Dry. Organic. With Müller-Catoir's Haardt Riesling, you hit the 'village' level of the German VDP classification. As in Burgundy, these commune-level wines can incorporate fruit from several sites, including declassified fruit from classified vineyards. Müller-Catoir's version includes young-vine material from the legendary Grosses Gewächs-rated Bürgergarten vineyard and the classified sites of Herzog, Mandelring and Herrenletten.

The fruit was slowly crushed, allowing for some skin contact, and raised in steel tank, resulting in a wine of terrific depth and racy, salty/mineral personality. Dripping with wet stone, pear nectar, fresh lime, and juicy mandarin, it's a beautifully textured Riesling, nimbly dancing a tightrope between exoticism and classic mineral freshness and tension. Despite its mouth-coating texture, it remains remarkably light on its feet; a wine of poise and distinction.