A haunting nose of yellow plum, saffron, fennel, kelp, and sea breeze in the nose of Niewodniczanski’s centenarian-vines 2011 Wiltinger Gottesfuss Riesling Alte Reben leads to correspondingly intriguing and satin-textured as well as pithily concentrated and gloriously juicy palate impression, with a complex amalgamation of high-toned green herbal essences; crushed stone; and savory, saline-sweet fresh scallop and toasted shrimp shell. The finish here is superbly sustained and dynamically multi-faceted. I’m put in mind of marriage between a top-notch Chablis Preuses and a Scharzhofberger. This already memorable tribute to vines that are a national treasure ought to be worth following through at least 2022, and hopefully (as the track record here catches up with recent refinements of technique) significantly beyond. And incidentally, it had been in bottle for just two weeks when I tasted it, but – unlike many van Volxem 2010s at the same stage – seemingly entirely unperturbed.
Dominik Volk reports that the van Volxem team did not begin harvesting until after things cooled down – specifically on October 4 with a pre-harvest sweep of all sites – and then spent five and a half weeks completing their work under allegedly ideal meteorological circumstances. “It was very difficult to strike the right balance this year,” he opines, since – as I detailed, among other places, in my introduction to notes on the Middle Mosel 2011s – this vintage’s Rieslings, due in large part to their low acidities, were highly sensitive to residual sugar; yet high must weights also brought the danger of excessive alcohol. In the event, Volk and Niewodniczanski elected to risk erring on the side of alcohol, and finished a higher than usual percentage of their Rieslings legally dry (though following their now long-standing convention, none are labeled “trocken”). It paid off with a high rate of expressive successes, which is especially good news because this vintage rewarded Niewodniczanski with his largest-ever crop – not that yields came within hailing distance of the averages at 98% of other German Riesling addresses. In addition to the wines on which I report here, a B.A. and a T.B.A. from the Scharzhofberger which I have not tasted were still fermenting as of last autumn. (For much more about Roman Niewodniczanski’s highly distinctive, evolving methodology and his stylistic ideals, consult the often extensive introductions to my reports on his previous collections.)
Importers include Ewald Moseler Selections, Portland OR; tel. (888) 274-4312 and Acid Inc. Selections, New York, NY; tel. (817) 687-4848
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