Weingut Andreas Schmitges Erdener Pralat Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Mosel, Germany

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Schmitges’ 2009 Erdener Pralat Riesling Grosses Gewachs was fermented entirely with cultured yeasts to insure that it went legally dry. (I’m not doctrinaire about yeasts per se, but still view as disappointing this increasingly common practice for Rieslings of Germany’s new uber-Pradikat. Where both risk-taking and reliance on ambient yeasts have become an estate norm and achieved stylistic distinction and high quality, it seems a shame to depart from such a regimen for safety’s sake on account of an arbitrary numerical standard.) There was also more skin contact and time on the lees in this instance than is Schmitges habit, with the wine being bottled in late May. Intensely zesty, piquant lemon and orange are reinforced by the oiliness of texture and relative amplitude exhibited here (at 13% alcohol), while suggestions of brown spices, green herbs and smoky crushed stone infusion lend depth. The opulence and bitterness, creaminess and tartness of citrus are for now at least not entirely knit, and a faint warmth creeps into what is nonetheless an undeniably if piquantly persistent finish. I would revisit this in a couple of years before hazarding a prognostication as to its aging potential. “My father was going crazy in October,” says Andreas Schmitges, because contrary to normal practice “we were harvesting Monday through Thursday and then just working in the cellar or the vinotec over the weekend, all under beautiful skies, while he’s shuffling his feet and thinking ‘Hey, folks, at some point this lovely weather is going to be over.’ But our forecasters were reliable and the weather held as long as we needed,” he claimed, which in his case was until November 10. Schmitges relates that – in part under the influence of Mosel practices in a bygone era; in part based on “intensive exchange with Austrian colleagues,notably Peter Veyder-Malberg, over the last five years” – he now gives his musts destined for dry wines increasing skin contact and opportunity to oxidize before the onset of fermentations, which he allows to rise higher in temperature than is usual today on the Mosel. He also acknowledges a recognition that accumulation of degrees Oechsle can nowadays be problematic, for which reason his approach to soil management (including deep plowing and carefully-targeted greening); pruning; picking (“paying careful attention to acid-retention but also ripeness of acids”); and vinification (including spontaneous fermentation and longer lees contact) is reflecting increasing watchfulness lest wines become “too lush” or noticeably high in alcohol.Importers include: Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463; Ewald Moseler Selections, Portland OR tel. 888 274 4312; Magellan Wine Imports, Centennial, CO (720) 272-6544