To get to Lorch and the Pfaffenwies vineyard, one has to traverse all the way to the western end of the Rheingau and follow the river as it hooks a sharp right back north. Here the south-west-facing slopes are cooler, less famous, and now perfectly situated to offer up the spine-tingling, Saar-like acidity of yesteryear. Lovers of Eva Fricke know Lorch for its intense minerality, and Theresa Breuer's wines are on point—stony, steely with a core of straight-laced acidity coursing throughout.

"The 2024 Riesling Lorcher Pfaffenwies is from vines that are now more than 60 years old. Green melon and a touch of woodruff lend this a scented air. The palate is wonderfully direct, strait-laced and arrow-like in its precision. Stone and lemon proceed hand in hand, intertwined and inseparable. The 2024 is wonderful. (Bone-dry). 95pts"—Anne Krebiehl, MW, Vinous