“Thörle notes a year of two distinct halves with a summer slit into dryness and rain, which arrived on August 26. Precipitation chiefly affected the Pinots Blanc and Gris, with Silvaner, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling not yet ripe enough to be badly hit. Further slight rains followed on September 12 and 18, which could not do much damage due to good drainage. The combination of sufficient water and warm weather quickly advances ripeness. “There was not a single break in our harvest, and all was done in three and a half weeks,” Christoph Thörle says. “We started on September 7 with cosmetic pre-harvests to remove anything rotted and finished in late September.” The Pinot Noir fruit was clean, and the Riesling, “despite the hot weather, came in with decent pH levels.” Riesling fruit remained healthy; the rain event on September 18 brought “just a bit of botrytis in the Probstey vineyard, but there was no botrytis in the other sites,” Thörle adds. Fermentations went without a hitch. All this is an understatement because, clearly, the grapes had just all they needed.”

“Rheinhessen produced world-class Rieslings in 2023. The wines are bursting with flavor and delineated by freshness, but moderate in alcohol. “The nectarine and curious peach into my hands
themselves do reach…” This striking line from Andrew Marvell’s poem The Garden involuntarily popped into my mind repeatedly while tasting the 2023 Rieslings; such was their verve and expression. Even the entry-level Rieslings shine. However, the year was not an easy one. Viticultural skills, timely decisions and a sufficient workforce were needed to capture the brilliant fruit.
An initially dry year was drenched in late summer rains, which the late-ripening Riesling weathered with aplomb–at least in the right hands and sites. The steep, stony slopes of historic renown proved
their exalted status all over again, and so did well-drained, gentler slopes. Water availability advanced ripeness as well as aromatic development, and if there is one operative attribute for this Riesling
vintage, it is juiciness. In the Rheingau, off-dry and nobly sweet wines with electric acidity are an added bonus. Some of them will outlive us all. The 2022 Pinot Noirs are among the best German Spätburgunders ever made. Two thousand twentytwo provides a new paradigm for German Pinot Noir. The wines from this hot and dry year do not taste hot at all. On the contrary–the top producers have understood the importance of harvest point. Dry conditions meant perfectly healthy grapes, and despite the usual German spectrum of styles, these Pinot Noirs are distinguished by their really fine, ripe tannin structures. Neither are they drowned in oak. Elegance is now a byword and readers looking for alternatives to Burgundy will find a most contemporary interpretation of an old-world style in Germany. “ 

2023 Thörle Saulheimer Hölle Riesling – 96 points
Drinking window: 2028 - 2050
The 2023 Riesling Saulheimer Hölle was picked on a steep limestone slope, from older vines. White
peach and lemon are clear, pristine and bright on the nose, radiating zestiness. The palate is smooth
and elegant, with cooling depth and tingling brightness. It is fine-boned in structure and slender in
build, but there’s nonetheless a fill of delicious fruit. There’s no makeup and no frills here, just
limestone purity and luminous lemon. It’s salty, long and so pristine. (Bone-dry)

2022 Saulheimer Hölle Spätburgunder– 95 points
Drinking window: 2026 - 2045
The 2022 Spätburgunder Saulheimer Hölle was harvested from 50 years old vines, of German Ritter
genetics. A touch of fresh verbena joins ripe dark cherry on the nose. The palate comes in with far
more brightness and coolness, presenting superfine tannins that are dense and live off a sense of the
finest dark chocolate. The texture is still slightly drying, but it’s so fine and dense without heft. This
represents equanimity and grace of ripeness and freshness at a perfect juncture. (Bone-dry)

2022 Thörle Saulheimer Probstey Spätburgunder – 95 points
Drinking window: 2026 - 2045
The 2022 Spätburgunder Saulheimer Probstey shines with pure, aromatic, ripe red cherry. That same
smooth and calm purity of fruit is apparent on the serene palate. Bright freshness meets superfine
tannins, uniting into a fine-boned structure that gives the most delicious crunch and melts into that
cherry flesh. With every swish across the palate, this sinks deeper into the limestone, seamed by
cooling freshness. Detail and poise mean this just sails with complete ease and blithe elegance. Wow.
Pure velvet. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Saulheimer Probstey Riesling – 95 points
Drinking window: 2026 - 2050
The 2023 Riesling Saulheimer Probstey is from Saulheim’s warmest site, which faces south on sandyloam-
topped limestone. Fully fermented in Stück, it opens with lovely reduction, blending with a touch
of lemon balm and ripe lemon peel. The palate is a picture of cool, smooth fluidity. This is harmonious
and cool, gliding along with immense freshness. A beautiful edge of subtle pith and chalk underlines
that cool elegance even more. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Saulheimer Schlossberg Riesling – 95 points
Drinking window: 2026 - 2050
The 2023 Riesling Saulheimer Schlossberg is from a west-facing site on heavy clay on limestone with
great water availability. Reduction is strong on the nose, but underneath, ripe lemon glows. That lemon
feeling remains central to the wine, gliding along with freshness and almost dripping with juiciness.
Further hints of even riper Meyer lemon build with time. This is incredibly fine-boned and immensely
salty. So fine and elegant, this is pure, bright, poised and zesty on the long finish. (Bone-dry)

