Reflecting cooler, breezier locations and a chalkier as well as more iron-rich soil than in Hohen-Sulzen, the Battenfeld-Spanier 2008 Molsheimer Riesling trocken smells beautifully of fresh apple and quince laced with lime peel, herbs, along with wafting honeysuckle, heliotrope, and sea-spray mineral suggestions. Apple skin and lime zest tartness plus frisky acidity lend a more bracing aspect than the wine’s aromas had led me to expect, and it finishes with grip but less complexity or elegance than its Hohen-Sulzen counterpart. In cooler years – Spanier points out – Molsheim can be marginal in ripeness, and only against a background of tightly controlled yields (he sticks to around 40 hectoliters per hectare) can one really succeed. Still, this will prove attractively versatile, and I harbor hope that over the next 4-5 years its palate might come closer to living up to its bouquet. Oliver Spanier – for a bit about whose distinctive sites and methods see issue 185 – harvested his 2008 vintage Rieslings from mid-October through the first week of November, and reports having performed no de-acidification.Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799