Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Kabinett, Nahe, Germany

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The 2018 Dorsheimer Pitterm?nnchen Riesling Kabinett is quite deep and mineral on the slate-driven, crunchy and discreetly fruity nose. Lush and round on the palate, this is a rich and intense, textured Kabinett that is less crystalline and tastes more like an old-style Sp?tlese. Excellent, but you need to be patient. Tasted in July 2019.

Bright fruit and ripe fruit aromas, along with coolish slate aromas of the 2014 Dorsheimer Pitterm?nnchen Riesling Kabinett lead to a light-bodied and delicate palate, which reveals a ripe fruit and juicy finish.

There is even less Diel 2010 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Kabinett than there is of the corresponding Goldloch. Mirabelle and cherry shadowed by their distilled counterparts mingle in the nose with lemon and grapefruit that then emerge in juicy profusion on a succulent palate, with an invigorating and animated if almost strident exchange of citrus and pit fruit essences over a ground of stone lending this Riesling a sustained, musical lilt. While higher in residual sugar, this tastes no sweeter than does the corresponding Goldloch; and the same acids and extract that buffer its sense of sweetness will probably assist in maintaining its freshness and cohesion over at least the next dozen years. While her famous father Armin naturally continues as a trusted advisor, it is evident in conversation as well from continued adjustments in methodology that Caroline Diel is settling into her role as hands-on manager of this great estate, clearly positioning it as one of those lucky enough to receive the special benefits and blessings that can accrue to felicitous multi-generational collaboration. Selective double-salt de-acidification was performed here in 2010 – occasionally even in lots destined for residually sweet wines – and skin contact encouraged. Alcohol levels for this year’s Grosse Gewachse are in the moderate, 12.5-13% range.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The Diel 2009 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Kabinett leads with some cheesy, yeasty fermentative notes, but these soon clear to reveal a gorgeous alliance of ripe apricot, lime, grapefruit, cashew, and apple blossom. Creamy yet infectiously juicy, this finishes with a cloud-like sense of levity and enveloping ripeness. At 10% alcohol and only 30 grams of residual sugar, it represents a stylistic departure from Diel Kabinetts of recent years, coming off as much less sweet, and yet, when has there been one with a more alluring sense of delicacy? This proves definitively (not that I feel I still need proof!) that hugely high residual sugar – even against the background of a very ripe vintage – is not a price that has to be paid for that incomparable lightness which only a Riesling Kabinett can deliver. Plan to savor this one over the next 15 or more years. Caroline Diel’s 2009 collection is noteworthy not only for a range of outstanding Riesling such as has long been anticipated (though seldom bettered) at this estate, but also for a set of wines from the Pinot family – all, incidentally, now labeled with French rather than German names for their varieties – that in my estimation mark a significant up-tick in quality. That this estate has been famous in Germany for its work with Pinots ever since Armin Diel assumed charge in 1987 and began barrique vinification, I am of course well aware. But only in recent years have I witnessed tendencies to restrain the influence of new wood and to encourage real subtlety, which seem to me prerequisites for achieving with these varieties anything remotely approaching the class of Schlossgut Diel’s Rieslings. The 2009 Pinots were harvested in mid-October and most of the Rieslings in the two weeks following. The superb botrytis selections were all picked-out ahead of even the Pinots.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Scents of apricot and lime in the Diels’ 2008 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Kabinett lead to a lovely, quite delicate palate of lime chiffon and vanilla cream. Bitter hints of apricot kernel, gooseberry, and lime zest add counterpoint to a soothing, buoyant finish, while a saline, shrimp shell-like note lends both intrigue and lip-smacking savor. Incredibly, this carries 50 grams of residual sugar, yet thanks to a Mosel-like balance you hardly think about its sweetness. And of course, precisely this elevated residual sugar is what enables the low alcohol and thus the wine’s overall delicacy, uncannily allied to textural richness and a palpable sense of extract. With all respect due to the best dry German Rieslings – and Diel renders some of the best – this little, sweet Kabinett offers genuine intrigue, not to mention a set of virtues whose like you cannot remotely approach with any other grape or in any other country on earth. Furthermore, I’m waiting to taste the Grosses Gewachs that has the energy, agility, or elegance to challenge this flyweight Riesling after 15 years in the bottle. Caroline Diel is taking the reins at her family’s estate, and results in 2008 are as impressive as one would have expected given the track record at this address. The team here did not start harvesting until the third week in October and picked for nearly a month, due to which lateness the measurable acid levels (which were not adjusted) were relatively low by vintage standards, but the impression of acidity was more than vivacious and efficacious enough. On a quest for purity and authenticity, the Diels did not include in their bench trials for the blending of Grosse Gewachse any small lots of off-dry wine such as might in past have been employed expressly to fine-tune the finished levels of residual sugar. Instead, they let the blends all remain quite dry. Armin Diel has for at least the past dozen years championed and cherished the Mosel stylistic ideals of delicacy and of high residual sugar balanced against acidity. His choices of Mosel-born cellar master Martin Franzen (now of Muller-Catoir), and more recently of Moselaner Christoph Friedrich, testify to this proclivity. But there has never been a better vintage in which to give these ideals fluid realization. So if you are a lover of Kabinetts and Spatlesen from the likes of Joh. Jos. Prum, Willi Schaefer, or the Haags, do not miss the show Caroline and Armin Diel have put on this year, and that could be playing in your cellar any night over the next two decades!Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300