The Battenfeld-Spanier 2007 Hohen-Sulzer Kirchenstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs – grown in especially soft, drought-resistant chalk – smells rather opulently of citrus and tropical fruits garnished with honeysuckle and almond, but its expansive, oily, bright, dramatically intense palate impression is accompanied by considerable bitterness that follows into the wine’s terrifically tenacious, seemingly chalk- and salt-crusted finish. This powerhouse won’t be everyone’s big cup of Gewachs, and there’s no doubt its formidable rather than loveable, but it ought to be fascinating to follow for at least the next 7-9 years. Oliver Spanier farms organically and, increasingly, biodynamically in the southwestern corner of Rheinhessen, which benefits from the cool breezes of the so-called Eisbach Valley, and hence from potentially above-average hang-time. As part of the married Gillot-Spanier team (see elsewhere in this report under Kuhling-Gillot) he is a prime example of the excitement (and increasingly high prices) that young growers in former “hinterlands” are generating. (If one goes back hundreds of years, though, the chalky vineyards of Rheinhessen’s Wonnegau sub-region enjoyed prestige.) I tasted only a portion of this estate’s 2007s and shall render a fuller report on Spanier’s yet-better 2008s.Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799