Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2022

From the youngest vineyards (30 years old) on the southeast-facing plot now called Sonnenuhr, the 2017 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #10 has a very clear, fresh and precise nose, with a refreshing and still wild sensation, youthful but also minerally and slightly smoky. On the palate, it is dense and concentrated, with an exuberant but refined and elegant sweetness. This Juffer Sonnenuhr reveals a vibrant, mineral and saline-spicy finish, supported by a remarkably intense acidity, which needs a little aeration to settle and integrate with the noble texture of the wine. Nevertheless, the wine is full of energy, tension, purity and vivacity. Tasted in March and April 2019.

With the 2017 wines, Oliver Haag has produced perhaps the finest vintage of his life. There was not a single wine I tasted that I would not recommend for purchase and tasting. Even the so-called “entry-level” wines impress with their precision and concentration. The Grosses Gewächs (GGs) are excellent (and much more refined than they were less than a decade ago), but honestly, the predicates are the wines to collect. The higher the level, the more refined the wine, and the closer it is to the Juffer Sonnenuhr, the more legendary it becomes. No less than three wines received a score of 100, all from the Juffer Sonnenuhr, one of the greatest terroirs along the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer: Auslese LGK, BA and TBA. These selections are incredibly clear, precise and refined, with an impressive balance, at the same time intense and delicate. If I had to sum it up in one sentence: perfection and fascination.

The first three bottles of the 2018 vintage had just been bottled when I tasted the 2017s in early April this year, and Oliver Haag asked me not to publish my impressions, as the wines were not yet at their peak. That may be true, but I was already impressed and wonder: will the Fritz Haag 2018 rival the magnificent 2017s? A huge success for Oliver Haag, whose wines are a pleasure to drink at any time.