2017 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Superior Q.b.A. Maximin Grünhaus, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (1,5l)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 2017 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Superior Q.b.A., Maximin Grünhaus

The 2017 Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg Riesling Superior is quite crunchy on the flinty, deep and complex nose that displays ripe fruit and delicately crunchy slate aromas. The wine is lush and piquant on the palate, with crystalline acidity, structure and lingering mineral salinity and tension. This is a very promising and expressive Abtsberg that comes in with 17 grams of well-hidden residual sugar and 11.5% alcohol. The finish is enormously long and promising. This Superior outperforms the Abtsberg GG clearly. The lingering salinity is so delicately fine and mouthwatering! Tasted from AP 4 18 in June 2019. - Stephan Reinhardt, Aug. 2019

Wine Spectator - 2017 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Superior Q.b.A., Maximin Grünhaus

Dry-tasting, with an intriguing complexity that makes you pause and reflect on each sip. Emerging flavors of spearmint, slate and white pepper draw you in, while a mix of Bosc pear and clementine captivate you. The long, mineral-driven finish makes you reach for another taste. This is harmonious now, but will reward those who store it for several years. Best from 2021 through 2033. 400 cases made. - März 2019

Mosel Fine Wines - 2017 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Superior Q.b.A., Maximin Grünhaus

The 2017er Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Superior was fermented down to delicately off-dry levels (18 g/l of residual sugar). The wine develops a beautiful nose of grapefruit zest, pear, quince, melon and mint. The wine proves nicely juicy on the palate and leaves a delicately sharp feel in the long and mineral-infused finish. The after-taste is all about complex ripe orchard fruits. This simply needs time. 2022-2032 - Juni 2018

Vinous - 2017 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Superior Q.b.A., Maximin Grünhaus

The nose of lime and white peach is not dissimilar to that of the corresponding Herrenberg. But here, the palate features a stronger piquancy of fruit seed and pit and lacks the Herrenberg’s incisive herbal dimension. Here, too, there is a very subtle and welcome hint of sweetness as well as a glossy feel, both of which help assuage any tendency toward bitterness. A suggestion of pistachio extract nicely captures the wine’s productive bittersweet personality. The finish is generously juicy and mouthwateringly saline. The “Superior” bottlings typically represent casks or tanks of comparable quality to those that inform the corresponding Grosse Gewächse, and whose bottled destination depends largely on the level of residual sugar at which fermentation petered out. But this is by no means the first occasion on which I have found a “Superior” bottling significantly clearer and more expressive than its Grosses Gewächs counterpart. (The nickname “Superior” is intended as an allusion to the eponymous role in a monastic community, which Grünhaus was – under the auspices of St. Maximin’s Abbey in Trier – for centuries.) - David Schildknecht, Apr. 2020