Sometimes the rapidity of it all even surprises us.

We first introduced Max Kilburg in April of 2021 with his lovely 2020 Kabinetts. The 2020 Grand Cru dry Riesling offer came out about a year later. Both offers sold briskly, which was maybe a bit surprising given these were the first appearances of his wines in the U.S.

But on the other hand, the Rieslings are crystalline and forceful, well-balanced and poised. The prices are more than fair and Max's biography, with time spent with Julian Haart, surely didn't hurt.

Yet, by the time we offered Max's 2021 Kabinetts last spring something had already changed; people were talking. The offer sold out immediately and we simply couldn't meet demand. A friend told us about a few bottles that resurfaced on WineBid some months later and sold for over $100.

With this as an introduction, today we present only the fourth Max Kilburg offer: his 2021 Grand Cru dry wines from the Goldtröpfchen and Ohligsberg.

Max prices his wines very fairly and we will honor that; we have been able to hold the line - these are the same prices as last year. We'd ask that you honor this as well; please don't buy these wines just to resell. Buy them to drink them!

And drink them ye should.

The more I taste the top 2021 Grand Cru dry wines, the more I think this is simply an epic vintage capable of nearly anything. Yes, the Kabinetts are the sweet spot, the natural strength of the vintage. Yet for those that could keep the fruit on the vine perfectly healthy and harvest a bit later, well...

...these are the most incisive, deepest Mosel dry wines I've tasted in nearly a decade, in line with the epic wines of 2004, 2008 and 2013.

And Max Kilburg simply nailed this vintage.

Retasting both of these Grand Crus again at home (after tasting them two weeks ago in the Mosel), there is no doubt in my mind these can go toe to toe with any of the best GGs on the Mosel. Both wines have such incredible tactile depth; they are like a glossy punch in the face. The Goldtröpfchen is direct and linear, yet with such density that it coats the palate in green apple, stone fruit and mineral. The Ohligsberg even in youth has a flash of the exotic on the nose, yet the palate is still coiled up, tense and nervous. Both these wines are just absurdly long.

These are dry Mosel monuments. They are rare. Do not miss. That's the honest truth.

We've presented the full story a few times, but here's the quick recap. We first heard Max's name when he worked with Julian Haart a few years ago. While Max is the 20th-generation winemaker at his family's historic estate, Geierslay, the two Grand Crus on offer today are part of his own small line of wines sourced from two, older-vine parcels in both the Ohligsberg and the Goldtröpfchen totaling only 1.2 hectares.

Trapped at home in quarantine for most of 2020 and early 2021, the reviews coming from Mosel Fine Wines piqued our interest to be sure. They wrote things like: "Mosel lovers of refined and playful wines have a new star to put on their radar screen!" So when we were finally able to go back to Germany, in August of 2021, the visit to Kilburg was one of our most anticipated visits. The wines did not disappoint.

At this point we have been back several times, as recent as Spring 2023, when I took the photograph above.

Max is farming only 1.2 hectares. Suffice it to say quantities of the Grand Crus are very limited. 

Stephen and Robert

2021 Max Kilburg Riesling Grand Cru Dry Two-Pack 
The two-pack contains one of each of the Grand Cru bottlings, detailed below.

2021 Max Kilburg Riesling Goldtröpfchen Grand Cru Dry 
I genuinely can't believe how good these wines are, the fruit is so tense and coiled up yet super pristine. The magic of 2021 - when done well - is the clarity of the fruit matched to such a tactile density, depth and length. To me the Goldtröpchen is the more direct and cut of the two wines. At this youthful stage it is showing a bit more green fruit, granny smith apple phenolics paired with stone fruit and sea salt.

2021 Max Kilburg Riesling Ohligsberg Grand Cru Dry 
The Ohligsberg is the broader and deeper wine; it is grander in all senses. On the nose there is a flash of the exotic - piquant apricot, perfumed yet still tart. The palate is slightly creamier, yet it's also very well delineated and has just immense depth and length. Both wines are Grand Cru dry wines for the ages. Cellar as long as you can.

This offer is now closed. If you need help finding the wines please email orders@sourcematerialwine.com.