Günther Steinmetz Riesling Dhroner Grosser Hengelberg 2018

Steinmetz's debut vintage at this monopole site yields a full, dry-tasting Riesling sitting at around 13% alcohol, powerful territory for the Mosel. The nose is high-toned and concentrated: mint, menthol, fresh apple, and ripe honeydew melon, each shading into something more distilled and intense beneath. For all its weight and glossy mid-palate richness, there's enough primary fruit drive to keep things from feeling heavy. The finish is where this wine really asserts itself, gripping and invigorating, with the chew of apple skin, sharp mint piquancy, and a streak of stone, alkali, and iodine that lingers with real complexity. Worth tracking over time, though the alcohol is a legitimate question mark; drinking window projections here are deliberately cautious for that reason.