Marc Kreydenweiss - Kastelberg Grand Cru Riesling 2022

Robert Parker Wine Advocate
[vintage 2021]

From a terroir on cornéennes (Hornfels) the 2021 Kastelberg Grand Cru is generous on the elegant, remarkably aromatic and iodine-inflected nose that shows intense aromas of small yellow fruits such as mirabelles but also quinces. Full-bodied, refined and saline on the palate, this is a dense, complex, crystalline and saline Riesling with a concentrated fruit core, masses of minerals and fine but serious tannins. It is a great and expressive wine representing the vintage as well as the rocky soils. The wine is unusually open and full of salts and minerals thanks to a yield of just 22 to 23 hectoliters per hectare. 13.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in Andlau in November 2024.

I had not tasted Antoine Kreydenweiss's wines for some time, so I was curious to see how they had all developed. At one point, I was a little concerned that the established domaine would fall prey to the natural wine movement, but what I was able to taste at the domaine in Andlau in November shone with clarity, brightness, finesse, inner calm and elegance. It is a fantastic series of wines with highlights from the local grands crus Kastelberg and Wiebelsberg as well as clos Rebberg. The wines mature on the lees for almost two years without losing any of their precision, finesse and freshness. For different reasons, 2020 and 2021 were not easy vintages. This is not noticeable in the singing wines, though. A real rediscovery!