The 2022 Westhofener Riesling 1G is from the Morstein satellites (that means everything around the core part). The wine opens deep, pure and complex, with the darker tones of the Morstein, yet it's still a bit untamed, or as Philipp Wittmann puts it, "There is still a bit of a workshop smell in this wine," which was just bottled when I tasted it in July. Silky, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a saline and citric, very pure and grippy yet remarkably finessed and light-footed B-Morstein. The texture is very elegant and almost silky, and the finish is grippy and wonderfully untamed. It's an impressive wine. 12.8% alcohol. Natural cork. Old vines in particular withstood the summer drought of the 2022 vintage, reports Philipp Wittmann, who removed all fruit from all plants under five years old. Vine age was also a decisive selection criterion during the harvest, as old roots reach so deep that they can reach the water reserves in the soil. This kept the vines vital, "and you could see that very clearly during the harvest," says Wittmann. In the old vineyards, the must weights were 10° Oechsle higher than in the poorer and younger vineyards. The maxim was to produce wines with finesse and elegance despite the heat and dryness, at least as much as possible. This naturally resulted in self-imposed losses in quantity, for example in Nierstein, where Wittmann was only able to harvest 28 hectoliters from 1.2 hectares of vines. "In extremely dry conditions, yields have to(SR)

The 2022 Westhofener Riesling 1G Trocken from the Wittmann family is made from younger vine parcels in the two grand cru vineyards of Morstein and Brunnenhäuschen. It tips the scales at 12.5 percent alcohol in this vintage, and carries a low 2.3 grams per liter of residual sugar to balance its 7.4 grams of acidity. The beautiful foundation of limestone soils in these two great vineyards is immediately evident here, as the bouquet hops from the glass in a complex blend of tart orange, pink grapefruit, chalky minerality, wild yeasts, lemongrass and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a beautiful core of fruit, superb mineral drive and cut, a lovely girdle of acidity and a long, youthful and impeccably balanced finish. Whereas the 2022 Niersteiner 1G Trocken is drinking very well out of the blocks, the Westhofener 1G Trocken really will demand a bit of time in the cellar before it properly blossoms. (Drink between 2029-2075)