Delicate and overtly sweet (at – like its Schloss Furstenberg counterpart – only 8% alcohol), Weingart’s 2009 Bopparder Hamm-Feuerlay Riesling Spatlese – which by estate standards experienced an unusually slow, three month-long fermentation and underwent malo-lactic transformation – is his one bottling from this vintage to display the effusively tropical fruits I so often associate with ripe Riesling from the Hamm. Banana, mango, and pineapple in the nose take on a honey-glazed character on the lush, texturally creamy and soothing palate. Subtle spiciness adds to the suggestion of background noble botrytis in an expansive, extravagant finish. This should be worth following for at least two decades, in the course of which it will of course eventually shed some of its presently super-abundant sweetness. My only objection is that it would have been less misleading to have labeled this as Auslese. On the other hand, that would have presumably led to Weingart’s feeling that he had to significantly raise the price! For notes on some recent developments at Florian Weingart’s estate, please consult my report in issue 187. While much has been done to improve vineyards and cellar, this young grower’s acute self-awareness and quality-consciousness continue as they have since he took over here, even as he has become one of his country’s most talked-about talents. And he would be the last to want readers to remain unaware that the wines rendered here when his father, Adolf, was in charge – of which I recently tasted a fresh, minerally-intense example that I had imported from the difficult 1987 vintage – were consistently good and often downright distinguished. Weingart reports some drought stress in 2009, but while he began picking already before mid October, Oechsle levels were universally high, which explains not only the relatively high alcohol of some of the dry wines (a phenomenon that’s been witnessed in these vineyards in quite a few recent vintages) but the lack of differentiation by that metric between those wines Weingart chose to bottle as Kabinett and those that became Spatlese. Acid levels were on the whole modest, on top of which several of Weingart’s 2009s – including a couple of the ones I thought among his finest, please note! – underwent at least partial malo-lactic transformation.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The light to medium-bodied 2001 Riesling Spatlese Bopparder Hamm Feuerlay offers earthy clay aromas. Salty minerals, crisp pears, and slate can be found in this expressive wine's excellent character. Drink it between 2005 and 2014. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300