A. Christmann Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz, Germany

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：2913

Christmann’s 2011 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs displays a pungent combination of parsnip, citrus zest, turnip and pungent herbs similar to that found in several of its immediate siblings (though not, to my perception, tracking with terroir). When there is as much primary juiciness as is displayed here – not to mention a polished texture and no alcoholic warmth – one ends up with something at once interesting, invigorating, and refreshing that I suspect will be worth following through at least 2017. Steffen Christmann does not attempt to minimize the danger that existed of 2011 reading the difficult path of 2006, or even going the rot-plagued way of 2000, had cool, sunny weather not intervened. “We picked generic Riesling after the Grosse Gewachse,” he reports, “which is the first time that has ever happened. But we saw how must weights were charging upwards in the top sites and we didn’t want to have any 14.5% alcohol wines.” May frosts were not a significant factor here as they were in much of the Mittelhaardt, so that the 2011 crop level was normal. Late-picking (though the mid-October dates for it were only 8-10 days behind recent norms); longer-than-usual skin contact; and longer time on the lees were the approaches Christmann took to temper 2010’s ferocious acids, only his lesser bottlings having been subjected to any (and then double-salt) de-acidification. Concentration from low yields, he notes, made for finished levels of natural alcohol no lower – and in a couple of instances higher – than in 2009. He reports relatively little botrytis, but there was enough to permit (or, depending on one’s perspective, to necessitate – lest alcohol or bitterness in the corresponding dry wines get out of hand) a pair of Auslesen, a genre that has in recent years (by choice) become rare at this address. In both 2010 and 2011, some of the single-vineyard wines were matured entirely in cask; others in a mixture of cask and stainless steel. Christmann notes that his collective stock of ambient yeasts – and he suspects that those coming from his vineyards play a prominent fermentative role – must be abundant and healthy, because all of his 2011s (save, of course, for the Auslesen) finished fermenting by Christmas with at most 4.5 grams of residual sugar. Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

Bright aromas of peach pit, sage and sweet lime. The succulent papaya fruit is highlighted by stimulating acidity, which provides an elegant structure. Spicy and long on the finish, and also just fun to drink.