01 Hirsch, Riesling Gaisberg Alte Reben (Old Vines)

Cup your tongue. This is a wine to test every taste sensation. In its first fraction of a second, there is a surging sweetness that immediately disappears once the acid takes hold. The wine is as extracted as a dry riesling can possibly be: pear skin, green mango, and dull pineapple flavors glisten against my grill, while a woodsy minerality holds court in the back of my mouth. It is the interaction of everything great about riesling: fruit, sugar, and cool stony terroir, with a shadowy whiff of petrol and honey on the nose.