Weingut Toni Jost Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Mittelrhein, Germany

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The Josts’ 2008 Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Grosses Gewachs reached 13.5% alcohol, or a little bit more than the 2007, after having been left until late to harvest (although Josts report that the must weight didn’t increase much in the late innings; this was simply selected from the oldest vines with the ripest fruits, generally just one bunch each!). Peach kernel and apple pit bitterness is frequently part of the invigorating charm of Riesling from slate slopes, but when you remove the vivacity and the sweet succulence of fruit, I find the bitterness objectionable. Then add a hint of heat?. All that registered, there is an imposingly oily richness about this wine, and without question a stony underlying sense of things mineral that makes one take note. But for me, it’s an example of Grosse Gewachse forgetting the Riesling virtues, and offering instead virtues (to the extent one considers them that) which can be found in countless other places and grape varieties. I doubt, too, that time in the cellar will remedy – it might even exacerbate – what disappoints me here. Confession: I re-tasted the Josts’ 2006 Grosses Gewachs shortly afterward, and found it now handling its 14% alcohol surprisingly well. But that wine still doesn’t excite me. Young Cecilia Jost is taking charge of the cellar here. In 2008, though, she was tied up with a commitment to harvest in Austria, so Peter and Linde Jost were still calling the shots. Given the ripening tendencies of the Jost’s great, steep, near-monopole Hahn (which is the reason Josts have now planted a site high above it to try to get back to real Kabinett) as well as the lees contact that Peter Jost favors, the 2008 vintage offered a possible antidote to high alcohol, lack of transparency or massiveness that are occasionally exhibited at this address, while permitting a later harvest than Josts have “enjoyed” (assuming you consider that the right word) in some years, lasting until November 10.Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300