2016 Immich-Batterieberg "Ellergrub" Mosel Riesling Trocken

NEW WAVE MOSEL FROM ONE OF GERMANY'S OLDEST ESTATES

Reason #1 to buy these wines. It's the only wine label we've ever seen with a pair of baby angels firing Riesling bottles out of a medieval cannon. What's in the bottle though? The Immich-Batterieberg estate is one of Germany's oldest estates, with vineyards dating back to the year 911 and a cellar dating to the year 870. The estate had been modernized for the last few decades until Gernot Kollman purchased the property in 2009. He's spent the last decade revitalizing the vineyards and adding soul back into the mix. I love these wines because they are a contradiction of ideas. While they are a literal new kid on the block in a region full of centuries old wineries, the property is one of the oldest in the country. 80% of the vines on the estate are ungrafted and more than 60 years old. They are labelled as 'trocken', or dry wines, but have this efficacious, perfectly integrated sweetness that lingers beneath and drives the finish. The Escheburg is the best introduction to the estate style, a blend of several estate vineyards creating absurdly delicious dry Riesling with a kiss of 'hidden sweetness'. The Ellergrub is quickly becoming one of the estate's 'cultiest' wines, with prices escalating year over year. This 1.4 hectare pure blue slate vineyard from the magnificent 2016 vintage. Compare to Grosses Gewachs styles.