Donnhoff Estate Riesling 2020

(Germany)

When it comes to Riesling, it sometime seems as if there’s a sort of standoff between wine professionals and wine consumers, with the former group proclaiming the varietal’s greatness and the latter largely ignoring them. Which strikes me as a little crazy—it’s like having to convince people they should eat more top-quality chocolate. Although some folks are understandably wary of sweet wines, having been turned off by cloying and insipid stuff from the past (Liebfraumilch, anyone?), it would be tragic to write off fine German Rieslings that successfully balance whatever residual sugar they might possess with a strong streak of acidity. That’s certainly true of Donnhoff’s estate Riesling, which is year in and year out one of the wine world’s great values. Made in an off-dry style from handpicked grapes grown on the steep, stony slopes above the Nahe River by the region’s premier producer, it opens with a bracing minerality on the nose, followed by a stunningly pure flavor that’s the equivalent of biting into the best green apple you could imagine. And at less than 11% alcohol, you won’t need to be resurrected after having a glass or two.