2009 Norheimer Kirschheck Spatlese

Effusively perfumed with cherry blossom, lily, and honeysuckle, Donnhoff's 2009 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese comes to the palate dripping with ripe Persian melon and packing the luscious, cooling refreshment of a flower- and herb-infused lime sorbet. Subtly seductive creaminess, wafting florality, and almost weightless buoyancy are allied to an uncanny balance of residual sugar, acids, and dry extract that results in a supportive yet in no way obvious sense of sweetness, and this finishes on an almost endlessly shimmering interplay of crystalline and saliva-inducing saline mineral notes with heady flowers and succulent fresh fruits. Anticipate at least the better part of two decade's seduction. "In a great vintage with good weather this prolonged," remarks Helmut Donnhoff of 2009, only half in humor, "the only time limit to harvest is that set by the wild boar." And most of the excitement here this year - including the remarkable range of Spatlesen and the botrytis selections - was generated from a single week's picking in early November. "It's a year of the naked wine," adds Donnhoff, pointing to what he perceives as the stark portrayal of vineyard typicity that runs through his entire 2009 collection. His recent arrangement with the new Gut Hermannsberg (whose origins and inaugural vintage are canvassed elsewhere in this report) has taken Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube out of Helmut Donnhoff's line-up, while he has roughly doubled the surface area in the Hermannshohle under his control (to nearly 10 acres, or roughly half the Einzellage). The suggested retail prices I received from Donnhoff's importer represented significant price reductions vis-a-vis the last two years - and prices on the estate's private customer list have remained virtually unchanged for several years - adding yet another reason to seek them out. "I want to offer my customers good value," remarks Donnhoff with, in my view, considerable understatement, "and I'm proud of the fact that nobody in the trade who has bought from me has lost money reselling my wine." Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300