Fresh apple, raw hazelnut, parsnip and musk melon tinged with salt and chalk dominate the Gies-Duppel 2008 Birkweiler Mandelberg Weiser Burgunder trocken (a bottling that would until now have been labeled “Spatlese”), which offers admirable primary juiciness and refreshment, along with the creaminess that I personally seek in this variety and find so charming when conjoined with vivacity and freshness. A long finish introduces subtle salt and chalk suggestions while maintaining a complex interaction with orchard fruits, nut oils, root vegetables and melon. Gies’s success with this variety stands out in the context of its vintage and region, although as he points out, there was a huge difference this year in the ripening (or not-quite ripening) of Pinot Blanc in the lesser sites that informed his generic bottling, and its performance in the Mandelberg and Taschberg. I expect you will find this immensely versatile over at least the next 3-5 years, though the track record for Pinot Blanc of this quality is only being established at this address. For more about Volker Gies’s promising career and estate, consult my coverage in issue 185. His 2008s – which typically received around 6 hours on their skins in the press – were bottled already in March (and indeed, several were sold out by September). Gies indicated that it rained in his part of the Sudliche Weinstrasse for the better part of a week beginning October 27, so that he was glad to have finished picking shortly before that, but as at neighboring Wehrheim, I found this collection of wines on the whole slightly austere when compared with last year’s.Importer: Tartaglione Fine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 216-3356