2018 Zellertal Kreuzberg Riesling Q.b.A. trocken Versteigerung Battenfeld-Spanier, Rheinhessen (0,75l)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 2018 Zellertal Kreuzberg Riesling Q.b.A. trocken Versteigerung, Battenfeld-Spanier

The 2018 Zellertal Kreuzberg Riesling is clear, intense yet discreet on the nose, with ripe and concentrated fruit and delicate sur lie aromas. Very intense and concentrated on the palate, this is a powerful and rich but fine and very mineral Kreuzberg with fine tannins and lots of extract. However, it's not quite as thrilling as the 2017. Tasted at the domaine in March 2020. - Stephan Reinhardt, Mai 2020

Mosel Fine Wines - 2018 Zellertal Kreuzberg Riesling Q.b.A. trocken Versteigerung, Battenfeld-Spanier

The 2018er Zellertal Kreuzberg, as it is referred to on the consumer label, is a bone-dry wine (with 3.4 g/l of residual sugar), which was fermented and aged in Halbstückfass, a 600 liter wooden cask. It proves rather primary and marked by residual scents from its spontaneous fermentation and only gradually opens up to reveal beautiful smoky and floral notes of pear, sage, herbs, mint, and vineyard peach. The wine is pure, airy, and zesty on the palate. It conveys a superb creamy touch, without any undue power, on the mid-palate. The finish is straight, delicate, and refined. This is a great and well-balanced dry Riesling. 2024-2033

Vinous - 2018 Zellertal Kreuzberg Riesling Q.b.A. trocken Versteigerung, Battenfeld-Spanier

For the story behind this vineyard and Spanier’s restoration of it, consult my review of the inaugural vintage 2017 bottling. Of numerous vintage 2018 Battenfeld-Spanier bottlings to display significant reduction, this is the one in which that is most pronounced. The upshot is a sense of animation and positive tension, but linked to a slightly less forthcoming array of scents and flavors than exhibited at this youthful stage by its stablemates. Crab apple and lime project a pungent aromatic and tangy palate impression, accompanied by smoky and saline notes. The long, lively finish leaves my tongue tingling and my salivary glands pumping. You’d never guess from tasting this wine that 2018 is a vintage in which there is a danger of too little acidity! - David Schildknecht, Nov. 2020