SteinRiesling “Ohne” Heinrich 2018 (750ml)

The “Heinrich” bottles are named after Ulli’s father; for Ulli these wines are the highest-level natural wines he makes. They are also sourced from the Klosterkammer (the same tiny, old-vine ungrafted parcel) yet they are normally picked later (the top selection of the vintage) and aged in smaller neutral barrels, from 225 liter to 400 liter depending on the amount of wine. This is powerful; here you sense the vintage, without apology. This smells spicy and herbal and deep – definitely has melon and warm fruit notes, incredible depth. Yet there is an herbal complexity here that is beguiling: lots of spice and green herbal elements – eucalyptus, mint. You feel the power and the structure. This needs time but it is exceptional.

Stein’s Riesling “Ohne” is, yes, a zero-sulfur wine. What is so fascinating, what is so beautiful about this wine, is that it shows the signatures of both grape and place; this is undeniably a Riesling from the Mosel. Very often the “zero-sulfur” of a wine covers up that very essence which it, in theory, seeks to reveal. That just isn’t the case here. The acidity, that slate minerality, is the core of this wine, yet it is not the angular, razor-sharp acid of a Mosel Kabinett. Rather, it is a minerality just as dense and compact, yet smoother – like the sword polished down to a perfect sphere. This is a stunning, finessed and ethereal expression of the Mosel – both so iconic in a way, and totally singular. Sorry, but it just is.