3 | Wine | Riesling, 86 to 90, 2010

"Straw-yellow, deeper than the 2011. A fusel nuance complicates bright stone fruit and floral aromas. Very fresh and saline, offering excellent chewy extract and noteworthy length. An excellent entry-level wine, especially for those who like their rieslings bigger and chewier. Remarkable quality considering that nearly 30,000 cases of this wine are made."

"Fresh kiwi and lime scent and lusciously coat the palate. ...from Christoffel’s 2010 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett, wreathed with Treppchen-like high tones of herbal extracts. Polished in feel and somehow at once soothing and refreshingly stimulating, this finishes with vivid juiciness of fruit; positive tartness serving for focus; and a distinct note of stone. While it might be marginally less winsome than the corresponding Erdener, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this remain fresh and interesting longer, probably for at least 12-15 years. By now at this address, it’s become commonplace to have Kabinetts that are really Auslesen when measured even by the standards that prevailed here in the mid-nineties – let alone a quarter century ago when I first met Christoffel. But here I must say that despite the analysis this displays real Kabinett-like levity and vivacity."

"Lemon thyme, anise and green apple on the nose. A spicy, focused midweight that offers tangy citrus, pear and deeper melon flavors, along with a subtle herbal note and very good mineral cut. Becomes juicier with air and finishes dry, with a strong echo of citrus and herbs."

"I find this lightweight Riesling best imagined as a salad of cucumber and fennel lightly-salted and dressed with lime. That the juicy satisfaction to be derived is simple does not make it less delightful, and you may find it difficult to refrain from imbibing the next glass and the next. I would plan on polishing stocks off over the next couple of years, though."

"Grapefruit, orange, quince, Persian melon, and white peach in succulent, yet almost electrically-charged profusion. ...are palpably underlain with chalk that (at least metaphorically) corresponds to the make-up of this under-appreciated site just south of Nierstein the village. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of high-wire balancing or vivacious generosity of fruit even on the Mosel, and I fully expect that this outstanding value will delight for a dozen or more years."

"Hirsch reported that his 2010 Riesling Zobing seemed not to have bounced back and regained its purity of fruit from bottling even though that was two months before I tasted it in mid-June. Bottle shock or any sort of inhibition were however the last notions that would have crossed my mind! It might be a bit spare, but this exuberantly juicy, bright and (at 11.5% alcohol) buoyant amalgam of fresh lime, grapefruit, and white peach garlanded with musky floral perfume and seemingly suffused with crushed stone, salt, and crystalline mineral dust is sheer bottled energy, which should be great fun to unleash at table over the next 3-5 years."

"This vibrant, fresh Riesling delivers good concentration to the apple, gooseberry and white plum flavors. Sea salt and slate notes linger on the zesty finish."