Prinz Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese, Rheingau, Germany

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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

Picked out over a range of parcels in conjunction with the harvest of this years Grosses Gewachs, Prinzs 2009 Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese offers a penetrating, nose-tweaking intensity of candied lemon rind, peach preserves, pungently smoky black tea and brown spices. Admirably delicate, with its confitured and confectionary aspects reinforced by prominent sweetness, this picks up flavors of watermelon and white raisin en route to an overtly sweet finish that is satisfyingly buoyant and persistent, even if not particularly gripping, bright, vivacious, or profound. I would tentatively plan on drinking this over the next 10-15 years, though perhaps along the way it will reveal a potential for greater stamina. Fred Prinz is part of a dozen-man group that is set to share newly-propagated material from the ancient Mosel vines in Bruno-Schmitt and Karl-Josef Loewens portion of the Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg, a project reminiscent of practice in the aftermath of phylloxera, when many Rhine estates acquire old vine material from the Mosel. The results should be interesting to follow, possibly revealing special synergies in the context of Hallgartens high, breezy, and in part slatey slopes. Interestingly, Prinz finished picking already on October 21, even though his sites are as a rule relatively resistant to botrytis. “Im for late harvest in principle to gain the depth of aromatics, but this year the must weights were already so high,” he explains, “and I didnt want dry wines of 14% alcohol. I was also concerned,” he adds, “that the acid levels might slip as time went by, although in the end, the latest-harvested grapes were actually higher an acidity.” (And the base line here was already elevated.) While still (after two decades) based in residential Hallgarten – relying on a small room in the basement of his home for tastings – Prinz recently acquired some additional acreage so that even his highest-volume generic Riesling trocken once again originates with estate fruit. Imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463; also imported by Magellan Wines, Centennial, CO tel. 720-272-6544

Tastes sweet against a sheer backdrop, displaying lemon, apple and pineapple notes on a light-weight frame. Very intense for such an ethereal experience. Best from 2011 through 2035. 110 cases made, 40 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Germany / Rheingau Select to Add

Picked in many sites throughout the second half of October and first days of November, and combining wizened botrytis berries with simply over-ripe ones, Prinz’s 2007 Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese nicely reflects this approach in its sense of layering dried, preserved, and fresh pit fruits, as well as in its combination of creamy richness with bright refreshment. Soothing, polished, and loaded with quince paste, fig, and honey, it introduces brown spices, caramel, pungent smokiness, and a hint of white raisin into an already multi-layered finish. “In a way, you’re trying to trick nature with a wine like this,” says Prinz, referring to the broad window of place and time in which it was collected. But one could just as well argue that the result is a clearer picture of what nature offered in this vintage than would result from fruit selected solely under the aspect of botrytis (or some other). This should be worth following for at least 20 years, but its great advantage is to have such a light, refreshing, juicy personality that it will encourage consumption and bring enormous pleasure early. Even in high-elevation, breezy Hallgarten, and given almost six weeks to harvest, to hear Fred Prinz tell it, getting healthy, truly ripe fruit in 2007 represented intensive labor and strategy. The tartness and green herbal character of his (as usual, machine-harvested) basic dry Riesling betrays some drawbacks of early picking, but Prinz needed a good volume of clean, well-concentrated, healthy fruit, and that he certainly achieved. Imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463; also imported by Magellan Wines, Centennial, CO tel. 720-272-6544

The 2004 Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese comes from a parcel that relatively easily botrytises. Sweet distilled floral, herbal and licorice aromatic top notes hover over scents of white peach and fresh quince. The palate impression is liqueur-like in its concentration of flowers, herbs and pit fruits, yet delicate and light to the touch. The wine finishes with an almost tactile note of cinnamon as well as a veritable carpet of flowers, herbs, spices and orchard fruits that range from shriveled to juicy. Any overt characteristics for which one might be tempted to use the “M” word are missing. Nevertheless, only against a certain sort of stony background can a wine with this sort of finesse be possible. Twelve hundred half bottles of this were produced, a not insignificant quantity by the standards of this estate. Imported by various importers including: Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463, and Magellan Wines, Centennial, CO; tel. (720) 272-6544