This is Bürklin-Wolf’s “Ortswein” (village level) bottling from vineyards in Deidesheim, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more sumptuous, detailed style of dry Riesling anywhere. The focus on dry styles is one of the calling cards of Bettina Bürklin von Guradze, who took over management of her family’s historic property from her father, Dr. Albert Bürklin, in 1990. Fresh from the acclaimed Geisenheim University at that time, Bettina immediately began converting all viticulture to biodynamics, investing in new equipment, and crafting Rieslings that were not only mostly dry but followed the “Burgundian” model in terms of their vineyard-centric crafting and terminology. The estate includes some 80 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim, and Ruppertsberg, of which a dizzying array are classified as Erste Lage (“Premier Cru”) or Grosses Gewächs (“Grand Cru”).

This wine is a masterclass in Riesling precision. In the glass, it’s a shimmering pale yellow with flecks of silver. The nose pulls you in with honeydew, apricot, lime, spearmint, and a faint whiff of smoke. On the palate, it’s stony, deep, and incisive with green mango, fresh-cut apple, and crushed slate minerality. Serve this cool, around 45 degrees, and you’ll be reaching for a second bottle before you know it. The pairing options are virtually limitless here: Thai or Vietnamese food; pan-seared scallops or shrimp in a lemon-based pan sauce; even a fatty pork chop. A word to the wise: stock up on a case because you’ll want to drink it all now!