“Clear and elegant yet quite powerful wines.” – Wine Advocate

What a sweet deal! Yes, this may have a bit of residual sugar; however, when served well-chilled on a hot Indian summer day or with Thanksgiving fare, you won’t even notice it. Why? Cause great Riesling carries a balance like a tightrope walker between acidity and fruit, the tension’s so intense that they even out, just like a lemonade crafted to perfection.

Oh, and it hails from the Grand Cru of Goldtröpfchen in Piesport, unmatched in story and reputation in the Mosel. Where stone, slate, peach, and citrus go picnic on warm growing days with cool breezy nights on a slope so dramatic it’s near impossible to tend to without workers getting injured!

A Washington Post story cites the history “Goldtröpfchen means “droplets of gold,” referring to the wine that’s been pressed from the grapes grown here - and prized - for centuries. The 4th-century Roman poet Ausonius celebrated this vineyard in his poem “Mosella” (“River whose ridges are crowned with the vine’s odoriferous clusters!”), and a Roman wine press from the same era was unearthed at the foot of Goldtröpfchen in the 1980s. It was in the 18th century, so the story goes, that a Lutheran pastor persuaded the local farmers to plant only Riesling, the grape from which Germany’s most famous wines are now made. As you enter the town of Piesport, there’s a sculpture of a vine with a drop of gold that reads, Heimat des Goldtröpfchen. The sign means home of the golden droplets.”

And Wine Advocate explains the style, “Hain likes French wines and aims for straight, fresh, steely-mineral, elegant, and well-structured rather than mainly aromatic and fruity wines. Generally picking earlier and more selectively than in former times, he blends cooler and warmer plots but also different charges in the cellar to get more complexity.”

And the complexity this 10-year-old baby offers, in spades! And $25 is a JOKE for drops of gold.

Mosel Fine Wine “This delivers a direct and fruit-driven nose of grapefruit, yellow peach, pineapple, and pear, with some smoke and vanilla lurking in the background. The wine is quite sweet and overtly fruity and creamy on the palate with juicy notes of yellow peach, apple, and pear. This leads to a supple and creamy medium-long finish. This Auslese-styled wine will nicely satisfy any craving for rich and fruit-driven Riesling. Drink 2020-2035.”

Wine Advocate “The 2015 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett shows a clear and flinty bouquet of ripe stone fruit aromas with a refreshing hint of citrus flavors. Round, light and piquant, this is a mouth-filling, fresh and elegant Kabinett with 8.5% alcohol and around 60 grams of residual sugar. Keep this wine for 5-10 or even 15 years and it should be really delicious. Drink 2022-2035.”