2010 Westhofener Morstein Trocken Grosses Gewachs

Strong and austere and packed with geometric minerality. Quinine and lime notes overlay deeper grapefruit and green peach. Intense, focused and trembling with life. A thoroughbred with head held high. So much here! Stunning. (TC)

Peach kernel and lemon rind render the Wittmann 2010 Westhofener Morstein Riesling Grosses Gewachs piquant on the nose as well as on a subtly oily, palpably high-extract, tartly juicy palate. There is formidable grip and persistence, even if of a somewhat austere sort, featuring counterpoint among stone, fruit pit and citrus. Salinity serves for some welcome stimulation of the salivary glands, but let there be no mistake: we have here one dense, chewy ball of Riesling sinew. It may well retain freshness for close to a decade, but is likely to remain much more formidable than fun to drink. (Ok, I overstate: many of those Germans most knowledgeable and passionate about wine seem to really relish drinking austere, tart, adamant Riesling to a degree that I – not somebody who considers “lean” pejorative, mind you! – have trouble accepting. I re-tasted the 2007 Morstein alongside the 2010, and it’s showing some interestingly fusil, smoky, sweaty, indeed downright animal aromatic development, while remaining firm but juicy.) Philipp Wittmann is always happy when (as is usually the case for his musts) fermentations go quickly, as he considers this ideal for capturing fruit. But his 2010s were having none of that plan! In the end, the active fermentative time and supplemental stays on their lees thereafter no doubt helped compensate for high acids and otherwise enrich what are still a relatively lean, not to mention bright bunch. “I was very concerned to monitor levels of malic acid,” says Wittmann, one of the minority to tell me they did this, whereas I would have thought this critical to any grower’s understanding of what was happening in 2010. “At the beginning, we had 2-to-1 malic-to-tartaric in Riesling, but by the time we finished harvesting they were roughly at parity.” He reports picking the best Riesling between around October 20-26, and scrupulously consigning any even the least bit botrytized berries to Auslese (if noble and from Morstein or Brunnenhauschen) or to oblivion, because they would have enhanced not just bitterness but also acidity in the dry wines. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Lightly exotic fruit on the nose is supported by a rich buttery note with just a dash of caramel. Peach and grapefruit stand out among the many fruit nuances and find the perfect balance between tropical and local fruit expression. The precocious acidity of 2010 has been charmed into its best behaviour, lively, juicy, but never disruptive. A deft herbal touch combines with a generous measure of salty minerality to make the Morstein an example of extraordinary complexity. But this wine is as much about feel as it is about taste: subtle texture, tremendous substance, great concentration and endless finish stretch the limits of sensory perception to an intellectual level. (MS)