Spanier’s 2007 Florsheimer Frauenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs comes from a chalky, (for the region) unusually steep, terraced site where – some readers will recall – Klaus-Peter Keller has Pinot Noir. Citrus and pit fruits are here mingled with what seem like chalk dust and bark-like tannin. Both massive and – like the corresponding Kirchenstuck – bright, this is impressively long although I long for the sort of sheer juicy refreshment that Spanier’s less-expensive bottlings deliver. I imagine that it will prove interesting to follow this for at least 7-9 years. Oliver Spanier farms organically and, increasingly, biodynamically in the southwestern corner of Rheinhessen, which benefits from the cool breezes of the so-called Eisbach Valley, and hence from potentially above-average hang-time. As part of the married Gillot-Spanier team (see elsewhere in this report under Kuhling-Gillot) he is a prime example of the excitement (and increasingly high prices) that young growers in former “hinterlands” are generating. (If one goes back hundreds of years, though, the chalky vineyards of Rheinhessen’s Wonnegau sub-region enjoyed prestige.) I tasted only a portion of this estate’s 2007s and shall render a fuller report on Spanier’s yet-better 2008s.Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799