From ungrafted, 20-year-old vines that were picked at 87° Oechsle two weeks after the Kabinett, the 2021 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese opens with a clear, bright and intense, yet floral and stony rather than fruity nose with flint stone notes. Lush and round on the palate, this is a dense and saline but also juicy, now tropical-flavored Spätlese with enormous drive and tension. The wine is straight, crisp and piquant and will be highly digestible for decades, but don't challenge your stomach too early because the acidity is pretty serious here: 9.3 grams per liter, which cuts through the concentrated fruit (64 grams per liter of residual sugar) like a Japanese knife.