Baron Zu Knyphausen Erbacher Michelmark Riesling Erstes Gewachs

點擊次數(shù)：1953

Faintly warm (at 13.5% alcohol) in finish, this broad, very ripe Riesling strikes me as being best consumed within the next several years. Knyphausens 2009 Erbacher Michelmark Riesling Erstes Gewachs is as he amusingly if somewhat misleadingly puts it -not VDP-trocken,- i.e. not legally trocken and therefore among those dry-tasting Rheingau Erste Gewachse not allowed to be publicly shown at tastings featuring Grosse Gewachse. (If that last sentence is not intelligible to you, dont blame my syntax, and consider yourself lucky: one couldnt make up a situation this silly!) Thanks to its 12.5 grams residual sugar, this didnt exceed 12.5% alcohol and offers a buoyant, refreshing, and vividly Normandy apple cider-like palate impression. What I miss is any intrigue or special interest to justify much ado, and to be honest I have seldom found dry Riesling from this site to be memorable. Gerko zu Knyphausen has acquired a new partner (holding a 50% share) who will assist in management and marketing. When this new investment funds director Wolfgang Frank informed me - employing the allegedly Burgundian classificatory language now so fashionable among German vintners - that the estates portfolio had been significantly restructured, I was to say the least skeptical. Naturally, though, of paramount importance is the quality of whatever is put into bottle (and the Knyphausen estate had registered a few disappointing recent collections). What I found when I visited in November was Knyphausen and long-time vineyard and cellar manager Rainer Ruttiger very much at their posts; a revision of the wine line-up that incorporated rather bold and in my opinion largely laudable stylistic innovations; and the most exciting collection I can recall at this address in nearly two decades. Its obvious from my conversations with the team that renewed rigor in vine management has been contributory to improved quality, and whatever combination of renewed inspiration and fiscal freedom has further impacted this years performance, heres hoping that it continues!Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424