Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Batterieberg Riesling Auslese

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Picked over several of the ten principle days of harvest here October 20-29, the Immich-Batterieberg 2009 Enkircher Batterieberg Riesling Auslese exudes lemon, pear, and quince in fresh and preserved forms, offering a striking counterpoint of creaminess of texture and honeyed gloss with citric brightness. Even at 9.5% alcohol, 100 grams of residual sugar were left behind (no, former proprietor Georg Immich would not recognize this, not even as a Beerenauslese!) an amazing balance is achieved, along with considerable sense of invigoration. -That energy and clarity are what led me to bottle this as Auslese,- rather than B.A. explains Gernot Kollmann. Impingement of pear skin and crystallized ginger as well as hints of wet stone all add to the fascination of this buoyant wine as it soars to a saliva-inducing, spirit-lifting finish. I expect it will be worth following for at least 30 years. What a return the Batterieberg has staged in its new incarnation!Few German wine lovers or even wine growers under the age of 45 are likely to know much about the family-run estate once officially know as Carl August Immich-Batterieberg, even though it farmed one of the traditionally highest-taxed and highest-rated concentrations of vineyards on the Mosel; boasted a history not to mention labels as colorful as any in Germany; and was guided in its final generation by a soft-spoken gentleman who rendered some of the finest exemplars of - and offered some of the most profound insights into - Riesling of any I have been privileged to imbibe. To go by the recent, lavishly-produced, multi-authored Weinatlas Deutschland, the stretch of vineyards once managed by Immich is scarcely worth mentioning. At one place along this sheer, once-celebrated expanse of blue and red slates the Prussian demolitions expert for whom the estate was named blasted apart what became known - if at first mockingly - as the -Batterieberg.- The circumstances surrounding Georg Immich's 1989 sale of his family's estate and its subsequent fate make for a tale of personal betrayal, divorce, decline, and criminal deceit too intricate and sensitive - perhaps too sorrowful - and certainly too long for retelling on the present occasion. And besides, the welcome news last year that oenologist Gernot Kollmann and two friends had purchased the by then prostrate estate has now been followed by an astonishingly successful inaugural range of 2009s under the newly-simplified estate name -Immich-Batterieberg,- and if you-re entirely ignorant of history or local terroir (as, apparently, are even some self-styled experts) these new wines will tell you everything essential. Kollmann (who will continue to closely advise the Knebel estate in Winningen) would love to have vinified his new wines in fuder, but the few that remained in his cavernous facilities were unusable, and the approach he took out of expediency - tanks supplemented by seasoned barriques - succeeded far beyond my skeptical imagination. Halbtrocken and trocken Rieslings from Georg Immich's cellar often remained fresh as well as riveting for 20 or more years, but I have remained very conservative in my projections for this latest collection, since there is no track record under the current regimen. The estate's acreage in Enkircher Zeppwingert has been replanted, and following some re-acquisitions this year, total holdings under the new owners correspond closely to those formerly associated with the Immich estate, minus the portion of Ellergrub that is farmed by Weiser-Kunstler under an arrangement with Georg Immich's widow, and has been described in my recent reports on that young estate. (Incidentally, Terry Theise imported Georg Immich's Rieslings during his latter years as proprietor.)Mosel Wine Merchant Trier, Germany (various importers); tel. (413) 429-6176; +49 (0) 651 14551 38