I was taken aback to note only 12.5% alcohol on the label of Brundlmayer’s “regular” bottling of 2006 Riesling Heiligenstein, but the wine indeed displays a delicacy unusual for the vintage and for Brundlmayer wine from this site. Lime, sage, blackcurrant, lilac and honey are the key notes here, and flavors rotate along the floral-mineral axis typical for Heiligenstein. Slightly less dynamic and certainly less intense than its sibling Steinmassel, I still would not hesitate to hold on to some of this for 6-8 years and expect it to take on greater depth of flavor. In 2006, Willi Brundlmayer really displayed mastery of his sites. While their fruits all ripened to high potential alcohol such as we have become used to in most vintages at this estate, this was by and large without detrimental effects, and the wines display clarity and refinement without heat or bitterness.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The Heiligenstein vineyard is a great one, and from this Willi Brundlmayer produces three great wines. Of the three, this is the most accessible when young, already a complete wine, with minerality and also warmth from the very ripe, rounded fruits, just edged with crispness.——R.V.(12/31/2007)—— 93