The 2006 Riesling is another wine that demonstrates how botrytis influenced even the lightest and earliest picked wine of the Gassmann’s wines in its vintage. Musk, banana, mirabelle, and litchi in the nose don’t automatically make one think “Riesling,” and when this comes to the palate one is surprised that it’s only a little bit sweet, and exhibits greater clarity than one might have imagined, with herbal and alkaline nuances emerging in a finish free of any bitterness. While satisfyingly juicy, it is also surprisingly soft and loose, and one notes that it hit the Rolly-Gassmann price list already in late 2008, which is very early by their standards. I would drink this up soon. The material that Gassmanns would ordinarily have committed to a Reserve Millesime bottling all went into this “classic” cuvee in 2006, “the only instance of quality having been compromised by the vintage,” insists Pierre Gassmann. One doesn’t expect – even in the marathon that constitutes a tasting of Rolly-Gassmann collections – to encounter more than a few dry-tasting wines, and in 2006 and 2007 that number was vanishingly small. These wines generally manage their residual sugar without obscuring vineyard-specific characteristics or fatiguing the palate, and furthermore botrytis – where present – is typically noble and pure. In 2006, though – with rampant botrytis and block-picking the order of the day rather than selection (for which there was no time) – results sometimes defied those generalizations. Echoing an opinion that I have seen borne out in recent borderline over-ripe vintages in Burgundy as well, Pierre Gassmann insists that “contrary to what the enologists advised, you needed to work with the lees just as long in 2006 as in any other vintage,” and his bottling times were, as usual, in September. As for 2007, it is the occasion for a group of the most promising young Rieslings I have tasted here since my first visit 25 years ago. There has been a significant recent increase in acreage, incidentally, thanks to the recent absorption of property from a cousin. A labeling development worth noting: the names of the appropriate village are now being appended to each single vineyard wine; however, I have continued to reference only the name of the site, as in past reports. Finally, readers must bear in mind the slow pace of Rolly-Gassmann releases, with even their non-noble 2007s expected to appear only between now and 2012.Importers include Vin de Garde Wines Ltd., Portland, OR; tel. (503) 224 2470; Esquin Imports Inc., San Anselmo, CA (415) 451 2520; and a Bryce McNamee Selection, Boutique Wines, Philadelphia, PA (914) 954 6583
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