A. Christmann Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz, Germany

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Christmann’s 2011 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs displays a pungent combination of parsnip, citrus zest, turnip and pungent herbs similar to that found in several of its immediate siblings (though not, to my perception, tracking with terroir). When there is as much primary juiciness as is displayed here – not to mention a polished texture and no alcoholic warmth – one ends up with something at once interesting, invigorating, and refreshing that I suspect will be worth following through at least 2017. Steffen Christmann does not attempt to minimize the danger that existed of 2011 reading the difficult path of 2006, or even going the rot-plagued way of 2000, had cool, sunny weather not intervened. “We picked generic Riesling after the Grosse Gewachse,” he reports, “which is the first time that has ever happened. But we saw how must weights were charging upwards in the top sites and we didn’t want to have any 14.5% alcohol wines.” May frosts were not a significant factor here as they were in much of the Mittelhaardt, so that the 2011 crop level was normal. Late-picking (though the mid-October dates for it were only 8-10 days behind recent norms); longer-than-usual skin contact; and longer time on the lees were the approaches Christmann took to temper 2010’s ferocious acids, only his lesser bottlings having been subjected to any (and then double-salt) de-acidification. Concentration from low yields, he notes, made for finished levels of natural alcohol no lower – and in a couple of instances higher – than in 2009. He reports relatively little botrytis, but there was enough to permit (or, depending on one’s perspective, to necessitate – lest alcohol or bitterness in the corresponding dry wines get out of hand) a pair of Auslesen, a genre that has in recent years (by choice) become rare at this address. In both 2010 and 2011, some of the single-vineyard wines were matured entirely in cask; others in a mixture of cask and stainless steel. Christmann notes that his collective stock of ambient yeasts – and he suspects that those coming from his vineyards play a prominent fermentative role – must be abundant and healthy, because all of his 2011s (save, of course, for the Auslesen) finished fermenting by Christmas with at most 4.5 grams of residual sugar. Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

The Christmann 2010 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs displays a welcome, unusually ripe side of its vintage, with plenty of flesh of peach and musk melon mingled with tart, fresh lemon, though without engendering any awkward sense of bifurcation. Full and faintly oily, it simultaneously projects abundant primary juiciness. A caper-like salty-bitter note adds to the sense of invigoration and saliva inducement conveyed in a sustained finish, while suggestions of pistachio and almond oils add rich counterpoint. Look for this to be worth following through 2017. Steffen Christmann does not attempt to minimize the danger that existed of 2011 reading the difficult path of 2006, or even going the rot-plagued way of 2000, had cool, sunny weather not intervened. “We picked generic Riesling after the Grosse Gewachse,” he reports, “which is the first time that has ever happened. But we saw how must weights were charging upwards in the top sites and we didn’t want to have any 14.5% alcohol wines.” May frosts were not a significant factor here as they were in much of the Mittelhaardt, so that the 2011 crop level was normal. Late-picking (though the mid-October dates for it were only 8-10 days behind recent norms); longer-than-usual skin contact; and longer time on the lees were the approaches Christmann took to temper 2010’s ferocious acids, only his lesser bottlings having been subjected to any (and then double-salt) de-acidification. Concentration from low yields, he notes, made for finished levels of natural alcohol no lower – and in a couple of instances higher – than in 2009. He reports relatively little botrytis, but there was enough to permit (or, depending on one’s perspective, to necessitate – lest alcohol or bitterness in the corresponding dry wines get out of hand) a pair of Auslesen, a genre that has in recent years (by choice) become rare at this address. In both 2010 and 2011, some of the single-vineyard wines were matured entirely in cask; others in a mixture of cask and stainless steel. Christmann notes that his collective stock of ambient yeasts – and he suspects that those coming from his vineyards play a prominent fermentative role – must be abundant and healthy, because all of his 2011s (save, of course, for the Auslesen) finished fermenting by Christmas with at most 4.5 grams of residual sugar. Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

A maritime mingling of saline and alkaline, kelp and iodine notes in the nose of the Christmann 2009 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs makes for genuine intrigue, and there is a delightfully shimmering sense of minerality interacting with lemon and white peach on the palate that puts me in mind a bit of Chablis. Toasted nuts, fruit pits, and citrus rind made for rather pithy back-end piquancy, but fortunately the sense of primary juiciness, ample surface gloss, and dynamic minerality are impressively sustained. I'd anticipate interesting evolution and satisfying performance over the next 5-7 years. Once again, Steffen and Karl-Friedrich Christmann's collection of firm dry Rieslings (smaller in number than in other recent years) has struck my palate as rather relentlessly consistent in its straight-laced and at times brusquely piquant style. I frequently find myself wanting these wines to loosen-up and show greater primary juiciness and sweetly-ripe fruit, especially this year, given the relatively generous tendencies I associate with the 2009 vintage. Certainly nobody can accuse this team of having harvested prematurely. They picked well into October precisely because, opines Karl-Friedrich Christmann, "until then, the fruit wasn't really ripe." "Most of the wines," notes Steffen Christmann, "had fermented completely by mid-December, with only a very few lingering into January" and he was happy to point out that even those labeled as containing 13% of alcohol generally harbored slightly less than that amount. "This," he suggested, picking up a refrain I hear often, though I have no way of testing its basic claim, "is at least in retrospect one of the advantages of biodynamic cultivation, namely ripe flavors and relatively long hang times at moderate must weights and consequently moderate alcohol. For me, the ideal way would be to have no more 14 or 14.5% monsters but nonetheless have complexity, and I think that's the path we're on." Incidentally, I found the finished 2007 Pinot Noir Grosses Gewachs here worrisomely high in volatiles and drying in finish, continuing to feel uneasily as though I must be missing something in evaluating Christmann reds, none of which I tasted from barrel on this most recent outing. Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799