Since 1971, Hans-Josef Becker has been building dry Rieslings out of pure minerals. There are simply no other dry Rheingau wines quite like these.
Today we celebrate a 50th anniversary and a monument to a monumental vintage – Becker’s canonical 2021 Walkenberg Spätlese Trocken.
The Walkenberg is Becker’s top site, and the Spätlese Trocken is perhaps the sweet spot of his releases from this site. We have been waiting for this wine for nearly two years.
It has just arrived in the U.S. (yes this is the current release from Becker, who rushes nothing). We are happy to offer the special price of $29.95 on the 4-pack.
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While there have been countless legendary Beckers – 1986, 90, 96, 02, 12, 15, to name but a few – 2021 is something altogether different. This is easily the most incisive, densest, and most structured Walkenberg Spätlese Trocken we have ever had from Becker.
We should probably expect nothing less: 2021 is a vintage of ferocious acidity, of angelic purity. Becker is honest to the vintage on both counts.
While the wine was in large, old oak casks for nearly a year (it was bottled late last year), the wine is still embryonic – it requires a few hours open to begin to show gem-like facets of winter citrus, stone fruit, complex green herbs, saline ocean notes, and an earth-driven minerality.
As we’ve written before, Becker’s wines (even in riper vintages) seem to marry the power of the Rheingau with something of the sternness of the Mosel or Saar. The 2021 only emphasizes this curious duality.
If Hans Josef was all but ignored in the 1980s and 1990s, in the last decade, Becker has finally been recognized for what he is: one of the pioneers of mineral, structured, age-worthy dry Rieslings.
This wine is a testament to that legacy.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
Special 4-pack pricing for a limited time. Use Code: Walkenberg-21