in spite of the rise of dry German riesling. Concentrated peachy fruit is married to excellent structure and the balance of the touch of natural grape sweetness with wet stone minerality and crisp acidity is dazzling. Very long and vibrant finish. Drink or hold.

Winemaker Description 

Lively fruit and minerality on a zesty palate. Slightly sweet, with a dry finish. Unfined, unfiltered.

Founded in 1891, the Brand winery has been producing wine in the Pfalz for five generations. Their vineyards are located on limestone-rich soils around the village of Bockenheim, in the northern part of the region, along the border of the Rheinhessen. Daniel and Jonas' father, Jürgen, always farmed their vines responsibly, but when his children took over, they immediately transitioned to organic viticulture, gaining certification in 2017. The Brothers Brand also utilize biodynamic treatments, always experimenting to discover which practices work best in their vines. All of their wines are made with little, if any, added sulfites. 

Wonderfully aromatic with lively fruit and minerality and a lovely zest and charge on the palate, perfectly balanced by the residual sugar. The Feinherb Riesling has a slight sweetness on the attack, though the sugar melds perfectly into the body, finishing dry and crisp. No fining or filtration and minimal use of sulfur.

Tasting Notes

A dry, structured Wachau Riesling of great mineral character and pleasing freshness. Defined by high levels of dry extract from a lengthy ripening period and vibrant acidity driven by dramatic day-to-night temperature swings, this is a Riesling of real depth, precision, and aging potential.

About the Wine

Rudi Pichler is one of the Wachau's most respected producers, farming steep, southwest-facing terraces of meager primary rock soils that stress the vines and concentrate flavor. The Smaragd classification — the highest ripeness level in the Wachau — signals a wine of exceptional body and complexity. The Terrassen bottling draws from these dramatic hillside sites, delivering a wine that is simultaneously powerful and elegant.

Food Pairing

Pairs beautifully with river fish, Wiener Schnitzel, roasted pork, and aged hard cheeses. Also exceptional on its own as a contemplative sipping wine.

Product Details

• Appellation: Wachau, Niederösterreich, Austria
• Varietal: Riesling
• Classification: Smaragd
• Vintage: 2021
• Format: 750ml
• Producer: Rudi Pichler

Winemaker Description

Delicate, micro-production & precise øø wines from Baden, Germany, rapturously referred to as the hot-bed of classic Burgundy-indebted Pinot Noir. (and, of course, Riesling)

Philipp Reiß is currently in the process of converting his family estate from grape growers to wine producers, and these are the first, errr - fruits of that labor to make it stateside. 

A profound expression of Riesling that, despite having zero additives, sure calls for a decant and some hours for it to truly unfurl its majestic crystalline reach.

Expert Review - Vintage 2023

James Suckling 92 Points | Delicate peachy fruit and racy acidity are beautifully balanced on the sleek, medium-bodied palate. Excellent mountain freshness and wet-stone minerality at the super-clean and straight finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Our Professional Review

Rand Sieger, 67Wine Buyer, writes: Only 7.5% alcohol. This is about as good as a Mosel Riesling under $20 can be. Rarely do you find a Spätlese of this quality for such a low price. Classic Mosel with bright white currant fruit, clover honey, and an energetic undercurrent of lime zest and slaty minerality. It really explodes on the palate with juicy, mouthwatering fruit and the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity.

Try this paired with breaded, deep-fried button mushrooms dipped in tartar sauce. The combination will make you smile.

Winemaker Description

The Rauen family in the Mosel has been growing grapes for many generations but began bottling their own wine only in 1983. When Harald Rauen took the reins from his father more than 30 years ago, the first thing he did with their vineyards in the slate-rich soils of Detzem and Thornich was to reduce yields to concentrate on quality over bulk. The result is a line of classically clean and elegant Rieslings. His Spätlese is light-bodied and zesty, just a touch sweet, with notes of apricot, lime, and flint.

