The 2007 Bopparder Hamm-Engelstein Riesling Spatlese Anarchie perpetuates a nickname first bestowed by Weingart two or three years ago to highlight a wine that was not really dry-tasting yet not unabashedly sweet. That permitting a wine to “make up its own mind” when to finish fermenting (in this case with 15 grams residual sugar) should be taken as a sign of anarchy offers sadly ironic commentary on the arbitrary limits outside of which Germans have difficulty appreciating their native wines. Apricots and their kernels dominate the bitter-sweet proceedings here, along with grapefruit and honey, but this is also beautifully transparent to the sort of – for lack of a better expression – crystalline mineral, as well as subtly saline character that shimmers through in all of the best Riesling from the Engelstein. A tactile tingling and dynamic interplay of flavors makes for an invigorating finish in a wine that should be welcome at table for at least the next 10-12 years. Florian Weingart’s reputation continues to mount, but he remains always the self-effacing and astute observer of wine, very much including his own. Given the amount of nobly sweet wine produced here in 2006 and the sometimes problematic quality of the botrytis that appeared this year, the estate essayed little in that genre this year, much of which moreover ended up as blending material.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
