Spanier’s 2011 Hohen-Sulzer Riesling trocken perpetuates the themes of clarity and juiciness I found exemplified by many of its immediate siblings; and its palpable density and 13% alcohol don’t preclude a welcome sense of lift. Green and smoky black tea together lend intriguing pungency to the nose as well as the satin-textured palate, where they suffuse a matrix of white peach and lemon that’s further accented with nut oils and piquant fruit pit. The sort of shimmering – seemingly somehow crystalline – sense of dynamic mineral display found in the corresponding generic bottling is here considerably enhanced. I would anticipate 3-5 years of satisfaction. Oliver Spanier (for an account of his methods and still internationally little-known sites, consult especially my issue 185 report) began picking on September 20, 2011 and didn’t finish until November 2 (in his Am Schwarzen Herrgott parcel), an indication of the micro-climatic, topographical and geological diversity among his sites in three communes. That it was necessary to cull botrytis this year is evidenced in an unprecedented set of brilliantly successful nobly sweet wines from this normally trocken-only estate. (Mea Culpa: Somehow, I let Spanier omit pouring me samples of this year’s Eisbach Riesling or his and Gillot’s 2010 CO Riesling – always late-released – without my realizing the omissions and asking that they be remedied.)Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

Yellow plum and parsnip make an interesting pair on the nose and bright, juicy, silken-textured palate of Spanier’s 2010 Hohen-Sulzer Riesling trocken, with prickly notes of lemon rind adding to its enervating effect and scents of almond extract and buddleia perfume adding allure. Here is a sense of elegance and juicy generosity unencumbered by bitterness or alcohol such as burdened several dry 2010 Riesling crus of spousal-estate Kuhling-Gillot. I would plan on enjoying this over the next 4-5 years, though I wouldn’t be at all shocked if it held up well longer than that. This year’s Battenfeld-Spanier collection – which, in Oliver Spanier’s unavoidable absence, I tasted with his father-in-law Roland Gillot – proved on the whole far more generous in vinous personality than that of nuptial partner-estate Kuhling-Gillot. And while the higher-alcohol and more aggressive phenolics in this estate’s Grosses Gewachs bottlings had in the past led me to sometimes prefer their lighter, more elegant and refreshing, if ostensibly lesser, “village” cuvees, in 2010 the crus were neither alcoholically-freighted nor – with one exception – overly astringent. (Incidentally, I missed tasting this year’s generic Battenfeld-Spanier Riesling.)Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

Spanier's 2009 Hohen-Sulzer Riesling trocken is scented and flavored with raw hazelnut, freshly-ground corn meal, and cyanic suggestions of apricot kernel and apple pit. An oily as well as subtly creamy sense of textural richness along with the aforementioned piquancy is fortunately leavened by refreshing if bittersweet kumquat, orange, and lemon, so that despite a mere four grams of residual sugar, this manages to avoid any significant sense of austerity, and despite harboring almost 13.5% alcohol it comes off as svelte and heat-free. Low-toned notes of hazelnut, pumpkin, and crushed stone persist in a satisfyingly sustained finish. Some tasters are apt to find this brooding or perhaps slightly severe, but I am convinced it will deliver some fascinating synergies if carefully employed at table over the coming 3-4 years. Oliver Spanier - for information about whose distinctive sites and methods consult especially my report in issue 185 - harvested until November 3, 2009, allowing almost an entire month for optimizing ripeness. Just as at their Kuhling-Gillot estate, the team of Spanier and his wife Carolin Gillot seek to avoid bottling non-trocken wines, instead blending away any lots that finish with more than 9 grams of residual sugar. Spanier is among the many German Riesling growers who - in his words - are "working in the direction of clarity, freshness, finesse and elegance of expression rather than extract or power" (for which he used the English word). But it's one thing to talk the talk and another to walk the walk - assuming that one is attracted by these stated goals - and in that respect, Spanier is not the only ambitious German grower I have encountered whose ostensibly lesser bottlings (from 2009, anyway) strike me as living up to his stated ideals better than do his Grosse Gewachse.Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

Spanier’s 2008 Hohen-Sulzer Riesling trocken (past vintages of which bore a capital S on their label as part of the wine’s name) smells of apricot with its kernel, maraschino, tangerine zest, almond, and blond tobacco. Almond and pistachio cream with luscious apricot on a polished palate lead to an exuberantly juicy as well as fascinating finish. This should prove delightful for at least 6-8 years. Oliver Spanier – for a bit about whose distinctive sites and methods see issue 185 – harvested his 2008 vintage Rieslings from mid-October through the first week of November, and reports having performed no de-acidification.Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799