Ludwig Neumayer Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein

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Neumayer’s 2010 Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein exudes juicy lime and grapefruit while exhibiting a palpable sense of dense extract, an impression reinforced by suggestions of crushed stone suffusion. Green tea and sage add aromatic interest, and bitter notes of apple pip add invigoration to the finish of a lean yet vibrant and refreshing Riesling that will be worth revisiting over the better part of a decade. Ludwig Neumayer de-acidified at the lower end of his portfolio, especially in Riesling, but the results retain plenty of pep and incisive refreshment. Given the high extract that resulted from lots of rain, he notes, there was lots of buffering for the acids, and the thick skins and paucity of juice also had an ameliorative effect on acidity, effectively enhancing skin contact even in those grapes that were almost immediately pressed. “In fact,” notes Neumayer, “the material was so dense that you could only press very slowly.” Although his top Rieslings fermented through February, like the rest of this collection they were bottled already in April.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA www.winemonger.com

The 2007 Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein smells of lime, melon, and red currant that put me in mind a bit of the Ruwer. In the mouth, it offers another coolly fresh-fruited, juicy, and refreshing performance typical of the vintage at this address, with notes of hazelnut, citrus zest, and tart red berry dominating the finish. This should be interesting to follow for several years as well, during which it might develop more sense of depth and richness. On account of the hot, dry July, Neumayer says he only did one spraying against mildew and almost no manicuring of the foliage. He picked well into October, since he did not find he was risking such high potential alcohol as his 2006s had reached already in the early days of that month. These wines have what he calls the “cracking” of acidity that invigorates and refreshes. (Note that because of a change in importers at the beginning of this year, prices on these wines were not yet available to me, and the wines themselves will only begin arriving later in the year. Readers should consult my reviews of the 2006s in issue 177 for a ballpark idea of eventual retail prices.) The wines of this years’ Riesling collection chez Neumayer were all very slow to ferment and ended up completely dry at the upper twelve’s in alcohol.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA; www.winemonger.com

The 2006 Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein retains 9.3 grams of residual sugar which prompted Neumayer in strict legal compliance to print -halbtrocken- in tiny letters on the label, but whose sweetening effect is in fact entirely canceled out by what for this estate is quite high acidity (nearly eight grams). Musk melon and fresh lime in the nose lead to a palate in which these are tinged with salt and chalk. This dynamic wine's imposing length reveals botrytis-free transparency of fruit and imposing minerality. It should gain complexity with 3-4 years of bottle age. Neumayer reports that a warm wind blew through the Traisental in the last days of September, after which he began picking on October 3; just over a month later, he was finished. I have been an enthusiastic proponent of the Sauvignon experiments of Neumayer and a number of Danubian growers, but it is impossible to overlook the fact that - in U.S. dollars, at least - excellent Sancerre can still be had for not much more than half the price of the Giess, and that with the Stein, we are in Dagueneau territory. Austrian Sauvignon outside of Styria may still count as an exotic, but if the wine is excellent, its price tends to be set with the high tariff that applies to single-vineyard Styrian Sauvignon in mind.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The 2005 Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein gives off citrus oil along with smoky and honeyed hints of botrytis just like its sibling Rotenbart. A rich, sappy concentrate of lime and dried apricot, honey, and spice fills the mouth, but botrytis seems to trip this with just a touch of the astringent and drying side of citrus zest and fruit skin in the finish. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The 2004 Riesling Der Wein Vom Stein marries fruit from several sites. Tangerine, fresh apple, sage and oregano on the nose lead to a firm, barely medium-bodied but rich palate featuring apple, citrus, herbs and wet stone. The invigorating, long finish incorporates juicy apple, tangerine and lime with their zests, and stony, chalky mineral notes appropriate to a wine of this name. There is an almost Mosel-like interplay of fruit and minerality, delicacy along with stony saturation on display here. Neumayer, located in the little known Traisental south of Krems, has been one of my personal favorite sources for Austrian wine, so it is a pleasure to report that he now has an American importer. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800