From distinctive holdings high above Bernkastel that were rather arbitrarily assigned in 1971 to Graach’s Himmelreich, Richter’s 2010 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese offers both lemon- and lime meringue and a sheer juicy abundance of fresh citrus. While the overall impression is somewhat sweet-sour it is invigoratingly so, and the senses of buoyancy and of subtle creaminess are winsome. Time may well bring more complexity to this impressively energetic and long-finishing Auslese that I would not hesitate to plan on following for a quarter century. “The last time I had acid levels as high as in 2010,” reports Dirk Richter, “was in 1980, and I don’t need to tell you that vintage was a disaster even by then-prevailing standards. What’s more, that was the last time I had de-acidified. Even in challenging years like 1981, patience at harvest and the right upbringing of the young wines – maceration, later bottling, encouraging tartrate precipitation, etc. – sufficed to deal with high acids. In many cases this year, we double-salt de-acidified twice, in must and then again in wine – after having done nothing for thirty years; I couldn’t believe it was happening! But it was the only way to remove a sufficient share of the malic. The finished wines are still plenty high in acidity, but I did not want to repeat my experience from 1990, in which I bottled wines with as much 11 grams acid. The second year, they started to taste sour, and that never left them even as their textures eventually creamed-up. I think that two years from now many de-acidified wines will start fatiguing whereas our best will be coming into their own.” In 2010, needless to say, the grapes were essentially ripe – indeed all met the admittedly weak legal minimum for Auslese – but as Richter notes “I had to keep revisiting parcels again and again taking just what had properly ripened because the condition of bunches was so heterogeneous.” Precautionary levels of sulfur combined with the naturally low pH levels of 2010 material are, he speculates, the reason why he ended up having to yeast most of his musts this year to achieve satisfactory fermentation. Richter reports having managed to pick-out 20 and 30 liters respectively of B.A. and T.B.A. but at such pathetically small levels he felt it made more sense to blend them back selectively into the vintage’s Auslesen. “I’m laying everything on the table,” he noted with his usual candor when we began tasting, “some are quite good, some are meager, but I’ll let you judge for yourself.” Importer: Langdon-Shiverick Cleveland,?OH; tel. (216) 861-6800

Black currant, peach, apricot and Bosc pear flavors are balanced and juicy, along with lots of apple strudel notes as well that extend on the cream- and spice-filled finish. Drink now through 2030. 200 cases made, 50 cases imported.??–KM??Region: Germany / Mosel Select to Add