2011 Riesling Alte Reben

The van Volxem 2011 Riesling Alte Reben – sourced, as usual from ancient vines in a wide range of sites – evinces peach and yellow plum with intimations of their pits as well as sweat and maritime scents of salt, alkali and kelp. On the palate, this is decidedly dense, pithy and piquant, shading toward outright bitterness that – while it manages to be integrated, and the finish here is undeniably gripping – can’t call on comparable primary juiciness such as was on hand in the corresponding Braunfels bottling. What this relatively firm, stern and almost medicinally piquant Riesling does draw on is mouthwatering salinity and the saliva-stimulating flesh and liquor of fresh oyster. While this is, in more than one sense, a tougher nut to crack than are some more generous van Volxem wines of its vintage, I would not on that account conclude that it is more age worthy. Rather, I’d be inclined to monitor it with the suspicion that it might turn out to be best enjoyed by 2016. Dominik Volk reports that the van Volxem team did not begin harvesting until after things cooled down – specifically on October 4 with a pre-harvest sweep of all sites – and then spent five and a half weeks completing their work under allegedly ideal meteorological circumstances. “It was very difficult to strike the right balance this year,” he opines, since – as I detailed, among other places, in my introduction to notes on the Middle Mosel 2011s – this vintage’s Rieslings, due in large part to their low acidities, were highly sensitive to residual sugar; yet high must weights also brought the danger of excessive alcohol. In the event, Volk and Niewodniczanski elected to risk erring on the side of alcohol, and finished a higher than usual percentage of their Rieslings legally dry (though following their now long-standing convention, none are labeled “trocken”). It paid off with a high rate of expressive successes, which is especially good news because this vintage rewarded Niewodniczanski with his largest-ever crop – not that yields came within hailing distance of the averages at 98% of other German Riesling addresses. In addition to the wines on which I report here, a B.A. and a T.B.A. from the Scharzhofberger which I have not tasted were still fermenting as of last autumn. (For much more about Roman Niewodniczanski’s highly distinctive, evolving methodology and his stylistic ideals, consult the often extensive introductions to my reports on his previous collections.) Importers include Ewald Moseler Selections, Portland OR; tel. (888) 274-4312 and Acid Inc. Selections, New York, NY; tel. (817) 687-4848