2016 Richter Juffer Kabinett Fass 4

I was thrilled to see that Constantin managed to make an encore performance for the “turn-up-the-quiet”, throwback style kabinett from 70 year old Juffer vines, picked at 78 oechsle. Once again, just a single cask was made and, once again, it is f’in outstanding…..don’t miss this. I am pretty sure that I am one of the only people in the world that gets to work with this one….”WOW. Classy, delicate, turn-up-the-quiet dancing whisper of a wine. In purity and quiet intensity, a stunner….” A little * awarded here. When I mentioned how much I love this one, Constantin said it may be his favorite Kabi of ’16 as well…..

“This Kabinett (labelled as – Fuder 4 – on the back label, whereas the front label only indicates Kabinett -4-) was harvested at a low 78° Oechsle and fermented down to 35 g/l of residual sugar. It offers a gorgeously nose of green herbs, white peach, cassis, apple and fine spices. The wine is beautifully playful with quite some tartness on the palate and in the structured and firm finish. This needs some time to develop its full aromatic profile and integrate its rough edges. But as in its debut vintage in 2015, the Juffer Kabinett – Fuder 4 – proves a superb classic Kabinett in the making. 2026-2041” 92 MFW

“Issuing from old vines in especially finely morcellated slate, this is the latest Richter exploration of radically low-must weight and correspondingly delicate Kabinett. Picked at just 77 Oechsle, it boasts what for the vintage, not to mention for the Richters’ collection, is a remarkably high 9.8 grams of acidity. Lemon, lime and white peach on the nose translate into bracingly bright, generous juiciness on a firm, delicate palate. Subtly smoky, bitter-sweet nutty undertones and a vivid sense of crushed stone suffusion serve to balance and buffer the animating acidity – conveying a suggestion of richness that is uncanny given this wine’s analysis – as do a perfectly judged 38 grams of residual sugar. The bell-clear, vibrant finish conveys penetrating persistence and complexity, not to mention eye-opening invigoration and consummate refreshment. I’ll be surprised if this does not age terrifically. Richter – in common with some of his lightness-obsessed colleagues like Julian Haart and Ulli Stein – believes that old ungrafted vines are critical to rendering a complete and complex Riesling at such low potential alcohol, but he also emphasizes the significance of site. “If I had picked my really old vines in Wehlener Sonnenuhr at 77 Oechsle,” he averred, “I would have had to do so earlier, and my impression is that the flavors would have been too green.” (“Fuder 4” is simply a nickname by which the Richters have chosen to distinguish their radically delicate non-dry Juffer Kabinett from its otherwise eponymous sibling. The primary, presentation label simply displays a large “4.”)” 93 David Schildknecht