The 2016 Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese (AP 08 17) is discreet and smoky on the deep, well-defined nose. Juicy-piquant and salty on the well-structured and refreshingly mineral palate, the Himmelreich is tight and expressive, with the sweetness superbly balanced by the spicy, grippy phenols/minerals. This is a really complex Spätlese that is highly stimulating today and will still be so in 20 or 30 years.

Considered one of the world's greatest white wine varieties, aromatic and fresh Riesling is often caught between the purity of its German iterations to the complexity of its Alsatian counterparts. Food Pairings: Pork, Squash & Root Vegetables, Chili & Hot Spicy, White Fish, Fruit Desserts, Meaty & Oily Fish, Duck, Goat & Feta Cheese, 

Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett is pure and flinty on the pure, elegant, terroir-driven nose. Piquant and crystalline on the palate, this is a crunchy and crispy, well-concentrated and nicely phenolic Schlossberg with juicy fruit but a crystalline and refined finish. Very long and stimulatingly salty.

Erni Loosen considers Bernkasteler Lay to be equal or superior to the famed and expensive Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard. A Grand Cru vineyard, the dark blue slate soils of Bernkasteler Lay produce wine laden with white peach, green apple, citrus zest and wet stone. Always on the denser more serious side of Kabinett, this would be at its best with salty, smoky and spicy foods, from gravlax to shrimp in a red chili sauce.