The Diel 2009 Riesling trocken Eierfels – for more on whose name and origins consult my review of the 2008 (currently still in the marketplace) in issue 187 – smells of fresh lime, white peach, and pineapple, which then inform a luscious, buoyant, refreshingly juicy palate. Peach kernel, almond, and stony, alkaline, iodine-like notes add intrigue while the primary fruit never flags. While this wine’s 12.5% alcohol represents a modest level for a wine that is for all intents and purposes a “l(fā)ittle Grosses Gewachs,” in fact there is such levity here that I could easily have guessed 11.5%. This should be ravishing to follow for at least 6-8 years. Interestingly, Caroline Diel reports that it fermented entirely in cask and entirely spontaneously, whereas most of her 2009s represent some mixture of spontaneous and added-yeast fermentation. Caroline Diel’s 2009 collection is noteworthy not only for a range of outstanding Riesling such as has long been anticipated (though seldom bettered) at this estate, but also for a set of wines from the Pinot family – all, incidentally, now labeled with French rather than German names for their varieties – that in my estimation mark a significant up-tick in quality. That this estate has been famous in Germany for its work with Pinots ever since Armin Diel assumed charge in 1987 and began barrique vinification, I am of course well aware. But only in recent years have I witnessed tendencies to restrain the influence of new wood and to encourage real subtlety, which seem to me prerequisites for achieving with these varieties anything remotely approaching the class of Schlossgut Diel’s Rieslings. The 2009 Pinots were harvested in mid-October and most of the Rieslings in the two weeks following. The superb botrytis selections were all picked-out ahead of even the Pinots. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300