Falkenstein Returns

Some of our most sought after Rieslings are back. Falkenstein makes Riesling in the Saar Valley that will blow your hair back with the mineral tension and electric acid that runs through their wines.

Even the sweeter wines read as drier than you think because of their more delicate touch and their high acidity. The wines have a trademark edge and are spicy with a pungent minerality of petrochor and wet rocks. They have a wiry, pinpointed acidity is only just smoothed out with some residual sweetness. They will light up your neurons and taste buds, trust me.

Besides the Rieslings, there is one of the most vivid Weissburgunders you'll come across, rosé, and the lip-smacking Spätburgunder that is a staff favorite we hope gets overlooked so we can take it home. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. 

As always, Lars Carlberg has detailed notes on this vintage here. A few of the Falkenstein bottles have limits but otherwise it's first-come, first-serve.

In the valley of the Saar there is less protection from brisk, western winds, giving the wines grown in the vineyards around this Mosel tributary a characteristic core of cool acidity, which the Falkenstein lineup demonstrates with aplomb. They are a pure jolt of Saar zip, from the cooler, later-ripening Sonnenberg site in Niedermennig to the warmer south-facing Euchariusberg plots near Krettnach where they produce ethereal Auslesen that still has the charming, cool backbone of acidity that is their trademark.

Of course, they also go down easy because they are low in alcohol and the tangy spritz is a terrific digestive aid with food. Combined with the aforementioned lack of winemaking additives, they feel downright healthy to drink. According to Lars Carlberg, doctors in the 19 ^th century used to prescribe light, dry Mosel wines for ‘a variety of ailments.’ Given that the Webers make wines in large part the same way they would have been made 125 years ago, it may be worth filling those latter-day physicians’ prescriptions with some Falkenstein Riesling to see if their advice holds true. I know drinking a bottle always makes me feel pretty great.

Prost!

Jonathan Kemp

Onkel Peter (AP 4): lime zest, white peach, umami, playful, and dry-tasting. Lars Carlberg

Munny (AP 9): green tea, blossoms, steely, and salty. Lars Carlberg

Im Kleinschock (AP 20): apple peel, juicy, zappy, and lively. Lars Carlberg

Palm (AP 3): pine, wild strawberry, apricot, and lemonade. Lars Carlberg

Klaus (AP 6): sponti, smoky, icy, crunchy, and lively. Lars Carlberg

Förster (AP 5): saline, anise, fennel, apple, lime, tonic water, and sorbet. Lars Carlberg

Gisela (AP 8): limy, silky, creamy, citrusy, and sprightly. Lars Carlberg