From 50-year-old vines on pure phyllite slate, the 2016 Nahe Riesling Bockenauer Felseneck Spätlese Goldkapsel (AP 17 17) has a darker toned, very deep and intense bouquet of smoky slate and golden Riesling berries. Lush, piquant, very pure, finessed and elegant on the palate, this is a highly refined and precise Spätlese with a crystalline and spicy-piquant character, a great amalgam of crushed stones and juicy-piquant Riesling berries. A true gold cap. Very long and full of tension.

A little deeper and more brooding – less immediately expressive – compared with the non-Goldkapsel version. Succulent, intense but has such finesse and flows across the palate barely touching the sides. A German beauty. VGV (JH)

The sense of smell is dazzled by a multi-faceted fragrance which matches a generous variety of fruit with fresh herbaceous aromas and adds stony and herbal nuances for good measure. The flavour is overwhelming, but more so with the finesse and purity of its components than sheer opulence. Mouth-watering acidity stimulates the taste buds to raise their perceptiveness to a masterful combination of cool salty minerality, zesty fruit and crunchy herbaceous greens. (MS)