Weingut Ratzenberger Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spatlese Trocken, Mittelrhein, Germany

點擊次數(shù)：3127

與同類呈干型的 Kabinett 相比，Ratzenberger 2010 年的 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spatlese 更顯濃郁，隱約散發(fā)著潮濕石頭的味道，并伴有檸檬、青蘋果、大頭菜的氣味。此款葡萄酒雖風(fēng)味成熟，略顯緊致，但余味含有巨大的特點，悠遠綿長，引人垂涎，咸味怡人。在至少 6 至 8 年之內(nèi)，這款酒依然美味可口。

Fusil, alkaline, marine notes mark the nose of Ratzenbergers’ 2009 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spatlese trocken, along with suggestions of grapefruit, lime, raw hazelnut, and white peach, all of which follow on a silken yet vivacious palate. Fruit pit, nutty, and citrus rind piquancy ally themselves in the mouthwatering finish to the intriguing array of mineral notes that were adumbrated in the nose. Marginally more complex yet also slightly less winsome than this year’s generic Kabinett trocken, I would look for this impressive offering to gain further interest in the course of the next decade. 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

The 2008 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spatlese trocken didn’t finish fermenting until mid-July. Nevertheless, they bottled it soon thereafter, and it captures a very similar juxtaposition of palpable density and subtle textural richness (here, slightly creamy) with lift and vivacity as did this year’s generic dry Kabinett. Here, however, we have a striking intensity of flavor and a grip, carried by grapefruit and its zest; raw almond; the sappy presence of Persian melon, white peach and chewy peach skin; and sheer stone. What lift and sense of dynamic interaction of fruit flavors with mineral notes this shows in its finish! And it will almost surely display even more after a longer post-bottling rest, not to mention be worth following for ten or a dozen years. 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

The Ratzenbergers’ 2007 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spatlese trocken leads with winter pear and persimmon, a certain citrus zest pungency and pip- and pit-like bitterness being successfully folded into a creamy, palpably extract- and glycerin-rich palate. Suggestions of chalk and crushed stone add interest and contrast to a long finish by way of an attractive hint of austerity. This should be worth following for 7-10 years. . Jochen Ratzenberger Jr. expressed delight with his 2007s, and even though I’m straining to recollect a vintage with which he wasn’t pleased, the truth is, he and his father comprise one of the most consistently high-performance teams in German viticulture, and their 2007 collection is consistently impressive. Both of the Ratzenbergers’ 2007 vintage Grosse Gewachse – in what has been fairly typical behavior – finished fermenting only in mid-August, and were immediately bottled with barely enough time to appear at the annual Berlin Presentation of Germany’s collective wines in this genreImported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644

The 2006 Steeger St. Jost Spatlese trocken only finished fermenting late last summer, essentially the day that it was sulfured and that I tasted it, rendering it remarkable that it was so expressive. Pineapple and lemon aromas link to a glossy, rich, yet bright, citrus-oil saturated palate. A refined finish evinces a vivid sense of wet stone slate character that youthful yeastiness cannot obscure. (The corresponding Grosses Gewachs was only finishing fermenting when I last tasted, but was showing well and promising considerable refinement despite its sheer volume. A powerful, tangerine- and walnut oil- scented Bacharacher Wolfshohle Grosses Gewachs was still clouded by yeast both visually and in flavor – even though in principle, as Grosses Gewachs, it would have to have been readied for presentation only a couple of weeks hence. But it turned out to have transcended the legal bounds of legal Trockenheit, and in the end, the Ratzenbergers elected not to force it to ferment further.) Without spraying against botrytis, Jochen Ratzenberger Jr. insists that the proper management of the family’s vines and greening between the rows kept rot at bay, but 30% less than a normal volume was harvested. The Ratzenbergers began picking on Septermber 25 and were done on the 12th of October.Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644