Persian melon and quince jelly are mingled with lily perfume and studded with lightly sizzlingly crystallized ginger and candied lemon rind in the creamy and delicate Prinz 2011 Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese, whose sweetness is very pronounced, but fortunately tempered by a modicum of fresh melon juiciness; an unexpected touch of tart rhubarb; as well as subtle piquancy from undertones of almond and pistachio paste. This finishes with really superb length, and in following through at least 2025 I would anticipate its gaining in harmony.
Like so many of his neighbors, Fred Prinz reports having had to overcome rot and acetification in mid-September of 2011, especially in lower-lying parcels; and due to the warm weather at that early stage in the harvest, he reports that his crews had to stop picking by 8:00 or 9:00 each morning, and were even then using dry ice in the baskets. Grapes from these early pickings were pressed immediately and the juice chilled via exchange plates. “Even so, we sometimes threw dry ice directly into the must,” Prinz told me, adding “Fortunately by the beginning of October, the nights got chilly, so heat was no longer a problem. But without early-picked lots for eventual back-blending, there’s no way I could have bottled any Kabinetts.” Pretty much as usual, the young wines here only stayed on their lees through January and bottling was split between March and May. One exception: The last time I visited him, in September, 2012, Prinz’s still-fermenting 2011 Hendelberg T.B.A. was not even remotely close to becoming officially wine; and, like me, he marvels at those growers who somehow managed to obtain finished T.B.A.s from mega must weight by spring or early summer.
Imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463; also imported by Magellan Wines, Centennial, CO; tel. (720) 272-6544
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