• Producer: Familie Rauen
• Appellation: Mosel, Germany
• Grape: Riesling
• Style: Spätlese (off-dry)
• ABV: 7.5%
• Closure: Screwcap
• Vintage: 2023
• Format: 750ml

Expert Ratings

James Suckling 97 Points | This very concentrated and super-elegant riesling Auslese is still tightly-wound. However, it already has a very wide spectrum of subtle yellow fruit and wild flower aromas. Terrific structure behind the rich, but still medium-bodied palate. Incredibly long, slatey finish with staggering freshness that pulls you back for more of this Mosel masterpiece. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

Decanter 95 Points | Tangs of cut stone and lime zest are peppered with gunpowder and smoke, but there's a powerful core of ripe lemon, lime and yellow cherry flavours too. While light on its feet, it's an unctuous, supple wine with a pert tangerine sweetness. Quite a bit more expressive in youth than the 2022 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, it's already hedonistic with a brief decant but certainly ageworthy as well. 

Wine Spectator 94 Points | Delivering power and concentration, this is densely packed in a compact frame. Opens up to reveal impressively fresh flavors of dried thyme and apricot. This white's acidity shows a crunchy texture, and a wet slate note brings a cooling feel to the finish. This is one for the cellar. Best from 2026 through 2046.

Vinous 92 Points | The 2022 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese is rather shy. The palate tingles with tangerine, ripe, rounded, aromatic, and full of tangy, zesty, sweet, ripe citrus. Wonderfully expressive on the mid-palate and with a subtle finish, full of those vivid aromatics. (Sweet).

Winemaker Description 

This is Lauer’s Platonic ideal of what a Saar Riesling should be. If we were in Burgundy this would be the equivalent of a Bourgogne Blanc.

As an appellation-level wine, it is sourced from multiple vineyards in three different villages of the Saar. This is always a thrilling off-dry and a silly value.

Winemaker Description 

Orange and tangelo, overripe peach and bergamot; juicy and firm, solid yet voluptuous, vaporous and long, plump yet muscular (how many ways can I say it?); a rococo opulent wine yet also seriously devout in its terroir, even as it blushes and giggles. SOS: 2 (8-27 years). 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023 

Michael Alberty of the Wine Enthusiast writes 93 Points | Every year I marvel at how such a marvelous Riesling can be $20. The Poet's Leap opens with an aromatic ode to lychee fruit, honeysuckle, almond butter and a wisp of petrol. Lemony acidity curls itself around flavors like green honeydew melon, rose water and the sweetness of a slice of peach pie. The 2023 is as good as any in recent memory. Mercy.

Vinous 90 Points | The 2023 Riesling Poet's Leap is delicate and understated, with notes of shaved lemon zest, green melon, mint and hints of petrol. It mixes ripe orchard fruits and salty mineral tones with a core of brilliant acidity. This finishes with medium length and remarkable lift, leaving a suggestion of citrus sorbet on the finish.

Winery Notes

The 2023 Poet's Leap Riesling is a beautiful, vibrant wine showcasing aromas of white blossoms and ripe orchard fruits, complemented by subtle flinty notes. Exuding freshness and brightness on the palate, the wine unveils layers of flavor, notably white peach, green apple and a distinct minerality. The finish is long and satisfying, leaving a balanced impression of lively acidity and a subtle touch of sweetness.

Dr. Bürklin-Wolf | Ruppertsberg Riesling Trocken 2023 | Pfalz, Germany

Dr. Bürklin-Wolf is one of Germany's most storied biodynamic estates, farming the Pfalz with meticulous precision. Their Ruppertsberg Ortswein (village-level wine) is an open secret among Riesling lovers: sourced primarily from the estate's exclusively owned Gaisböhl Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyard, it delivers Grand Cru-quality fruit at a village-level price. Certified biodynamic, vegan, and sealed with a screwcap for pristine freshness.

The 2023 vintage in the Pfalz produced wines of remarkable juiciness and precision. This bottling opens with a coolish, pure bouquet of star fruit, ripe citrus, and smoky mineral notes. The palate is mouth-filling yet elegant — creamy on entry, then salty minerality and electric acidity drive the finish long. Bone-dry, clean, and built to reward a few years of cellaring.

Tasting Notes - Vintage 2023 

James Suckling — 94 Points: What a stunning village wine. The mouth-filling juiciness (think star fruit and the ripest citrus) is backed up with ample power. Creamy front palate, then the salty minerality and animating acidity kick in and push the finish way out there. A cuvée based on the Gaisböhl GG site of Ruppertsberg. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate — 92 Points: Opens with a remarkably coolish, pure and refined bouquet with bright, elegant fruit and smoky aromas. Lean and elegant on the palate yet with ripe and juicy fruit — a very fine, elegant-finishing Riesling whose savory grip and tension will be better integrated after a few years of bottle age.

