Hexamer Schlossbockelheimer In Den Felsen Riesling Trocken No 1

點擊次數(shù)：1970

The 2009 Schlossbockelheimer in den Felsen Riesling trocken No. 1 represents one of Hexamer’s attempts to pick out an ostensibly superior bottling by means of a nickname and thus obviate the need to make yet further reference to A.P.#s. This represents a more effusively ripe, peachy, black currant-endowed bottling, whose peaty and musky, peony-like floral top notes add considerable intrigue. What it gives up in refreshment vis-a-vis its immediate sibling it compensates with added richness and complexity, yet without its 13.25% alcohol generating any heaviness, roughness, or heat. (Its relatively high 8.5 grams of acidity is surely contributory to that balance.) This comes from Hexamer’s steepest section in a notoriously heterogeneous Einzellage long closely associated with the Paul Anheuser winery, which has gradually been selling-off sections of it. (Most of Hexamer’s wines, incidentally, are now bottled with screw caps, though in this instance I was able to compare a screw-capped and a natural cork-closed bottling, finding the latter more nuanced.) 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