Schätzel | Rheinhessen | Riesling “Fuchs” | 2021 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Schätzel Riesling “Fuchs” 2021 (bio)

Info

The Fuchs Riesling comes from the VDP. Große Lage Hipping on the Roter Hang. In this case, Fuchs stands for the Fuchsloch plot and boasts forty-year-old vines. The plot is surrounded by trees, shrubs, and herbs. The Riesling grows here partly in the shade or even under pergolas. The grapes are selected by hand after the harvest. The must is trodden with the feet and cold macerated for 48 hours. Fermentation and lactic acid fermentation follow in old 600-liter oak barrels. The flor yeast then forms, and the wine is allowed to mature for a full 36 months.

Colour

Slightly cloudy orange-gold

Nose

It has a charming aroma of nuts and citrus fruits. Zest from numerous citrus fruits as well as orange and mandarin peel. The tart, refreshing mandarin skin also makes its presence felt. It presents a hint of Christmas with cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. This is complemented by abundant bright, floral nuances. Apple and orange blossom stand out. Fuchs 2021 appears almondy, yeasty, and reminiscent of salt dough. A touch of turmeric shines through. Ripe apple, caramelized quince, and candied ginger appear subordinately. Mirabelle plum and peach compote are generously portioned, but far from sweet. White pepper and gingerbread spice swirl delicately in the background.

Palate

The Fuchs from the 2021 vintage is a true purist. It presents itself as racy and powerful. With high acidity, it sits bone dry in the glass. It is salty and austere. Its taut structure reveals rough edges. The floral notes of the nose fade away. Instead, it is grippy, mineral, and crisp. The nutty aromas are clearly evident in the finish alongside quince and ginger. The distinct spice of the nose is only faintly noticeable.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Schätzel Riesling “Fuchs” 2021 bio Rheinhessen Germany

Wine Advocate

Score: 93+

Sourced from the Fuchsloch lieu-dit of the Niersteiner Hipping, macerated for 48 hours and vinified in a 600-liter halbstück for 36 months, the cloudy amber/orange-colored 2021 Riesling Fuchs “shows all the brutality of the vintage, especially if compared with the ultra charming 2020,” says Kai Schaetzel. The nose is deep, complex and elegant yet also charming and refined, revealing notes of stewed yellow fruits (mirabelles), brioche, mocha, flor, crushed rocks, iodine, flowers and herbs. Medium-bodied or rather light in its weight yet also intense in flavors and enormously saline on the palate, this is a textural, buoyant and powerful Hipping with a long and intense yet straight and finely tannic finish. It’s still young and tight but complex and probably with remarkable aging potential. 11% stated alcohol. Diam 10 cork. Tasted in November 2024.
Stephan Reinhardt

Vinous

Score: (92-94)

The 2021 Riesling Fuchs was picked in the Hipping parcel of Fuchsloch, thus the Landwein is called Fuchs. This was aged under flor in barrel on gross lees. It will be bottled once the new juice goes into the existing lees, which Schätzel likens to a sourdough starter. Gorgeous red apple ripeness blends in with soothing, yeasty creaminess. The palate is as apple-scented and yeasty as the nose but distinctly salty and serene, with that exquisite and clear acidity fully buffered yet undeniably a product of 2021. This is linear and mouthwatering. Driven and energetic yet soothing, it finishes with fresh apple juiciness. (Bone-dry)
— Anne Krebiehl MW
Drinking window: 2026 – 2050
Review date: Oct 2024

Producer website: https://www.schaetzel.de/home