TennstedtRiesling “Perlmutt” 2020 (750ml)

The “Perlmutt” is sourced from a tiny site called Taubenhaus on the Trarbacher side of Traben-Trarbach. This is a relatively cool site – Tennstedt tries to indicate something of the vineyard with the labels and you’ll note that “Perlmutt” is written in a cool-toned blue.

This is always one of my favorite wines; it is perhaps the most “Mosel” with its bright register – mandarin orange, citrus oils, tart plum, pine needle, a spicy florality along with freshly cut hay, grasses, resin, lanolin and beeswax. Right out of the glass it is reticent, yet with only twenty to thirty minutes (and warming up from my rather too-cold fridge temperature) the wine reveals more depth, darker shades and flavors like fresh sawdust, tree bark, tobacco. The next day, nearly 24 hours later, and the wine has gained more expressiveness, it feels more saturating and even clearer, yet I can’t honestly say the flavors or essence of the wine are different, they are just more present. I have the sense this wine could remain open for a few days and develop even more.

Note this Fuder from 2020 represents the last vintage Jakob made from the Taubenhaus. He had told me it was just too much work; he couldn’t handle all of the sites and he had to choose. For me, it’s a bit of a shame as this has been one of my favorite wines, year after year.