Jonas Dostert’s '22s are here – a release more lucid and mineral than ever.

It’s a high bar to shatter; for the last three vintages, Dostert’s have been some of the most limestone-driven wines to come our way. But, unlike the cellar-worthy Chablis we often compare it to, or the renowned Rieslings from the Mosel’s more prime real estate, these are from a unique grape (Elbling) and place (the Obermosel).

More on that below, plus some insight on the vintage and release.

Welcome to the Obermosel. Unlike other areas in Germany, it’s not defined by Riesling. It’s defined by an incredible streak of limestone – actually, the very same streak which runs a straight shot through to Chablis. Just a short drive from the steep, slate-laden slopes of the middle Mosel and Saar valleys, the Obermosel is a still somewhat obscure corner of German wine country, southwest of Trier and tracing the borders of France and Luxembourg.

The rolling hills of the Obermosel 📷 via Vom Boden

Tbh, we’ve said it a lot this past year: Germany is redefining its wine culture more drastically than any other in Europe. And perhaps no one’s pushing the boundary of how we view German wine more than Jonas Dostert.

In the Obermosel, the main event is Elbling: a grape mostly known for snappy, refreshing wines but capable of capturing the area’s cool climate with razor sharp precision. While a couple (almost entirely unknown in the US) producers have been making more thoughtful wine from the grape for some time, Dostert has really changed the game here forever. He’s producing incredibly serious wine (from Elbling, and limestone-loving Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) that not only showcases the Obermosel’s terroir, but does it on an international stage.

The result is nervy, lithe, pristine expressions of limestone.

Farming is organic, and the grapes are pressed gently then put directly into neutral barrel. Vintage after vintage, Jonas finds a gorgeous balance between fruit and reduction (he worked for a few years in the cellars at Leflaive so he learned a thing or too about how to work with oak 😏).

Jonas in the cellar 📷 via Vom Boden

On the vintage: 2022 was an especially cooling, quenching vintage for Germany overall, but for the Obermosel, it was rough (Jonas will tell you, it was his most difficult). After 5 months of drought, a burst of rain was a saving grace. He navigated this deftly, and with a little more time than usual in barrel the finished wines feel more crystalline than ever.

Tense and detailed across the board, it’s a lineup that grasps the thrilling grey space between low PH and oxygen.

NV JONAS DOSTERT, ELBLING CREMANT, MOSEL $40
40 year old vine Elbling Sekt done in a crémant extra brut style. Base vintage 2018, fermetned and aged in 228L used oak for half a year before bottling; disgorged in January 2024; minimal SO2. Beautifully fresh and elegant, zesty, energetic acidity; green fruit and almond.

2022 JONAS DOSTERT ELBLING “KARAMBOLAGE”, MOSEL $32
40 year old vines, equal parts Elbling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, fermented and aged in 228L used oak, unfiltered and with minimal sulfur. Working around the vintage, there's a little more skin contact than prior vintages (ten days here) and therefore more structure; otherwise it's still light on its feet, with quiet red fruit and fresh citrus.

2022 JONAS DOSTERT ELBLING, MOSEL $30
Elbling with four days of skin contact, fermented and aged in 228L used oak, unfiltered and with minimal sulfur. Zesty, dry, intensely racy; pure minerality rounded out by smoky, taut fruit; it's from younger vines that already display the alluring limestone tension we love in Obermosel wine.

2022 JONAS DOSTERT 'PURE DOLOMITE' (ELBLING/CHARDONNAY), MOSEL $42
60/40 Chardonnay/Elbling, a portion of which had six days skin contact, fermented and aged in 228L used oak, unfiltered and with minimal sulfur. Floral with really developed aromatics (spiced honey, hazelnut butter, candied lemon) and a gauzy feel to it. Truly a sophisticated wine, whose name references the dolomitic limestone found in Dostert's vineyards.

2022 JONAS DOSTERT CHARDONNAY, MOSEL $50
Direct-press Chardonnay, fermented and aged in 228L used oak, unfiltered and with minimal sulfur. From younger vines, it's super energetic; lively fruit (a little floral, a little stone fruit) balanced by super fresh acidity. Truly highlights the potential for Chardonnay + limestone to = Germany.