2008 Forster Kirchenstück Riesling QbA trocken Edition GC

The seemingly generic Burklin-Wolf 2008 Forster Riesling Auslese in fact comes from ? well, let’s leave you guessing for a moment and following the clues. I began my own tasting note by saying about its purported origins “that would be hard to believe” ? but then I tasted. Poached pear, quince preserves, and brown spices in the nose lead into a creamily-textured, scintillatingly rich palate laced with honey, fresh citrus, mint, marzipan, and liquid essence of lily-like perfume. This combines opulence, buoyancy, and luscious pear and citrus juiciness to a remarkable degree, and with an uncanny sense of transparency to subtly stony, carnal, and decadently floral notes. (Care to hazard a guess now?) It should only become more ravishing with time, and it’s not criticism of the dry wines in this collection to say that it will taste youthful when they are mature, and should dazzle for at least 25 years. Yet, this beautiful wine left a bad taste in my mouth. I quizzed cellarmaster and vineyard manager Fritz Knorr to make sure I had heard rightly: it’s 100% Kirchenstuck. If, as the team here says they concluded following much deliberation, to have labeled this with its vineyard of origin – the vineyard whose insurance value is the highest in Germany and whose history of excellence is unsurpassed – would have jeopardized the focus on Kirchenstuck trocken, then one has to say that G.C., Grosses Gewachs, (call it what you will) isn’t at all about classification of vineyards or sanctity of terroir, but instead about luxury brand-building. Burklin-Wolf – for more about whose practices consult issue 185 – mobilized a complete back-up crew to harvest the 2008 crop, in order to work around the rain and, virtually, around the clock, finishing in a burst of activity on October 20. Like Burklin-Wolf’s early 21st century conversion to biodynamic methods, this is an indication of the labor-intensity and quality-consciousness that have kept Germany’s largest privately-owned estate near the forefront of its nation’s viticulture. Obviously, though, great vineyards are critical to the results here, as are the continuity of three generations of Knorrs as cellar and vineyard managers, and two of Burklins that reach back into the 1920s. Bettina Burklin says she expects her 2008s to have especially long aging potential, but having had only very limited opportunity to taste dry Burklin-Wolf Rieslings of over a decade’s age (I have lots of positive experience with aging the residually sweet sort for which they were long known), I prefer to be conservative in my prognostications. Christopher Cannan Europvin Selections (various importers), Bordeaux; fax 001-33-5 57-87-43-22

Intriguing herbal scent, on the palate well rounded with firm mineral expression and a return of the herbs. Clear definition through sound acidity. (MS)