2006 Weingüter Wegeler, Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spätlese

 Today’s discovery is a fairly straightforward proposition: the cold, hard facts are really all that is needed to make the pitch. First we have the vineyard, Bernkasteler Doctor, which is one of the very steepest stretches of vines in the Mosel, a region famous for its treacherous slopes. Indeed this vineyard has commanded the highest price per acre in Germany for the better part of two centuries. Second is the vintage, 2006, a sneaky good and in retrospect nicely classic vintage that is just beginning to hit peak maturity at close to 20 years of age. Third is the estate, Weingüter Wegeler, a bastion of old-school winemaking since 1882, their singular mission is to bottle wines that showcase the pure majesty of their prime terroir. Add it all up and you have one of the most profound expressions of grape and place on the planet, and then you realize it’s less than fifty bucks . . . pounce! There’s actually a fourth piece of this delicious Riesling pie: slate. This fine grained, sediment