Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Trocken Non Plus Ultra (No 1)

點擊次數(shù)：1973

From his best-situated, stoniest parcel in the Eisendell; its crop thinned very late; corresponding to the bottling formerly labeled “XXL;” and alternately labeled with the nickname “No. 1,” Hexamer’s 2009 Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling trocken Non Plus Ultra features peach close to the core, with saline, smoky, and piquantly cyanic notes playing against lusciously ripe pit fruit and invigoratingly tart fresh lemon and orange. Subtle upwelling of nut oils, mint, and iris-like inner-mouth floral perfume add allure and intrigue. At a mere 12.4% alcohol this demonstrates beautifully the potential to display textural allure and richly ripe fruit while evincing levity and refreshment, a talent that, practically speaking, ought to represent the exclusive trademark of Riesling, but which far too many German dry Rieslings fail to project. This is bound to leave you salivating and licking your lips, and ought to deliver its superb satisfaction over at least the better part of the next decade. (Acidity here, incidentally, is a quite high 8.8 grams.) Harald Hexamer continues to expand his acreage in response to what I can well appreciate are almost irresistible offerings, and the latest round of sell-offs by one of the Nahe’s best-known and once-renowned estates at the beginning of 2011 is I suspect going to test the limits of Hexamer’s ambition and abilities to absorb yet more vineyards. (The number of 2009 vintage wines I have had to reference with A.P. #s due to there being alternate bottlings is in itself testimony to the rapid expansion of this estate.) No one who has followed this young grower over the past decade, though, can accuse him of lacking seriousness, and he has been subjecting his stylistic ideals and his accomplishments to rigorous examination, knowing he must balance the potential value of experimentalism with the need to focus both his attention to individual wines and his stylistic range. These latest results reveal a grower increasingly sure in touch and displaying a defter sense of balance at both the dry and sweet ends of the spectrum. By a considerable margin, they constitute this estate’s most consistently excellent collection in my experience. With the exception of a couple of partial lots of generic dry Riesling, no 2009s were de-acidified, and a majority of the dry wines kicked into spontaneous fermentation, although Hexamer brought cultured yeasts to bear in order to promote dryness. Both an Eiswein and a T.B.A. from the Rheingrafenberg were still fermenting in September and I’ll have to report on those along with Hexamer’s 2010s.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300