Vinous — 90 Points: A lovely flicker of reduction on the nose leads to an immensely juicy, rounded palate. Lemon-fresh Reine Claude plums with a lovely undertow of yeast. Absolutely bone-dry and clean on the bright finish.

Technical Details

Variety: Riesling  |  Vineyard: Gaisböhl (Grosse Lage), Ruppertsberg  |  Region: Pfalz, Germany  |  Farming: Biodynamic  |  Closure: Screwcap  |  Size: 750ml

Expert Review - Vintage 2023

James Suckling 93 Points | Excellent Mirabelle plum, bergamot and chamomile tea aromas are married to considerable textural depth on the compact, medium-bodied palate. Stony minerality drives the long finish.

The Wine Spectator 92 Points | Ripe but nervy, with a unique combination of plump peach, apricot and nectarine notes that are carried by a taut and tangy spine of fennel, quinine and ginger. Shows a bitter orange echo on the finish.

Winemaker Description 

The Classique acts as an annual celebration of their work. It commemorates the efforts and dedication of their growers who take each vintage in stride by receiving each day with vulnerability and leaning into the gifts of Mother Nature. Their Classique is an imprint of their diverse and geologically rich region. For them, it represents the potential of Bone Dry Riesling on southeast Seneca Lake.

Memo Summary Notes

The Forge Cellars Riesling "Classique" 2023 is a benchmark dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes (Seneca Lake), New York. This winery is a collaboration between Louis Barruol (of the iconic Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas, France) and Rick Rainey, aiming to craft "bone dry" Rieslings that rival the grand crus of Alsace and Germany.

The "Classique" is their flagship blend, representing a "tapestry" of various vineyard sites along the southeast side of Seneca Lake.

Expert Review - Vintage 2016

92 Points Wine Enthusiast | Hints of crushed mineral and fresh herb persist from nose to finish in this intriguingly earthy yet elegant dry wine. The palate is vibrantly citrusy, offering shards of lemon and lime accented by dried-orange peel and spice. Medium bodied but silky in texture, it's freshened by pert lime acidity.

Hermann J. Wiemer · Semi-Dry Riesling · Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes · 2024

Hermann J. Wiemer is the founding father of Finger Lakes Riesling. A German-born viticulturist who trained in the Mosel before planting vines on the western shore of Seneca Lake in 1979, Wiemer proved that New York could produce world-class Riesling — and the estate he built continues to set the standard decades later. Their Semi-Dry Riesling is the wine that converts skeptics: sourced from early picks in vineyard blocks surrounding Seneca Lake, it carries residual sugar with the grace and balance that only great Riesling terroir can deliver. Certified Sustainable. JS:92. At $24.99, it’s one of the most versatile and crowd-pleasing bottles in the Finger Lakes canon — the wine you bring when you’re not sure what everyone drinks, and it always wins.

The 2024 opens with aromas of wildflower honey, ripe Bosch pear, peach, apricot, and sweet florals. On the palate: succulent and fruit-forward with a refreshing lightness — the residual sugar is perfectly balanced by bright acidity, finishing juicy and barely dry with fantastic vitality. Drink now through 2029.

“Rippling with peach, apricot and sweet floral aromas… succulent but also very fresh in the juicy, barely dry finish. Fantastic balance and vitality at the end. Sustainable.”
— James Suckling, 92 Points (Vintage 2024). 

• Producer: Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard (est. 1979)
• Vintage: 2024
• Appellation: Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
• Varietal: 100% Riesling
• Style: Semi-Dry (off-dry)
• Certification: Certified Sustainable
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Wildflower honey, Bosch pear, peach, apricot, sweet florals, bright acidity, juicy barely-dry finish
• Cellar Potential: Drink now through 2029
• Food Pairings: Spicy Thai, Vietnamese pho, sushi, soft-ripened cheese, fruit tarts, light charcuterie

JS:92 · Certified Sustainable — Finger Lakes Riesling from the man who started it all.