Schafer-Frohlich, Riesling Dry Schiefergestein, 2018

Bone-dry Riesling from Tim Frohlich, who turned a once-unknown family estate into one of the Nahe's very best after taking over in the mid-1990s. Schiefergestein means 'slate stone,' a nod to the blue Devonian slate, basalt, and quartz soils of the vineyards around Bockenau, including younger vines from the grand cru Felseneck. The slate gives the wine its racy, mineral spine and crystalline precision. Frohlich works with low yields, wild-yeast fermentation, and an almost obsessive perfectionism in the cellar. This 2018 dry Riesling is taut, transparent, and built to reflect its stony origins. A serious German white at a friendly point in the lineup.