Toni Jost Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese

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White peach and lemon on the nose and palate of Josts’ 2011 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese are mingled with notes of toasted grain such as were found in their dry renditions of the vintage from this site. Silken in texture and soothing as well as persistently juicy in finish, this incorporates nut oils and a subtle stoniness that enhance its sense of richness as well as intrigue. The refinement and understatement on exhibit here are quintessentially Rheingau, even if sadly no longer statistically Rheingau-typical. I suspect this will perform delightfully and perhaps ultimately even profoundly through at least 2030. With Peter Jost’s 65th birthday in the course of last year’s harvest, he officially went into retirement and daughter Cecilia Jost – who assumed a leadership role with vintage 2010 – took charge formally of this prestigious estate. But anyone who knows Peter and Linde Jost will rest assured that they are going to remain vitally active. A so-called “pre-harvest” pass (Vorlese) began for Josts in the Rheingau already in mid-September of 2011; picking in Mittelrhein sites began on the 20th; and harvest was in full swing by the end of that month, although it extended through mid-October. The surfeit of Oechsle on which Cecelia Jost remarked (see my introduction to this report) is evident throughout the present collection – with both alcohol and residual sugar often being higher than usual chez Jost – and a Hahn T.B.A. was still fermenting at the time of my tastings. Incidentally, the small portion of the Bacharacher Hahn that currently lies fallow will remain so for a total of at least three and possibly five years, since the Josts see this as a rare opportunity for letting the soil regenerate itself with the assistance of targeted cover crops, and one that should not be passed up for the sake of short-term gain. Bill Mayer Age of Riesling Selections, imported by Valley View Wine Sales, Glen Ellen, CA; tel. (510) 549-2444; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463

The merely 8% alcohol Jost 2010 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese exhibits luscious peach, musk melon, and fig whose generosity is, as was intended, reinforced by relatively high residual sugar. Saline, sweaty overtones as well as undertones of caramel and wet stone make for considerable intrigue while grapefruit and lemon introduce lively refreshment, all of which carry into a sustained finish that manages to be at once soothing and stimulating. The contrast with this year’s several dry Jost Rheingau Rieslings is striking, not to mention welcome. Expect this to be worth following for 12-15 years if not longer. Jost’s musts - largely from late October picking - were all double-salt de-acidified, and certain lots, including the Grosse Gewachse from both Mittelrhein and Rheingau, also underwent malo-lactic transformation in the course of unusually long fermentations. “We should culture and sell whatever powerful bacteria managed this,” notes Cecilia Jost jocularly, considering the low-pH medium in which they worked even after double-salt treatment. High acids also prompted some experiments in extended lees exposure and skin contact, though I fancy the latter might in some instances have accentuated a tendency toward bitterness. (Cecelia Jost had acquired some experience with all of these approaches from her time in New Zealand.) Residual sugar was left higher, and alcohol lower than usual in the majority of these 2010s. Bill Mayer Age of Riesling Selections, imported by Valley View Wine Sales, Glen Ellen, CA; tel. (510) 549 2444; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463

Apple cider, musk melon, and nearly overripe peach in the nose of the Josts’ 2009 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese carry over to a lush, expansive palate that preserves decent refreshment, but – at 11% alcohol, even with prominent sweetness – fails to deliver any sense of elegance, interaction, or levity. A suggestion of marzipan adds to the aura of near over-ripeness in a Riesling I can’t help but suspect would have benefited from earlier picking, and which I would plan to enjoy for its soothing richness within the next 5-7 years. (The corresponding 2008, on the other hand, will display impressive stamina and remains well worth looking out for.) For an account of some recent developments at this estate, please consult my report in issue 187. Interestingly, it was the wines from their Rheingau vineyards that suffered especially from sheer ripeness and consequent high alcohol; whereas the Josts’ best 2009s from their near-monopole Hahn escaped such difficulties and performed well indeed. Incidentally, every wine of the Josts’ save for their Grosse Gewachse – and that includes their two Pinots (which I don’t usually taste) – is now closed with screwcap, and they are among several growers I spoke with who intend to bottle their Grosse Gewachse with screwcap as well, as soon as the relevant bottles are available with the embossed Arabic numeral “1” and stylized grape cluster that identifies this category. Bill Mayer Age of Riesling Selections, Imported by Valley View Wine Sales, Glen Ellen, CA; tel. (510) 549 2444; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463

From their Rheingau estate, the Josts’ 2008 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese smells unexpectedly and alluringly of saffron, along with peaches, melon, and red berries. Quite lush and juicy on the palate, its sweetness is only just noticeable, but thanks to it, the alcohol is only 8.5%, so there is that suggestion of weightlessness with mineral grounding that one can get in German Rieslings, including those from the Rheingau – except, very few growers there bottle a wine at all like this now, as a rule either they’re trocken or very sweet. And there’s a lovely, metaphorically “cooling” herbal side to this and lip-smacking primary fruit juiciness and salinity in the finish. What’s more, this elegant exercise in a nearly forgotten genre from a well-known and often over-priced region represents very good value and would merit following for at least a dozen years. “This is a wine for specialists, and for those who remember what such wines were like,” suggests Cecilia Jost, to which I can’t help but reply, “you mean, unlike somebody your age!” Young Cecilia Jost is taking charge of the cellar here. In 2008, though, she was tied up with a commitment to harvest in Austria, so Peter and Linde Jost were still calling the shots. Given the ripening tendencies of the Jost’s great, steep, near-monopole Hahn (which is the reason Josts have now planted a site high above it to try to get back to real Kabinett) as well as the lees contact that Peter Jost favors, the 2008 vintage offered a possible antidote to high alcohol, lack of transparency or massiveness that are occasionally exhibited at this address, while permitting a later harvest than Josts have “enjoyed” (assuming you consider that the right word) in some years, lasting until November 10. Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The Josts’ 2007 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese displays the most vivid aromas of watermelon I can ever recall in a Riesling, accented by a hint of fresh lemon. Unusually soft and ingratiating in texture for a young 2007, it caresses yet at the same time refreshes the palate, leaving behind subtle but stubborn alkaline and saline notes then delightfully compliment the wine’s luscious generosity of melon. I love the T.R.-like restraint shown by this Riesling that walks softly, but has extract and energy in reserve for at least 15 years of fascinating and delicious evolution. The 2007 vintage was immensely satisfying for the Josts, combining as it did high must weights (but less so than in most recent vintages); ripe acid-retention; ample precipitation (for a flagship site so notoriously dry that it is among the very few in Germany to have been approved decades ago for drip lines); perfect botrytis; and a bumper crop (after several straight years of penury). All of that noted, I was still marginally disappointed by this year’s dry wines. I cannot help but wonder whether the Hahn simply promotes too much sugar in its Riesling grapes for ideal balance at legal Trockenheit. Peter Jost continues to follow a distinctive approach to nobly sweet success – honed only over the past several years – of rigorously removing and discarding in September any botrytis that might not later at harvest be distinguishable from fresh botrytis, and of favoring lower residual sugar and correspondingly higher alcohol in the finished wines than is nowadays fashionable. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300