Muhr-Van der Niepoort Ried Spitzerberg 2015

The ten hectares of Blaufränkisch are divided among more than twenty parcels of different ages, with slightly different exposition. They pick, vinify and mature each parcel separately in order to observe the evolution. Every year the finest and most expressive wines are made from the oldest vines, which are between 40–60 years old, they select and blend those finest wines and call it SPITZERBERG. 2015 was an extremely dry and hot summer. The result is a very concentrated, compact wine, but still nicely balanced by an elegant minerality, with fresh aromas of red fruits, silky tannins and a very precise acidity. "'Pretty much exactly seven years after the harvest, the 2015 Prellenkirchen Ried Spitzerberg offers a deep, intense and generous but refined and elegant bouquet of concentrated red fruits, tobacco leaves, minty and peppery notes and those of crushed stones. Silky, round and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, lush yet also refined and vivacious Blaufränkisch that reflects the extraordinarily warm vintage as well as the spiciness of the terroir. An assemblage of Kranzen, Obere Roterd and Oberer Spitzer, this is a very generous and possibly a touch too smooth Spitzerberg with pretty fine tannins, but they're not as fine as they are today in the 2019 Oberer Spitzer. 13.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in September 2022." Stephan Reinhardt, Dec 2022, Wine Advocate