Hiedler’s 2005 Riesling Gaisberg represents a qualitative leap up from his Rieslings that went before. (Although Hiedler notes that there was a period when, hard as it may be for me to believe, the Steinhaus struck him as at least as good.) A gorgeous aroma of white peach, mint, and sage leads to a lush, creamy palate tasting of peach, almond, and sage, and loaded with fascinating mineral notes. Refined and long, this preserves subtly smoky, salty and wet stone mineral notes along with pure peach and high-toned herbal essences. This wine is possessed of a delightful sense of interplay and buoyancy. Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86).Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
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