2022 Thörle Saulheimer Spätburgunder Kalkstein – 94 points
Drinking window: 2026 - 2045
The 2022 Spätburgunder Saulheim was made from German and French genetics, rooted in the
limestone of Hölle and Schlossberg. It matured in 30% new wood. Gentle smokiness and ripe red cherry
are clear and pristine on the nose. The palate immediately signals calm and is uncommonly
harmonious. Nothing sticks out here—all is measured and cool, with detailed, nano-particle-like
tannins that speak of perfect ripeness. Fine natural freshness reflects a perfect harvest point. Clarity
and poise depict pure cherry fruit, delineated by vivid acid. This displays absolutely impressive
equanimity and total elegance. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Essenheim Riesling Kalkmergel – 93 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2045
Fermented completely in Stück, the 2023 Riesling Kalkmergel Essenheim hails from calcareous marl in
the elevated village of Essenheim. Creamy lemon on the nose promises tenderness, leading to white
peach and soothing, smooth brightness. The body is slender and bedded on that creaminess, but it’s
long, elegant and fine, portraying its limestone coolness. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Saulheim Riesling Kalkstein – 93 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2045
The 2023 Riesling Kalkstein Saulheim was harvested from vines at least 20 years old on limestone soils.
Fermented 60% in Stück, with the rest in stainless steel, it stayed on gross lees for eight months. The
nose is pristine with white peach, salt and immensely animating, scented lemon, almost like an ocean
breeze. This is a really pure, bright, pristine Riesling with exquisite contour. It boasts an elegant,
elongated finish and a fine-boned limestone nature. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Chardonnay Réserve – 93 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2045
The 2023 Chardonnay Réserve was grown in the limestone of the Hölle, on the mid-slope, harvested
from vines that are just over 30 years old. Gentle smokiness on the nose is suffused with ripe lemon
peel. The palate has beautiful limestone grace. All about this is bright, fine and pristine, with just the
right crackle of flint and a smooth, slaty, chalky texture. This is very fine and so bright. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Kalk & Kreide Saulheim Chardonnay & Pinot blanc– 92 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2040
The 2023 Kalk & Kreide is a 60/40 blend of Chardonnay and Weissburgunder, fermented in both
Stück and tonneaux . It was grown on chalky limestone, planted in the 1990s on the western part of
the Hölle. A lovely touch of ripe Mirabelle blends with chalk and slight smoke on the nose. Swirling
brings out ripe lemon zest. Brightness and juiciness define the palate, where chalk and oak combine to
give this a fine timbre. Just an echo of texture helps contain that wonderfully juicy, bright ripeness.
Rounded but very finely contoured, this has a great future. (Bone-dry)

2022 Thörle Spätburgunder – 92 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2040
The 2022 Spätburgunder is from a mix of German and French genetics. Fully destemmed and
fermented in open cuve, it matured for 18 months in used barrique. A touch of smoke wraps itself
around aromatic wild cherry. Cool, smooth balance is immediately apparent on the palate—coolness,
in fact, is the operative term, even in this warm year. Fully ripe tannins brush like starched velvet,
rounded but really fine. The wild cherry aroma is beguiling and pure, while the freshness is pristine,
pure and expressive. My oh my, this is quite a number for an estate Pinot Noir. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Austernkalk Riesling – 91 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2040
The 2023 Riesling Austernkalk is from a stony parcel in the Schlossberg, planted on limestone in 2016,
chiefly from petrified oyster shells—hence the name. This was fermented 60% in Stück and 40% in
stainless steel. The nose shines with lemony brightness, which becomes the chief feature on the fineboned,
elegant, bright palate. Freshness, lemon intensity and slenderness come together in vivid
fashion. (Bone-dry)

2023 Thörle Riesling Trocken – 89 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2030
The 2023 Riesling was picked from younger vines in Saulheim and Essenheim. After a few hours of skin
contact, it was fermented in 80% stainless steel and 20% used Stück. Animating freshness on the nose
reminds of crunchy red-green apple, both tart and ripe, with a lovely citrus edge. The palate is dry,
immensely juicy, vivid and mouthwateringly fresh. This is pristine, with a lovely flow. (Bone-dry)