Leitz, Dragonstone Riesling

About a month and a half ago I was in Germany, exploring vineyards and tasting wine — among other activities. One of the places we visited is Rüdesheim am Rhein, a winemaking region along the Rhine river that is amazingly beautiful, produces fantastic wines and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region sits on the right bank of the Rhine a little over 50 kilometers west of Frankfurt, just before the river bends to head north.

If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting the German wine country, this is an incredibly easy place to reach and do so. You can take a train from the airport out here. Or drive from the airport in just over 30 minutes. It’s a fantastic place to visit.

If you hike through the vineyards here — which I will advise you, can be quite steep — you’ll inevitably come across vines planted by a producer named Leitz. They have several hectares of vines throughout Rüdesheim, with their largest vineyard in a section named “Drachenstein” which translates to mean Dragonstone. And that is where the grapes for this wine are grown.

The Drachenstein vineyard is east of the town of Rüdesheim. The photo above is a picture of the vineyards on the bank of the river. The Drachenstein vineyard is the uppermost vineyard here. Notice the bright sun exposure.

Leitz produces several different rieslings from their different vineyards. Some of them are dry, some sweet. I would characterize this one as off-dry, offering a touch of sweetness but not too much.

A beautiful honeysuckle, lemon and lychee nose provides the opening act for this wine. The aromas are well balanced and presented with good intensity. The palate is off dry and offers golden delicious, lychee and lemon flavors. It has a nice mouthfeel with a slight pucker. The acidity is bright and gives this wine such liveliness and freshness you would never guess it’s been aging for 5+ years. A touch of saltiness appears on the finish, along with lingering apple flavors.

Wine: Leitz Dragonstone
Varieties: Riesling
Vintage: 2012
Alcohol: 10%
Rating: 91
Price: $17.00
Disclosure: This wine was provided as a media sample.