Due to have gone on the market this past autumn, the Ratzenberger 2007 Riesling Brut perpetuates this estate’s long-standing track record for excellent Sekte. Greenhouse-like scents of diverse flowering and leafy things are mingled with hints of yeastiness and with honeydew melon that offers a juicy basis for the refreshing, pungently invigorating performance which follows. Deep nutty suggestions offer additional interest in a sustained finish. This should show well for at least 2-3 years. (Really fine estate German Riesling Sekt – of which we simply don’t see much stateside – proves far more stable post-disgorgement than does most top-notch Champagne.) The two Jochen Ratzenbergers began picking early in October and were done by the end of that month, with – to the extent that I could assess them – consistently fine results. The collection included only a single botrytis wine, a Wolfshohle Auslese that had received some special press recognition in Germany very early, on account of which the father-son team claimed not to have even a single bottle to show me. What was to have been this year’s Bacharacher Posten Spatlese halbtrocken resolutely stopped fermenting with 30 grams of residual sugar; and I can’t offer a note on the results, because some Swiss merchant had bought every last bottle from Ratzenbergers. The 180 liters of Ratzenberger 2009 Kloster Furstental Eiswein had not nearly finished fermenting when I tasted it, but even in its leesy, cloudy, and still-active state it was clear that this would become an impressively concentrated libation. (It started life at 210 Oechsle and at the steady fermentative tempo which it had exhibited through September, was expected to officially become wine by last Christmas – though when it would be deemed “finished” was anybody’s guess.) Speaking of which, Ratzenbergers have just taken over some additional acreage in the Kloster Furstental, which in future might result in other single-vineyard bottlings from that site. “We couldn’t take all of the acreage that was offered,” relates the younger Jochen Ratzenberger, “but we took what we could handle. We want to do our part to see that this amazing steep site remains planted.” The absence of suggested retail pricing for many Ratzenberger wines I review could, I decided, use some explanation. By arrangement with their importers – as a survey of the U.S. marketplace confirms – only their lightest-weight wines are released by the Ratzenbergers in the year following their bottling (and even then, not their sweeter Kabinett from the St. Jost). But as wines with bottle age are released, Spatlesen have tended lately to sell in the $30 retail range; Auslesen and Grosse Gewachse in the $45-50 retail range, confirming Ratzenberger Rieslings as superb values.Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644

Although this is the genre that made their early reputation, the Ratzenbergers’ 2005 Riesling Brut – their current offering – seems to be one of the few Sekte from this address that I have written-up. Peach kernel, apple pip, lemon zest, and almond offer bitter counterpoint to a fine fizz of bubbles and lusciously ripe white peach and apple fruit heightened by a suggestion of honey. This finishes long, satisfyingly juicy, and very much about fruit. Enjoy it over the next 2-3 years. Some years, Ratzenbergers’ methode champenoise will keep in bottle for much longer, but I don’t conceive of 2005 as such a vintage. When you taste a collection like this year’s from the two Jochen Ratzenbergers, you have to wonder why their wines’ consistent quality; track record for aging; and frequently stellar performances do not make this one of the most talked-about estates in Germany. (Maybe I shouldn’t wish that on us!) In fact, they are quite well-respected at home, but I think there is a certain snobbishness that rebounds against even the best Mittelrhein Riesling because this region’s precious half-timbered villages and crenellated slopes spell “tourist country” to most German wine lovers.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644