Kühling-Gillot Riesling Niersteiner Hipping Grosses Gewächs 2016

The nose opens on white peach with a resinous, pit-fruit edge — spruce and stone running beneath the fruit like a seam. On the palate, the wine is dense and glyceric, richer in texture than you might expect from the Hipping, yet peach and lime keep things lively and prevent the weight from becoming oppressive. The stony underpinnings are unmistakable, though at this stage the wine feels gathered rather than open — more contemplative than expressive. It lacks the exuberance of Pettenthal, but the finish is long, persistent, and rewards patience, trailing off through mineral and resinous herbal notes without any sense of alcoholic heat. There's real substance here, and time will almost certainly prove generous.