In an example of truth-in-terroir, the 2004 Haardter Burgergarten Rieslaner Beerenauslese, harvested in early December, exhibits the remarkable refinement and weightless sense that accrue to wines harvested from essentially healthy yet desiccated berries. Not that the texture is less than viscous, but there is an ethereal sense of lift throughout. Scents of quince, cinnamon, fresh lemon, and caramelized pineapple are followed by palate flavors of brown spice-laced quince and peach preserves, honey and a deep chocolate-like richness. Length and reverberation are getting to the point that you can’t tell when they leave off and when the next sip hits your lips as you succumb to a compulsive gesture of euphoria. Give these stunning Rieslaner Beerenauslesen the benefit of 8 or 10 years and then enjoy for a couple of decades more. Since the arrival of young Mosel-born Martin Franzen at this great estate so long associated with the wisdom and artistry of Hans-Gunter Schwarz’s 36-year tenure as cellar master, I have been struck by a degree of qualitative continuity and stylistic affinity with the ancient regime that other commentators seem not to have noticed. In a very real sense, the legacy of Schwarz – “activism in the vines, minimalism in the cellar” – has seeped indelibly into the fabric of nearly every top winery in the Pfalz. How then could it be otherwise precisely at Mandelring #25? And although Franzen and a largely new team were forced, to a considerable extent, to rediscover the keys to these vines and sites, they are the same vines and sites so carefully tended, trained and conscientiously replanted over the past decades by the then team of Catoir and Schwarz. In 2004, Franzen has unlocked from them astonishingly numerous and improbably fine vinous treasures such as one has come to associate with the name “Muller-Catoir” in the nearly four decades since a very young Heinrich Catoir inherited this estate and decided to make a statement.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300