Tesch Karthauser Riesling 2016

Description

Martin Tesch remains a reliable producer of excellent Rieslings even in difficult vintages like 2016. At the end of August, when the berries still looked like green peas, Tesch feared the grapes would never become fully ripe. But then September and October were warm and dry and finally caused a Blitzreife (a very quick ripening over just a few days). The harvest in Langenlonsheim and Laubenheim started in mid-October and finished in early November. However, the yields were very low, and Tesch harvested 30% to 40% less grapes than 2015. The must weights were more or less the same, though, and led to clear, bright, elegant and juicy wines with 12.5% alcohol. The acidity levels are very good and give racy cool-climate Rieslings that will benefit from further bottle aging. I cannot remember having tasted Tesch’s Rieslings in such an embryonal stage, even though I haven’t tasted them that late before—it’s already January… To get a good impression of Tesch’s 2016s, just taste the Riesling Unplugged, which was bottled drier than ever before (just two grams of residual sugar) and with a pronounced total acidity of 7.6 grams per liter. In case you can stand it, you’ll be ready to appreciate the single-vineyard Rieslings as well, which are honest representatives of their particular origins. If you don’t like Riesling: Tesch’s Deep Blue—a Pinot Noir fermented to something between white and pink—is one of the most successful wines in the US because it’s not just delicious but also a great wine with food, such as white meat or fish. -Stephan Reinhardt, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate