Leitz Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Hinterhaus Grosses Gewächs 2016

Lime zest, ripe peach, and roasted hazelnut open the nose with real intensity, this is a late October harvest wine and it shows. On the palate, the concentration is almost implosive: pithy nut extract, smoky black tea, crushed slate, and a tangy peach core that cuts right through. The structure is firmer than Leitz's other 2016 Grosse Gewächse, with a finish that turns almost severe in its grip, stone and piquancy locked together in a long, penetrating close. Worth noting: a trace of oak present at an August 2017 tasting had vanished entirely by January 2018. Patience will be well rewarded here.