I got an early sample of this wine, not sure what the final label will look like. This is a fascinating wine that shows the potential and chameleon-like nature of Sylvaner in Burg-Layen. Here the fruit is from old vinyeards (30-60 years) and was skin fermented for six weeks, in two batches, one with the stems and one not. Christine Pieroth (who is “Piri Wein”) explained that she made this experiment due to the exceptionally ripe and sugar-rich quality of the grapes in 2018.
It’s a turbid tawny colour, with a nose that reminds me a bit of mature Radikon Ribolla Gialla. It starts out all baked fruits and raisins, with a little volatile note. More aeration brings out some aromatics. I love the chewy, substantial tannins, ripe and spicy. There’s a hint of residual sugar on the finish which bothered me at first, but then seemed to integrate as the wine opened up.
It’s all about the texture, the lovely spiciness and tingling acids. Overall very satisfying but needs oxygen and potentially time. So far, rock solid!