Barely off-dry, this is a very juicy riesling that has a firm core of slate character. So light-footed and bright with a wonderfully refreshing and super-clean finish.\n \n Producer Information\n Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken is situated in the Saar valley sub-region of Mosel, Germany. The estate is exclusively planted to Riesling, from which it creates its extensive portfolio of dry Riesling wines alongside the more well-known sweet counterparts of Auslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. The Zilliken family can trace their winemaking history back to 1742, but it was Royal Prussian Forest Superintendent Ferdinand Geltz who really laid the groundwork for the establishment of Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken. Ferdinand Geltz played a significant role in the founding of the "Vereins der Naturweinversteigerer Großer Ring", an association of estates in the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer regions. Today the organization is known as the VDP and consists of approximately 200 of Germany's top wineries. Geltz's granddaughter Marianne rebuilt the estate after World War II and, in 1947, married Fritz Zilliken. This prompted the relabelling of the estate to Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken. The estate comprises a total of 11 hectares (27 acres) of Grosse Lage-classified vineyards situated on steep, south-facing slopes. The 10ha (25 acre) Saarburger Rausch site sits atop soils ranging from medium-gray, fine layered Devonian slate to diabase. The slopes of the additional 1ha (2 acre) plot known as Ockfener Bockstein are characterized by soils of large gray, Devonian slate laced with quartz and yellow clay. The estate's entire portfolio of Riesling wines, from its Gutswein (entry-level) to its Ortswein (village) and Grosse Lage (single-vineyard), are 100-percent estate grown and bottled.
