Review: Nik Weis St. Urbans Hof, Bockstein Riesling

If you’re really into wine, you’re likely familiar with the term, “Grand Cru,” as a designation for highly-prized vineyards in France. But are you familiar with the term, “Grosse Lage?” I’m willing to guess, likely not.

Grosse Lage is the German equivalent to Grand Cru. It’s a designation given under the German VDP system to vineyards considered to be of the highest quality. One of those vineyards is the source of the grapes used in this wine.

Bockstein is the name of this VDP Grosse Lage vineyard, where grapes have been grown since the middle ages. There are 6 different producers with vines in this 136 acre vineyard, with Nik Weis owning 25 of those acres.

The vineyard resides on a steep 50° southwest-facing slope, making it one of the steepest vineyards in the world. It’s in a cool climate region, but the topography results in excellent exposure to sunlight, enabling a long, slow ripening season which creates the potential for intense aromatics in the wines. Grey slate soil here also absorbs the heat from the sun, radiating it back to the vines.

The result is a beautiful wine.

Honeysuckle, peach, lemon and wet stone aromas give this wine a really nice nose. The palate delivers lychee, peach, pear and citrus flavors with a slight touch of sweetness. The acidity adds a nice vibrancy. The mouthfeel is pleasant. The finish is incredibly long with lychee and peach flavors, along with some salinity.

While this wine is good now, it also has tremendous aging potential — up to 30 years. Although it’s at the upper end my price range for bargains and wouldn’t be an everyday wine for me, it is good value for the quality.

Wine: Nik Weis, St. Urbans-Hof, Bockstein Kabinett, Riesling
Varieties: Riesling
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 9%
Rating: 91
Average price: $26.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.