2005 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese

The first of four variations on Abstberg Spatlese this vintage, a 2005 Maximin Grunhauser Abtsberg Riesling Spatlese A.P. #26 represents by far the largest volume. Rich aromas and flavors of white peach with a hint of rhubarb and honey tinged with herbs and wet stones lead to a quite honeyed, rich, satiny palate emphasizing melons peaches and rhubarb, but shot through with bracing citricity. The finish here is entirely convincing with a pure and refined colloquy of fruit and mineral as well as a combination of richness and invigorating brightness that one associates with a long and venerable line of highly ageworthy Abstberg Spatlesen. Stefan Kraml met me well before eight o’clock on a mid-August morning with an air of quiet confidence and near nonchalance that tipped me off to what would follow: a display of Grunhaus quality such as practically went without saying a decade or more ago. He and owner Carl von Schubert have regained their footing, despite a year in which what von Schubert described as nature’s eventual “turbo-autumn” was preceded by severe hail and an unprecedented tornado that felled 200-year-old trees and a portion of the vineyard walls – to say nothing of the toll it took on vines! The harvest began October 10 and – like many a successful one this year – was finished in a mere two action-packed weeks. Up to the level of B.A., incidentally, all of the wines fermented spontaneously. Also recommended: 2005 Maximin Grunhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spatlese feinherb (unknown; 84+?). Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424