Maustal Riesling Großes Gewächs 2017

The Riesling comes from the Maustal, a four-hectare vineyard south of Sulzfeld with a south and southeast exposure. The steep slope is characterized by meager and skeleton-rich upper shell limestone. The vines on this site are the oldest vines we have planted ourselves. As always, the grapes are harvested by hand, the grapes are crushed, a slightly longer maceration period is allowed and the wines are fermented spontaneously. Luckert's wines are aged in classic double barrels made of Franconian oak.

pale straw yellow

The Riesling from the Maustal seems like a solitaire in the Riesling landscape of Franconia. At first, it seems so earthy, as if it would have preferred to join the Silvaner vines planted in the neighborhood. But then a fruit of kumquats and lemons rises from this spiciness, it smells of meadow herbs, but also of ginger and freshly grated turmeric. What always remains present is a smoky stony note in the background, plus notes of yeast and phenolic.

On the palate, the wine is clear and taut with initially barely perceptible fine fruit. Here, everything revolves around salty mineral notes, around a texture that might come from a longer maceration time, furthermore around lime and stone, around raciness and freshness. The Maustal Riesling takes no prisoners, one could say. It shows itself with power and pressure, extremely precise and without ornamental fruity accessories. One would like to have a whole cellar shelf full of such great growths.