Toni Jost Riesling Spatlese Trocken Alte Reben (Rheingau)

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：1402

The Jost 2007 Riesling Spatlese trocken Alte Reben – from their Walluf, Rheingau vineyards – is labeled so as to anticipate a Rheingau VDP transition (already accomplished on the Nahe) to dropping Pradikat designations from dry wines. Bitter-sweet, musky floral perfume, citrus oil, and saline, almost sweaty, animal notes make for a fascinating aromatic display, and the palpable sense of extract allied to ample refreshment that characterized the Joducus bottling is equally in evidence here, along with a more polished, glycerin-rich texture, and malted, roasted grain low tones. This finishes bitterness-free; shows its acidity less obviously than its Jost counterparts from the Mittelrhein; and offers an inkling of the lift and elegance that characterize the best wines of 2007. As Jost points out, his style of vinification – notably including long, active interaction with the lees – is contrary to the current German fashion for high-profile primary fruit aromas. 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