Hexamer Riesling Eiswein Sobernheimer Marbach

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The Hexamer 2009 Sobernheimer Marbach Riesling Eiswein was harvested at 180 Oechsle, but fermented in time to be bottled in May, along with most of the rest of the present collection. (The Rheingrafenberg Eiswein that was still fermenting in September, by contrast, had pressed-out at 235 Oechsle.) Peach preserves and prickly fresh lemon and lemon rind in the nose anticipate a palate resembling viscous peach jam laced with lemon juice and brown spices. There is surprisingly little sweet-sour conflict at the heart of this wine, but the overall effect is still one of striking invigoration, and the sense of levity is almost as singular as that exhibited by this year’s Rheingrafenberg B.A. Salt and brown butter add lip-smacking interest to the long, penetrating finish of a Riesling worth following for at least a decade. 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

There was a high-test January Eiswein from the Rheingrafenberg still fermenting when I last tasted at Hexamers’ in September and appearing very reluctant to become wine, but a December 30-harvested 2008 Sobernheimer Marbach Riesling Eiswein had made it into the bottle. Dried apricot, lemon zest, and wood smoke in the nose lead to a very sweet, viscous peach preserve impression on the palate, alleviated a bit by an apple- and peach-skin chew and by intense fresh lemon that engenders a slightly sweet-sour impression. While not complex, this certainly finishes with rapier intensity, and if it harmonizes or at least brings its tension down to a more enjoyable level, it could well prove worth holding. Under present circumstances, I would simply recommend revisiting it in 2-3 years to try to get a notion of where it is headed.Harald Hexamer’s crew generally picked with two buckets this year, segregating botrytis fruit at the same time as that for the dry wines was gathered. The results in both genres sometimes lack a bit of refinement. Hexamer performed some pre-fermentative maceration; some de-acidification; and allowed or encouraged some lots to go through malo-lactic conversion, all in an effort to deal with his high 2008 acidities. Incidentally,he has begun installing the large wooden ovals made for him by Hosch from some exceptionally tight-grained old oaks in the estate, but he will be using them for Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris for a time in order to season them before they receive Riesling.Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

An Auslese from frozen fruit in the Sobernheimer Marbach was overwhelmingly confectionary in its youthful sweetness, but the main event of that December 21 morning, the 2004 Sobernheimer Marbach Riesling Eiswein, is impressively gripping and intense. Aromas of yellow plum, lemon zest, apricot preserves, and exotically spicy but not fugal or funky botrytis notes all vie for the nose’s attention. In the mouth, plum paste, apricot preserves, and honey are drenched with intense lemon juice. Yet, any tendency to sharpness is checked by the wine’s sheer sweetness and density. Caramelized plum, quince preserve, honey, faintly prickly lemon zest and spice in the finish signal the mixed “botrytis – Eiswein” message of this very young wine. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The broad, rich, complex 2002 Riesling Eiswein Sobernheimer Marbach is stunning, harmonious, rich, immensely pure, and packed with passion fruit as well as spices. It needs ten years of cellaring and will last 40 years or more. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300