Lemon blossom and mirabelle on the nose of Kuhling-Gillot’s 2008 Oppenheimer Sacktrager Riesling Grosses Gewachs lead to a palate uncannily combining creaminess and refreshment, as well as displaying the open, buoyant personality of which this vintage is capable, and that in this instance completely belies the wine’s 13.5% alcohol. Chalky, stony and faintly apple pip notes lend a certain austerity to the undeniably long finish, but don’t disturb the overall impression of elegance which I suspect will persist for at least 5-6 years. Carolin Gillot – for more about whose estate see my report in issue 185 – professes the importance of spontaneous fermentations to retain refinement in her relatively warm sites as well as – in the ideal case – to render less efficient the conversion of sugar to alcohol. As a measure of Gillot’s recent commercial success and excellent press within Germany, not a single bottle of her village-level Riesling from Oppenheim could be found for me to taste – which was last September – and she reported that the last large order had had to be shorted. Given the quality of this latest collection, things are unlikely to get better in regard to the demand-supply ratio!Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799