According to its importer, Terry Theise, the 2004 Riesling Heiligenstein misbehaved for him in early showings, but by June I found it able to acquit itself well even with the competition offered by this year’s Gaisberg (harvested, incidentally, in the same last days of November). Aromas of buddleia, orange blossom and fennel persist on the juicy, medium-bodied palate. Less dense than the Gaisberg, this nevertheless reveals, in its textural suggestion of creaminess and its expansive floral persistence, the effect of very old vines that make up half of this bottling. As it opens in the glass, the full panoply of its pit fruit, sweet herbal and floral flavors spread into a rainbow of finishing flavors. You could say that this leaves the Gasiberg in the dust ? provided that only a descriptive, not an evaluative meaning is intended. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300