With 2007 Riesling Eins Zwei Drei (the first wine name in my recollection that seems to cry out for punctuation), Leitz has produced a similarly outstanding dry Riesling value. Weighing in at a mere 12% alcohol (dry wines from Leitz’s top holdings in the steep Rudesheimer Berg frequently top 14%), this crisp, sappy, satin-textured Riesling displays salted peach and lemon, and a subtly piquant smoky, stony, saline, peach-kernal finishing complexion reminiscent of many an expensive Rudesheimer. I am confident it will be a joy to drink over at least the next two years.
Johannes Leitz has expanded his production enormously over the past decade by crafting outstandingly well-balanced, vivacious, and affordable residually sweet Riesling from ostensibly lesser sites in Rudesheim, and with the assistance of his importer Terry Theise, marketing them with enormous success in the United States.
Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300