Abtei Himmerod Feinherb Riesling 2020

A Feinherb is is a somewhat vague new definition that has entered the ever confusing German wine classification regime.  It is rank within the Qualitätswein system which is essentially a measure of the ripeness of the grapes when harvested and hence of their sugar levels.  This in turn leads to a residual sugar (RS) level in the wine itself and on this scale the categories are as below (with my thanks to the excellent Wine Folly for their explanation and if you’d like to delve deeper I recommend this excellent article from Stephan Bauer):

1. Trocken – a dry wine with ~9 g/l RS or less.
2. Halbtrocken – s “half-dry” or slightly sweet wine with up to 12 g/l RS
3. Feinherb – an unofficial term to describe an off-dry wine similar to Halbtrocken so with an RS also of around 12 g/l
4. Liebliche – a sweet wine with up to 45 g/l RS
5. Süß – a sweet wine with more than 45 g/l RS

This Feinherb  from the Cistercian monastery of Abtei Himmerod works (for me) as it is  very well structured.  It starts with a delightful mellow honey filled opulence but which is immediately balanced by a strong acidity which works perfectly.  There’s a lot going on with this wine, which personally I really enjoy.  It’s 10% ABV gives it a nice body but some will find it too sweet and I have my doubts about the finish, which to my palate has a harsh mineral edge to it.   Hence the overall 4-star rating.  I suspect though that this is a Marmite wine (amongst Rieslings which themselves are a Marmite grape).  Some I think will love its complexity and I definitely recommend you give it a try.  And at £10 per bottle (and only £7.50 at present on special offer at Ocado) why not?