From just below where the Buntsandstein is picked – and also officially in the single vineyard Kastanienbusch – Gies-Duppel’s 2007 Riesling trocken Rotliegendes originates in Permian red sandstone of the sort famous from Nierstein and Nackenheim as well as parts of the Nahe. Coincidentally this vintage, the analyses of this and the corresponding Bundsandstein are virtually identical, and Gies comes close to replicating the same vinification, which makes the dramatic difference in personalities that much more striking. Tangerine and peach laced with pungent smokiness in the nose could indeed easily be guessed blind as classic Niersteiner, and the acidity here is milder (although analytically close), leading to a sappy, zesty, smoky, lip-smacking, finish. Volker Gies took over his family’s domaine in 1999, and is relentlessly and successfully pursuing quality and site-specificity while offering (at least, based on ex-cellar pricing) some of the finest values I have tasted in German wine over the past several years. Some potentially exciting new vineyard sites have recently been cleared for planting it is clear that, as impressive as these wines are, there will be much more excitement up ahead. Although it had been in the bottle 18 months when I tasted it last September, Duppel’s well-concentrated but rather awkwardly woody, rough 2005 Pinot Noir represented at that time his current offering. But red wines represented the only disappointment of any sort at this address, and even here there is promise. Like his more famous neighbors Rebholz and Wehrheim, Giess renders a range of site-specific Pinot Blancs.Importer: Tartaglione Fine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 216-3356