The 2022 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Graben Riesling Grosses Gewachs is a highly regarded white wine from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region in Germany. Produced by Selbach-Oster, this Riesling stands out for its complexity and structure, earning it excellent reviews from noted critics.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded this wine a strong score of 94 points. The publication's reviewer, SR, describes it as having "a clear, deep and flinty bouquet of ripe and healthy Riesling berries." The wine is noted for being "lush and round on the palate" with a "dense and intense" structure. Its minerality is highlighted, along with "fine tannins and well-integrated salinity." SR suggests that the wine is "young but mouth-filling" and recommends aging it for at least another 4-5 years. The wine has a stated alcohol content of 12.5% and is sealed with a natural cork.
James Suckling offered an even higher rating of 96 points, calling the wine "a shining star amongst the 2022 dry Mosel rieslings." He praises its "super-elegant and seriously concentrated" character, noting its "subtle, smoky complexity" and "fine stone fruit packed into a very sleek silhouette." Suckling also highlights the "extremely long and focused finish with stacks of slatey minerality," and while it is drinkable now, he recommends enjoying it best from 2025 onwards.
Vinous, another respected publication, gave the wine a score of 93 points, with Anne Krebiehl MW offering detailed insights. She mentions that the wine is made from a single parcel left of the Doctor vineyard, planted in the early 1940s on its own roots and dense single stakes, facing southwest on blue Devonian slate. The 2020 vintage was the first to be made dry, transitioning from its previous styles of Spätlese or Auslese. Krebiehl describes the wine as having "a subtle, creamy citrus lift" on the nose, which turns into "a pithy citrus feel on the palate," providing both flavor and texture. She concludes by noting the wine’s "statuesque and vivid" finish.
In summary, the 2022 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Graben Riesling Grosses Gewachs is a highly acclaimed wine known for its elegance, concentration, and minerality. It is recommended for those looking to experience a top-tier dry Mosel Riesling, with aging potential that promises to enhance its already impressive qualities.