Oxidation in Riesling

Hi Terry,

Is part of the appeal of aged riesling due to oxidative derived characters? Riesling seems to be very robust in this area or do you disagree? What are you looking for in well aged riesling and what are the characters of common faults.

Great posts on many interesting questions thank you.


Cheers Mike

“Oxidative” has a negative connotation, as demonstrating a form of decay. That isn’t what happens to good German Riesling. It sheds its primary fruit and takes on ester-derived (some say aldehydic factors also come into play) tertiary elements that are extremely complex, to the point of being mysterious and miraculous in the best examples.

Each of us has preferences for the “ideal” evolution. Mine is to grasp the point where fruit is still present and the flavors of development are an emerging and beautiful nuance. But it would shock most of you to learn how long you sometimes can wait for that moment. Last March, an unexceptional Spätlese from a vintage with large yields was precisely in that most perfect of phases. The vintage? 1964. The estate was Selbach-Oster.

Hi Terry,
Thank you. I have only come across the evolution you describe a few times, old bottles I have bought. Nearly all my German Rieslings purchased from release, late 1990’s onwards, seem to be ageless, I had a 2001 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Kabinett on Monday which had great balance, detail, and was lovely drinking but I still felt a little cheated in that it was way off its peak, none of the evolution you describe was apparent, though the quality of the wine suggests the potential. I guess my expectations may be a little unreal…
Cheers Mike

I too had a 2001 Mosel Kabinett just last night; it was “al dente,” more-or-less ready but still firm in the middle. 3-5 more years are warranted to see that wine really open and flow.