From: Mosel, Germany
Varietal: Riesling
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Fritz Willi Riesling Off-Dry showcases fragrant aromas of apricot, lemon-lime citrus zest, and minerality derived from the Mosel’s classic slate soils. Ripe stone fruit flavors, including apricot and peach, follow on the palate, mingling with mineral earth undertones and brightness punctuated by hints of green apple and a grapefruit-lemon tart verve. The off-dry nature of the wine is well-integrated translating to a long, fresh finish that makes it marvelously easy to keep sipping on.
“Pert yellow plum and grapefruit are juxtaposed by sunbaked slate and smoke in this spine-tingling Riesling. Just a touch of sweetness accents zesty lime and lemon flavors, but the palate finishes quite dry on lingering notes of smoke and earth. It's a complex but delightfully easy-quaffing wine best enjoyed now–2024.” —Anna Lee C. Iijima, Wine Enthusiast, 92 points
Pairing: This is an incredibly balanced off-dry Riesling that will pair with a wide range of dishes. Try it with bagels and lox with all the fixings, crab cakes, grilled white fish, Thai lemongrass shrimp, spicy papaya salad, or pork schnitzel with a side of sauerkraut. We’d love to enjoy it with the following Pan-Roasted Pork Chops With Dilled Potato Salad recipe from Katy Sparks, adapted for the NYT by Florence Fabricant.
About. This 2021 Fritz Willi Off-Dry Riesling was made by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium winery, which was founded in 1561 by the Archbishop of Trier to support a Jesuit high school (gymnasium) of the same name. The ancient Roman city of Trier is the cradle of German winemaking, and lies in the heart of the prestigious Mosel region. Through the centuries since, wine production from the vineyards helped to support the school, which still exists. Today the wine estate consists of 61 acres of superb vineyards, located on the steep slopes of the Middle Mosel and Saar (a tributary of the Mosel River)–all dedicated exclusively to Riesling. Some of these elite sites have been farmed continually by the winery for three and even four centuries. Filigreed aromas and textbook Mosel structure, marked by elegance, fruitiness and stony minerality, are the hallmarks of the estate’s Rieslings.
