2020 Bernkasteler Lay Auslese ** (White Capsule) is a remarkable Mosel Riesling that perfectly captures Markus Molitor’s reputation for combining immense concentration with laser-like precision. Bernkasteler Lay is one of the Mosel’s great slate vineyards, and Molitor’s meticulous vineyard work and rigorous berry selection allow this site to produce Rieslings of extraordinary finesse and longevity. The White Capsule indicates Molitor’s dry style, while the two-star designation marks a particularly high level of selection within the vineyard. Even though this is at Auslese-level ripeness, it is fermented drier with 12% alcohol. The 2020 vintage delivers crystalline purity, tremendous intensity, and remarkable energy, with ripe white peach, citrus, wet slate, and saline minerality carried by electric acidity. Despite its concentration, the wine remains weightless and beautifully balanced, finishing with the kind of precision and length that have become hallmarks of the estate. This is a world-class dry Riesling that will reward patience for decades, but already hints at the greatness that lies ahead, and at this price, it's a fantastic buy for the category!

Wine Advocate (Stephan Reinhardt) 98 pts! The 2020 Riesling Bernkasteler Lay Auslese ** (White Capsule) is pure, refined and fresh on the precise and concentrated but bright and shining, transcendental nose that is intense and ripe but doesn't show any tropical fruit aromas. Crystalline, highly refined and saline on the palate, this is a rich and very intense Riesling whose electric acidity takes all the weight and concentration up a steep flight to heaven, where the wine flies possibly forever like a satellite around the globe. The finish is so juicy, so saline and so precise that one can't leave the glass without a sense of wonder. So much finesse and intensity in one glass? 12% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine from AP 50 21 in July 2022.