From a unique parcel in the uppermost vineyard of the VDP.Grosse Lage Binger Scharlachberg comes the 2022 Scharlachberg Riesling GG. Cultivated on stony, skeleton-rich and distinctly red-colored topsoil with quartzite rock in the subsoil and vinified in stainless steel and German halbstücks (600-liter oak vats), the intensely yellow-colored wine opens with a dense, intense and elegant bouquet of ripe and concentrated aromatic fruits intertwined with distinctive mineral and stony as well as herbal and vegetal aromas. This full-bodied dry Riesling is remarkably refined and elegant on the palate, finely juicy and well balanced. It is spiced with very fine tannins and sur lies notes and provided with a long, very elegant and saline but also finely tensioned finish. Savory citrus fruit aromas populate the long, intense and complex aftertaste at this early stage. Even though we could enjoy this beauty now, this highly promising 2022 will show so much more in a couple of years. Be patient or, at least, open the bottle and have a couple of sips two days in advance. 12.5% stated alcohol. Diam cork. Tasted in January 2024. The Scharlachberg is a mighty quartzite rock, whose southern exposure and the warmth of the neighboring Rhine Valley ensure perfect ripening conditions. The cold downslope winds of the neighboring Hunsrück low mountain range and the exposed and high hillside location provide the cool and windy counterpart from which Riesling in particular benefits a lot. The finest examples, like Wagner-Stempel's 2022, combine perfect ripeness and concentration with savory acidity and characteristic salinity. The most fascinating Scharlachberg Rieslings are at least eight to 10 years old.

The Bingen 2021 Scharlachberg Riesling GG shows a deep, pure and fresh as well as refined and flint-stony bouquet of ripe Riesling berries, crushed stones and iodine notes. There are ripe white peach aromas peppered with slate in the distance. Full-bodied, intense and juicy on the palate, this is a dense, tight, crystalline and saline, very much tensioned yet also round and textured, even charming dry Riesling classic with lots of expression and aging potential. However, young as it is, this Scharlachberg is still down to earth and not yet flying, even rather astringent at this early stage. A few days after opening the bottle, the Scharlachberg turned out to be my favorite Riesling from Daniel Wagner of the 2021 vintage. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork stopper. Tasted in December 2022.

The 2020 Binger Scharlachberg Riesling GG opens as pure as intensely aromatic on the elegant, refined, fresh and flinty nose. Lush, round, intense and elegant on the palate, this is a lighter, well-balanced, refined and textured Scharlachberg with fine, crystalline and salty acidity but still slightly less tensioned compared to the 2020 Heerkretz. This pure, bright and refined Scharlachberg is charmingly textural and finishes precise, elegant and finely salty. However, after some days in the open bottle, the wine gained further complexity, mineral grip and tension. It finishes with stimulating salinity as well as finely concentrated and juicy yellow fruit aromas. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2022.

The 2019 Binger Scharlachberg Riesling GG, from iron-rich quartzite soils, offers a pure yet deep, intense and elegant bouquet with spicy tones of crushed, crystalline stones; ripe and fleshy yellow fruit aromas open up only with lots of aeration but are then quite prominent. After a few days in the opened bottle, the wine shows not only very ripe fruit aromas but also first hints of bottle maturation. Round yet pure and elegant on the palate, this full-bodied, vital, stimulatingly salty and stony Riesling is very expressive but always refined, mineral and true to its terroir. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2022.

Picked on September 27 at 94° Oechsle, the 2018 Riesling Scharlachberg GG is pure and flinty on the concentrated and stony nose. Juicy and piquant on the pure and refined palate, this is an elegant, tensioned and persistently salty dry Riesling from a 35-year-old plot that has been rented from the Runkel brothers (Weingut Bischel) for at least 10 years. Tasted in March 2020.