The Muller-Catoir 2009 Weissburgunder trocken winsomely combines fresh apple, raw almond, hazelnut, and green tea in a juicily-refreshing, subtly creamy textured amalgam that wafts across the palate and levitates into its finish like a cloud of refreshment. These lighter Catoir Pinot Blancs can be so deft and alluring it grieves me that the estate’s importer Terry Theise – despite being an avowed lover of this grape – evidently hasn’t seen the customer interest that would justify his continuing to offer this bottling from the current vintage. This beauty ought to show well for at least the next 4-5 years. “Despite sporadic rain at harvest time,” notes Martin Franzen about the 2009 harvest, “cool weather kept botrytis completely at bay. Frankly,” he adds, “it was hard to make disappointing wine with raw materials of this caliber.” But it was also impossible to achieve nobly sweet results save from Rieslaner, with its notorious penchant for spontaneous desiccation even in the absence of botrytis. This is the first vintage, incidentally, for which this estate has claimed organic bona fides, and Franzen – even if predictably – claims to find additional depth in his wines thanks to that conversion. (Not that this estate has ever been anything but entirely circumspect in any use of herbicides or pesticides.)Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300