2017 Westhofen AULERDE Riesling Q.b.A. Grosses Gewächs trocken Wittmann, Rheinhessen

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2017 Aulerde Riesling GG is clear, intense and concentrated on the nose, with super ripe and clear peach aromas and the purity of a flinty terroir. Intense, pure and salty on the palate, this is a concentrated and juicy Riesling with remarkable elegance, finesse and salty length. Impressive. Tasted in March 2020. - Stephan Reinhardt, Mai 2020

Wine Spectator: Lemon cream flavors and hints of clove and cardamom mark this well-knit dry Riesling, which combines power and elegance. Shows plenty of structure to balance the expressive palate, with a disarming clarity that belies the concentration. Best from 2020 through 2031. 375 cases made. - Feb. 2019

Vinous: The nose here is restrained but offers a satisfying and intriguing meld of fruit and mineral intimations. The feel is polished, almost silken, and the pronounced phenolics characteristic of Wittmann Rieslings are unusually restrained yet invigoratingly efficacious. On the long finish, striking ashy and chalky notes that might otherwise have conduced to austerity are integrated into a refreshing onrush of juicy ripe lime, grapefruit, apple and honeydew melon. A model of clarity as well as surprisingly charming and youthfully accessible, this Aulerde should nonetheless show yet more impressively with time in bottle. “It was a peculiar situation,” said Wittmann of Aulerde in this vintage, “the upper reaches of the site decimated by hail, the rest with perfect grapes. These old vines,” he added, “were especially capable of weathering the summer drought.” - David Schildknecht, Jul. 2019