Weingut W.E. Frank - Riesling Hipping Grosse Lage 2018

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The Niersteiner Riesling 2018 Hipping Grosse Lage is warm and intense on the generous but also elegant and detailed nose that pairs flinty notes with fully ripe fruit aromas and also some herbal notes; it's austere rather than juicy-fruity. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, mouth-filling, refined, pure and refreshing, mineral yet also finely juicy Riesling with elegant and concentrated fruit expression and a long, saline and sustainably structured finish carried by vital acidity and fine tannin structure. Frank's 2018 Hipping combines the heat of the site and the vintage with the finesse and coolish mineral drive and structure of the soil. Aged for seven to eight months in 110- to 600-liter barrels, this is a great dry Hipping, even though it is still young and opening only slowly. In the warm, east-facing Hipping, the grapes from two parcels come to the fore: the 1,422-square-meter steep slope "Obere Kehr," with 33-year-old vines, and the 1,564-square-meter core piece "Untere Kehr," which is below in the Gewann and has 34-year-old vines. The average slope of the steep slope is 56.1%, and the core piece is 17.1%. There were 2,780 bottles filled in December 2019 with 13.3% measured alcohol and 4.4 grams per liter of residual sugar. Natural cork stopper."