2020 brings another brilliant vintage from Eva Fricke

2020 Fine, Filigreed Rieslings from Eva Fricke

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Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the inherent beauty of a place with perhaps even greater clarity than the locals. One such outsider who seems to to have a fantastic understanding and love for her new home is the talented young grower Eva Fricke. The child of doctors in Saxony,  Eva's journey to the Rheingau ran through Oenology school in Geisenheim, stints working for wineries in South Africa, France, Italy, Spain, and Australia before landing with Johannes Leitz, where she worked for seven years before leaving in 2011. By leasing and purchasing she has accrued 17 hectares, which she farms organically (certified in 2016).

The resulting wines display great precsion, vibrance and generosity. There's an inherent energy that derives from working the steep slopes organically, despite the extra work involved. But as she told us when she visited the store a few years ago, the organic methods show not only in the health of the vines, but in the wines made from their fruit.

While it’s no secret that Eva Fricke makes stellar wines no matter the vagaries of the vintage, it’s often overlooked that her wines beyond being very much expressions of terroir are equally attuned to the variations in weather and consistently reflect that variable. In the lauded 2020 vintage, Eva's wines once again seem to have an extra layer of detail, nuance, energy, and, dare I say charm. Each posesses a vibrant core of striking minerality, caressed by pure fruit with soaring aromatics and great persistence. Though what impresses most is the nascent complexity in each bottling; these have plenty to reveal, though they are already lovely and impeccably balanced. We hope you'll find a place for these wondeful bottles at the table and in your cellar. John McIlwain

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Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Kiedrich Riesling Trocken

A blend from several organically farmed parcels around Kiedrich comprised of varying soils including sand, loam, loess, quartzite, and slate. Fermented with native yeasts in tank with 8 months on the fine lees (per importer).  Bottled as a Trocken QbA in 2020.

The Elektrik Kool-Aid quartzite test. I often wonder how some wines can manage such complexity and electricity in just a simple swirl of the glass and  sip. And yet here we are; thee 2020 Kiedrich from Eva Fricke offers seemingly kaleidoscopic detail and a crackling energy all its own. The wine is a pale green-tinged yellow. The nose is zesty and a bit wild, with aromas of sea spray, lemon and lime peel, bracken and green apple skin. The palate is ripe, but chiseled and sinewy, more electric circuit than mere steel, and while is seems to be nearly careening across the palate, the kaleidoscopic bus continues to pick up passengers. Dark, stone, salt lick, cut glass, limoncello, 9-volt battery and spearmint flavors all freak freely and it works. The finish dances exuberantly across the palate and with abandon, yet this energy seems elemental and ecstatic at the same time. There’s a lot of joy here. Turn on, Trocken, drop out! John McIlwain

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $47.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Kiedricher Riesling Trocken 1.5L

A blend from several organically farmed parcels around Kiedrich comprised of varying soils including sand, loam, loess, quartzite, and slate. Fermented with native yeasts in tank with 8 months on the fine lees (per importer).  Bottled as a Trocken QbA in 2020.

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $139.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Riesling Mélange Trocken

The 2020 Mélange is a blend  from various vineyard sites around Kiedrich, Eltville and Hattenheim.While it’s no secret that Eva Fricke makes stellar wines no matter the vagaries of the vintage, it’s often overlooked that her wines beyond being very much expressions of terroir are equally attuned to the variations in weather and consistently reflect that variable. Case in point the glorious 2020 Mélange—while the extroverted (and delicious) 2019 expression sang an aria that reverberated through the rafters, the current vintage is a masterful string quartet or perhaps piano trio; suave expression and assured balance are key here. And as much as I love—no adore—the 2019s there’s such articulation and confidence here and I’d be hard pressed to choose a favorite. The current release has a yellow, hinting at gold robe. The nose while offering a bit off reduction upon opening rights itself and features aromas of quince, Rainier cherry, chamomile tea, yellow blossoms, and bee pollen. The palate is ripe and just hinting at lush, with an array of white and yellow stone fruit, acacia honey (were it not sweet), and golden apple flavors masterfully offset with a pleasing bit of phenolic bitterness—think pear skin and salt rather than quinine. The sappy richness is assured and countered by a driving stoniness that leaves the palate enlivened. This is a Riesling of vigor and drive and wears its ripeness well. There’s plenty of material here, but patience will be rewarded. Excellent with a nibble of 36 month Comté but better still with the preceding prosciutto-wrapped chicken breast with red wine lentils and sausage. Absent the scarcity of these wines, I’d counsel drinking a half dozen over the next 2 years and a polishing off the next 6 bottles 10-15 years from now. Truly beautiful and well worth seeking out. John McIlwain

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $64.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Krone Riesling Trocken

The Krone bottling feature slate soils with a limestone chalky substrate.

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $154.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Krone Riesling Trocken 1.5L

A blend from several organically farmed parcels around Kiedrich comprised of varying soils including sand, loam, loess, quartzite, and slate. Fermented with native yeasts in tank with 8 months on the fine lees (per importer).  Bottled as a Trocken QbA in 2020

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $349.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Lorcher Schlossberg Riesling

One of the top wines from Fricke, the 2020 Lorcher Schlossberg comes from organically farmed vines planted between the late 1930s and 1950s in grey slate and chalk with quartzite soils. Fermented with native yeasts in steel tanks followed by seven months of aging on fine lees. This is an off-dry expression of the site combining deep stoniness with gorgeously ripe fruit.

  • Out of Stock
  • white off-dry
  • 0 in stock
  • $104.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Fricke, Eva 2020 Rheingau Lorcher Seligmacher Riesling

The single-vineyard Lorchhäuser Seligmacher Riesling QbA is sourced from organically farmed vines up to 120 years old in slate and quartzite soils and bottled off-dry.

  • Out of Stock
  • white off-dry
  • 0 in stock
  • $94.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic