The Gies-Duppel 2008 Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Weiser Burgunder trocken originates in the Triassic sandstone Taschberg (symbolized via a new estate-internal convention by a crown on the label). Fresh lime, apple, raw almond, plus Chenin-like suggestions of quince and snuffed candle wick in the nose lead to a creamy, indeed positively opulent palate presentation. Hazelnut and apple pip inject notes of bitterness into the finish just where the mineral element becomes somewhat stony and austere. Still, there is sufficient juiciness to assuage that impression. This surprisingly rich and formidably long Pinot Blanc (a small portion of which was vinified in a new barrique) should be worth following for at least 3-5 years. For more about Volker Gies’s promising career and estate, consult my coverage in issue 185. His 2008s – which typically received around 6 hours on their skins in the press – were bottled already in March (and indeed, several were sold out by September). Gies indicated that it rained in his part of the Sudliche Weinstrasse for the better part of a week beginning October 27, so that he was glad to have finished picking shortly before that, but as at neighboring Wehrheim, I found this collection of wines on the whole slightly austere when compared with last year’s.Importer: Tartaglione Fine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 216-3356

The 2007 Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Weiser Burgunder Spatlese trocken features fresh apple and persimmon tinged with brown spices and chalk. With a polished superfice and a fine balance of richness with vivacity such as this grape is adept at displaying, this finishes with generously juicy fruit, spice, and nutty piquancy. Plan to play around with it over the next 4-5 years if not longer. The 2004 – uniting fruit from parcels that are now vinified separately – is glorious today: hiding its 14% alcohol, and putting me in mind of Hiedler’s exceptional Austrian Pinot Blancs. Volker Gies took over his family’s domaine in 1999, and is relentlessly and successfully pursuing quality and site-specificity while offering (at least, based on ex-cellar pricing) some of the finest values I have tasted in German wine over the past several years. Some potentially exciting new vineyard sites have recently been cleared for planting it is clear that, as impressive as these wines are, there will be much more excitement up ahead. Although it had been in the bottle 18 months when I tasted it last September, Duppel’s well-concentrated but rather awkwardly woody, rough 2005 Pinot Noir represented at that time his current offering. But red wines represented the only disappointment of any sort at this address, and even here there is promise. Like his more famous neighbors Rebholz and Wehrheim, Giess renders a range of site-specific Pinot Blancs.Importer: Tartaglione Fine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 216-3356