The lemon/lime-green colored 2018 Idig Riesling Trocken "GG" offers a deep and complex, still yeasty-scented and flinty nose. Lush and juicy on the palate but with a fine and silky texture, fine tannins and a very long finish, this is an outstandingly rich and powerful Riesling with perhaps some grams of sugar or a lower acidity but with the vitality of a remarkable wine that will surely and clearly improve in the bottle.

One could be tempted to call Steffen Christmann’s Idig the minimalist among Riesling Grosse Gewächse. Whereas others may revel in opulence, particularly in 2018, the Idig excels in noble restraint. But it is exactly this understatement of individual components, whether they be herbal, mineral or fruity, which allows the taster to focus on balance and elegance as the key elements of one of the most sophisticated of Germany’s Grosse Gewächse. The thinking-person’s Riesling.