2012 Riesling Privat

Cutting a quite different figure from that of the corresponding Hochacker – though picked within a day of it – Nigl’s 2012 Riesling Pellingen Privat emphasizes sweetly ripe, luscious apple and peach. That rich fruit is complemented on an expansive, opulent and glossy palate by hints of musk and brown spices. I imagined a bit of botrytis might have been influential here, but Nigl points out that the primary difference between this Pellingen and the almost-adjacent Hochacker is the latter’s water retention, which explains the greater juiciness and liveliness of the corresponding wine. The vines for this Pellingen, it seems, were simply more stressed, and it finishes with a sense of opacity and slightly diminished sap, albeit with lasting fruit flavors and spice. Nigl professes to detect “more minerality” in the Pellingen, but I can in no way perceive that. I hope to revisit this but would tentatively plan on drinking it by 2020. Martin Nigl finds 2012 characterized by strong performances even in the ostensive low-end of his line-up, whereas he deemed 2011 quality more site-dependent. Unfortunately, I missed-out on tasting precisely that lower – and typically alcoholically lighter – end of his 2012 Gruner Veltliner line-up. While several ripe recent vintages here have been considerably challenged by their high alcohol, its elevated level in Nigl’s single-site 2012s does not preclude refreshment and in a couple of instances even a surprising sense of buoyancy. As is often the case, notes Nigl, “Riesling tended to plateau in must weight at a certain point while Gruner Veltliner kept rising,” and he certainly took his time with the former, not completing harvest until late November. But even allowing for the just-mentioned factors, it must be pointed out that whereas an increasing number of Krems area growers – whether or not from fashion as much as genuine aesthetic concern – are conscientiously pursuing a lightening of their wines’ alcoholic load with a self-proclaimed goal of finesse, Nigl’s wines (long referred to with adjectives such as “precise,” “detailed,” and “rarified”) have over the past decade or so been moving relatively steadily in the direction of amplitude, body, and more powerful grip. Yields chez Nigl were only a bit below normal in 2012 as the May frost that hit nearby largely spared the often steeply terraced immediate valley of the diminutive River Krems. Incidentally, as if veteran vintner Nigl did not have his hands full enough with his current acreage and running a swank hotel and restaurant on the winery property, beginning with 2013 he is farming property in the Kamptal as well, that of an estate he bought-out in Zobing, the first fruits of whose cool, high elevation sites (including Heiligenstein) tasted intriguing as well as promising from cask. “I was keen for a new challenge,” remarks Nigl with a grin. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300