Rendered entirely in thousand-liter casks, Muller-Catoir’s 2009 Haardter Herrenletten Weissburgunder Spatlese trocken displays resinous and toasty notes from the relative newness of those vessels, which also no doubt accentuate the slightly milky character it evinces on the palate. That noted, there is fresh apple fruit here and a sense of subtle mineral suffusion that combine for considerable satisfaction, and perhaps with a couple of years in bottle this will prove more convincing. But it certainly confirms my impression that the two lighter and in principle less-ambitious of Muller-Catoir’s Pinot Blanc trio are where the excitement lies. “Despite sporadic rain at harvest time,” notes Martin Franzen about the 2009 harvest, “cool weather kept botrytis completely at bay. Frankly,” he adds, “it was hard to make disappointing wine with raw materials of this caliber.” But it was also impossible to achieve nobly sweet results save from Rieslaner, with its notorious penchant for spontaneous desiccation even in the absence of botrytis. This is the first vintage, incidentally, for which this estate has claimed organic bona fides, and Franzen – even if predictably – claims to find additional depth in his wines thanks to that conversion. (Not that this estate has ever been anything but entirely circumspect in any use of herbicides or pesticides.)Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300