Ludwig Hiedler Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Maximum

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The 2005 Riesling Maximum was still fermenting when I visited, to Hiedler’s astonishment as much as mine. That the Weissburgunder Maximum was still fermenting was not unexpected, but this was my first opportunity to taste the 2004 Weissburgunder Maximum. Smelling of herbs and nut oils, this comes onto the palate deep, rich, and smoky with toasted nuts, marine minerality, marrowy meatiness, and yet with bright juicy citricity as well. Impressive though this dense, rich wine is, it disappoints slightly, on account of some finishing heat.Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86).Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300