A fresh, vibrant dry Riesling from one of the Rheingau’s most historic estates. Bursting with aromas of yellow peach, grapefruit, kiwi, and a touch of orange blossom, it’s lively and structured with remarkable depth for an entry-level wine. Certified organic since 2021, Schloss Johannisberg has crafted a wine that’s both elegant and energetic, with a long, precise finish. 93 points James Suckling, 90+ Robert Parker. Drink now or cellar for years to come.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 93
Published: Jul 4, 2024

This beautiful dry Rheingau riesling has complex aromas of yellow peaches, grapefruit, kiwis and red gooseberries with a hint of orange blossoms that delights and teases. Remarkable concentration and vitality for an entry-level wine. Very long, structured and complete finish that is simultaneously ripe, cool and properly dry. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

The Wine Advocate | RP 90+
Published: Oct 31, 2024
Drink: 2025-2045

The 2023 Schloss Johannisberg Gelblack Riesling Trocken is clear, fresh and savory on the characterful nose that already represents the Schloss Johannisberg terroir. Elegant, refined and juicy on the palate, this is a balanced dry Riesling that is nevertheless round and charming and develops an intense and well-concentrated finish. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in August 2024.

Schloss Johannisberg has been a certified organic winery for two years. The changeover could not have been more challenging with the 2023 vintage. “The harvest was a struggle because there was a lot of pressure due to the warm and humid air,” reports Stefan Doktor, an athlete—he races through the world's ice channels on a luge—who naturally knows and appreciates challenges. “You had to work as quickly as possible and press until 3 a.m. because the yeasts were already active in the vineyard. Before the big harvest team arrived on September 18, we had already brought in 40% of our grapes—all in a healthy state and physiologically ripe, with high acidity—the week before with the pre-harvest team. A week later, we had 80%.” In total, the harvest took a little less than three weeks. By the end of September, everything had been harvested, including two spectacularly precise botrytis wines, a Beerenauslese and a Trockenbeerenauslese, both of which have crazy acidity levels and precise fruit aromas, as if Albrecht Dürer had drawn them. They are the highlights of the Schloss Johannisberg 2023 vintage and are made to last.

The average yield in 2023 was 56 hectoliters per hectare. In the end, Stefan Doktor himself was impressed by the quality of the musts and even more so by the wines with their superbly pronounced tartaric acidity. The highlight for next year has already been bottled. For the upcoming 250th anniversary of Spätlese, which was discovered here in 1775, 1,000 bottles have been made of the Riesling Schloss Johannisberg Ex-Bibliotheca Subterranea Cuvée 100 Spätlese, which blends numerous Spätlese vintages back to 1915.

Schloss-johannisberg.de

Grape variety 100% Riesling
Appellation Rheingau
Single vineyard Schloss Johannisberg 

Terroir
The totally south-facing vineyard is steep as 45 and climbs from 114 m to 181m above sea level. The forest on top of the Taunus protects the vineyards from cold winds from the North and in the South the Rhine lays like a lake in front of the estate on the foothills. The 50 parallel runs directly through the vineyard and the unique soil formation with Taunusquarzit topped with loam and rich loss is perfect for mineral Rieslings keeps water and temperature very well. 

- 2023 -

According to the German Weather Service, 2023 was the warmest year which has been recorded. Except April, all month were too warm, especially June and September. Due
to the unusually high temperatures in September with warm, humid weather, the grapes ripened very well. This growing conditions led to compact grapes, which were carefully
selected by hand. These measures enabled us to keep the grapes healthy. The Riesling harvest began on September 12 and was completed just under three weeks at the beginning of October.