Musky, sweet peony-like perfume captures the nose from Jost’s 2010 Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Spatlese, which at just 7% alcohol backs-up its fresh white peach and apple fruit with a boatload of residual sugar, yet possesses lusciously juicy fresh lemon and grapefruit that keeps things lively, refreshing, and neither overly sweet nor bifurcated; indeed, there is impressive seamlessness to this leanly-textured beauty, and marine salinity serves for saliva inducement in its sustained finish. Look for at least two decades of contentment. 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

Despite its mere 8.5% alcohol and concomitantly high residual sugar, Josts’ 2009 Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Spatlese tastes significantly less sweet – not to mention better-balanced and more exciting – than the 11% alcohol Spatlese from their Rheingau vineyards in the Walkenberg. This is surely a tribute to the magic possessed by great, steep, slate slopes like the Hahn. Pink grapefruit, pineapple, Persian melon, and lily perfume offer heady aromatic enticement; then reunite on a luscious, glossy palate. The finish here is as effusive as the nose, and accompanied by a delightful sense of levity. I would look for at least 15 years of seductive beauty from this classic example of its site and style. 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

Effuse aromas of grapefruit, pineapple, musk melon, and strawberry on the nose of Jost’s 2007 Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Spatlese lead to a palate that offers the same generosity and lift as the corresponding Kabinett, but a flatteringly creamy texture. Here too, a strikingly saline, stony, alkaline amalgam makes for a big mineral statement, less present in the nose, but full-blown in the finish, accompanying a great rush of ripe fruit and a hint of botrytis-engendered honey. Expect this to remain fresh – and probably to gain nuance – for 15-20 years. 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