1999 Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein Alte Reben

Flowers, pungent herbs and spices abound in the nose. This makes a dense and rather severe palate impression, with a core of minerals and pit fruits surrounded by a warm, oily perfume. Like a distillation of Heiligenstein to an almost uncomfortable intensity of phenolics, leading to a long, warm, pungently herbal finish somehow combining bitter fruit pit, stony minerality and a pronounced floral character. The Heiligenstein Riesling Lyra, named for the manner in which the vines are trained, was pruned for the same low yields as the old vines. Its alcohol exceeds 14%, generating similar heat and chewy phenolics. Yet it seemed aromatically less ripe and less site typical than the "regular" Heiligenstein. I found myself wondering: can the yields be too low where phenolic ripeness and high extract are purchased at the price of so much grape sugar and thus alcohol? "Let not forget," notes Brundlmayer, "that our climate has warmed in recent years, and it might reach the point where one says ‘too much of a good thing’."