Jamessuckling.com | JS 99
Published: Jul 21, 2023

The nose of this Spatlese makes me think of 18th century engravings of pear and white peach varieties, but that only hints at the enveloping and astonishingly fine fruit that follows on the palate. A masterpiece of finesse, precision and balance, but even that doesn’t say the most important thing, which is the breathtaking leafy freshness and stony clarity at the stunningly long finish. When will it ever stop? From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

The Wine Advocate | RP 94+
Published: Dec 29, 2023
Drink: 2029-2060

The 2022 Schloss Johannisberg Grünlack Riesling Spätlese opens with a clear, intense, aromatic, savory and flinty bouquet of tropical fruits intertwined with almost slatey, in any case, savory and saline notes. It is perfectly ripe and super precise and irresistible. Rich and lush but fine and elegant on the palate, this is another highlight of the 2022 vintage in the Rheingau. It is incredibly savory, lush and saline. You can't stop swallowing this beauty and picture-book Spätlese. It is mouthwatering without end. This is a fabulous wine of great precision and piquancy! 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in September 2023. 40,000 bottles produced.

Stefan Doktor reports "good results" from a "difficult vintage." He is a luge racer and draws a comparison with his sport: "Just as I, as a light luger, need technically challenging tracks to finish earlier than others, I also like challenging vintages, because anyone can make good wines in easy years."

The challenges of the vintage lay in the long dry period during July and August, which dried out the soil and caused problems for young vines in particular, but not only, which meant the vines usually had to be relieved early. Barren sites also suffered from the drought, as there was no water available. The supply of nutrients was also problematic due to the drought, but then there was rain in September. The plants breathed a sigh of relief, but the berries also soaked up the water and therefore hardly increased in must weight. Sorting was therefore also a top priority in the fall of 2022. Even more than rot (there was hardly any noble botrytis, but there was gray rot), dried-out, unripe berries made life difficult for the harvesters. These were not allowed in the bucket under any circumstances, even if they looked healthy, and should actually be cut to the ground before the main harvest. Rotten and noble rotten berries are taboo at Schloss Johannisberg for all wines below the Spätlese and Auslese predicates. Botrytis cinerea was not even selected in 2022, but two magnificent Spätleses were, which are two of the three highlights of the vintage.

"We harvested quite late in 2022, but only during the breaks in the rain," reports Doktor. His team began picking at the end of September (significantly later than Eva Fricke just a few kilometers to the west) and finished around 20 October.

In addition to the two Spätleses, of which one (Fass 364) initially should have been part of the Grosses Gewächs but stopped fermenting far too early, the most impressive Riesling from the vintage is the dry Goldkapsel, which is flanked by the late-release 2020 dry Riesling Fass Nr. 300 Ex Bibliotheca subterranea.

Schloss-johannisberg.de

Taste explosion in your mouth. Our great classic. In the portfolio of Schloss Johannisberg since 1775.