Leinhöhle

After the previous dry Riesling, a slightly sweeter one.

Weingut Bassermann-Jordan, Deidesheimer Leinhöhle Riesling Kabinett 2008, Pfalz, Germany
Leinhöhle is a moderate south-to-southeasterly slope situated between the edge of Deidesheim and the Palatinate forest. In earlier times, the village's womenfolk recognised the warmth of this site and used it as their favoured place to hang up their washing. For details on the etymological origins of "Leinhöhle", please refer to the winery website.

Leinhöhle is less "cool climate" than maybe other adjacent vineyards. It often seems to be a favourite among the local wine estates as a source of off-dry Riesling, lending to a succulent fruity style.

Despite having 9.5% alcohol, this wine is still less sweet and more off-dry than you would initially imagine.

Pale straw in appearance with pungent saline aromas and notes of quince (jam), apple, grapefruit and dried herbs. On my personal sense-of-sweetness (SOS) scale, it's certainly slightly more honeyed than the usual feinherb - but not by much. Still with a dry finish, this is simply a fun wine but one that offers more than enough precision and bite. Sadly, non-trocken Kabinetts from the Pfalz are facing extinction. I hope they don't die out altogether.

[NB: The lovely bottle label is used by Bassermann-Jordan for their non-dry wines. In their own words, "for all wines with residual sugar content ranging from restrained and spicy to highly concentrated, elegant and sweet".]