From red sandstone immediately adjacent to the parcels from which comes their Buntsandstein (both officially in the Kastanienbusch), Gies-Duppel’s 2008 Riesling trocken Rotliegendes smells of fresh lemon, orange, and oregano; comes to the palate bittersweet and pungent, with a palpable sense of density and a subtly oil slick; and finishes with the lithe, lively, buoyant cast that so often and positively spells 2008. No doubt that the wine harbors only 12% alcohol helps in conveying these impressions. 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