Dr. Bürklin-Wolf - Wachenheimer Gerümpel 1. Cru 2021

The 2021 Wachenheimer Gerümpel P.C. is super clear, precise and fresh on the elegant, dense and substantial nose that intertwines ripe bright fruit aromas with the coolish finesse of the sandstone geology of this rather warm site. Pure, saline and tensioned on the palate, this is a dry, grippy and mouth-cleansing yet not lean Riesling that doesn't show the intensity and generosity of 2020 but the tension and purity of 2021. Stay tuned for what is still to come. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork stopper. Tasted in November 2022.

"2021 is a classic German vintage," says Steffen Brahner from Bürklin-Wolf, remembering the cool spring with its late flowering. The summer months brought abundant rainfalls, which challenged the vineyard crew, as even more attention and precision with the vegetation was required than in a dry year. "On the other hand, after three consecutive dry years, the periodic rainfall did the soils of the Mittelhaardt good to compensate for the pronounced water deficit." A similarly wet autumn forced them into meticulously early negative selection, and then they proceeded on a vineyard-by-vineyard basis in order to achieve the ideal ripeness of the grapes. This obviously paid off, and Bürklin was able to harvest healthy, ripe and flavorful grapes in all of the vineyards. When I tasted the premier and grands crus for the first time in August this year, I was still a but reserved since the wines were dense and compact but also still caged in their phenolic grip and firm structure. Some months later, in November, the wines had slightly opened up and showed promising qualities, especially in the Kirchenstück, which is again one of the most magnificent dry Rieslings produced in Germany that year. Unfortunately it is very rare and highly expensive, Pechstein and Ungeheuer are more highlights of the 2021 vintage. I also took the chance to taste the 2020 crus, which come from a much warmer and sunnier vintage represented in full-bodied, rich and concentrated but also structured and in the best cases—Pechstein and Kirchenstück again—also tensioned wines. As always when tasting the young and the previous vintage side by side, the sympathy is with the younger. Time will reveal which is the greater vintage: the lean and classic or the richer one.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate