A Muller-Catoir 2009 Gimmeldinger Riesling Kabinett trocken smells of fresh grapefruit, yellow plum, lemon blossom, iris, and a faintly Muscat- or Sauvignon-like cooling garland of green herbs. The silken polish that characterized the corresponding generic bottling is back in seductive evidence here, and the subtle sense of salinity that suffuses the finish loosens my salivary glands uncontrollably. There is a lovely sense of lift on display as well, despite ample 12.5% alcohol. This wine’s performance is particularly impressive considering that there is a separate bottling of dry Riesling this year from the Mandelgarten, whereas all of last year’s fruit from that hail-ravaged site had gone into the predecessor of this “village-level” bottling. I would anticipate half a dozen years of versatile satisfaction. “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

Where Muller-Catoir’s Haardt bottling represented a cool, laid-back, supremely elegant rendition of dry Riesling, the corresponding 2007 Gimmeldinger Riesling Kabinett trocken is a piquant, pungent ball of energy. Mingling apple, orange, tomatillo, and incense-like resinous notes on both the nose and the palate, this sappy, sassy Riesling delivers a bright, briney back end. It should be well worth following for at least 6-8 years. You had to play poker and take some chances this year, remarked Martin Franzen, and based on the vinous evidence, he repeatedly played winning hands. The stylistic evolution of wines under Franzen’s and proprietor Philip Catoir’s direction – which I honestly find it difficult to understand why so many commentators view as utterly discontinuous with the legacy of legendary former cellar master Hans-Gunter Schwarz – has run toward increasing refinement and subtlety in the Rieslings, for which conditions in 2007 – assuming (as one can, here) impeccable viticultural husbandry and patience at harvest – were ultimately ideal (even as they had been problematic in 2006). Franzen has turned out the first totally masterful Scheurebe collection of his career this year. And the nobly sweet wines – including, improbably, six tour de force TBAs, among which are the estate’s first-ever from Muskateller and Weissburgunder and first Scheurebe TBA since 1964 – dazzle with the audacity and at times raucousness that routinely accrue to nobly sweet Pfalz 2007s, and are at their best unsurpassed. Nearly all of this year’s collection (save for one refusenik Rieslander TBA) had been bottled already in April, a bold strategy considering how downright unsettled by nature some of them are. But capturing all of their energy in bottle seemed to be the governing metaphor. I cannot resist pointing out that – in keeping with a lamentable national trend – there is now not just no halbtrocken wine here, but no middle ground: every wine this year is either legally trocken or obviously sweet. Muller-Catoir is increasing their acreage of Pinot Blanc – in itself a welcome development, although partisans of Rieslaner will be dismayed to learn that it is coming at that variety’s expense.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Attractive combination of tangy grapefruit, peach and white pepper matched to a vibrant structure and succulent texture. Lovely. Drink now through 2006.??–BS??Region: Germany / Pfalz Select to Add