2011 Lubentiushof Uhlen Riesling Alte Reben AP 9

The 12% alcohol Lubentiushof 2011 Koberner Uhlen Riesling Alte Reben delivers a combination of levity, infectious juiciness, and transparency of lushly-ripe fruit to mineral and floral nuances such as one seldom encounters from any portion of this admittedly heterogeneous but always relatively warm and dry site. (This wine came from a blue slate sector on the Kobern – as opposed to Winningen – side of Uhlen.) Pear and caramelized parsnip, papaya and fennel: to say that the array of fruit and vegetable elements here is colorfully diverse would be considerable understatement, and it engages in a dynamic dance with stony, smoky, saline, cyanic and shimmeringly crystalline nuances. Almond and pistachio extracts allied to liquid perfume of honeysuckle and rowan add seductive allure. There is an infectious juiciness and exhilarating lift on the mid-palate and a vibrantly interactive (virtually dry) finish, any one of which is rare in this vintage. A ravishing representation of its great site, this should be worth following through at least 2030. Andreas Barth – for further details about whose methodology and exceptional, if nowadays obscure, Lower Mosel sites, see especially my reports in issues 167 and 199 – has managed an outstanding 2011 collection (this alongside his exemplary work as cellarmaster for the von Othegraven estate on the Saar) – indeed, his finest in my experience. These wines were harvested largely only in the second half of October, and the two old vines selections finished fermenting only toward the end of the summer. But they were then bottled almost immediately; in fact, just before I tasted them early last September – when they betrayed no indications of shock – which is close to a month sooner than usual. There was no hedging or de-leafing of the vines here this year, and it’s entirely possible that diverting a bit of the vines’ energy to foliage rather than sugar-production was beneficial in 2011. “In view of the health of the clusters, I had no need to free-up the fruit zone by removing leaves,” explains Barth, adding: “that might have been a significant factor” in the resulting quality. Importer: Vom Boden, New York, NY; info@vomboden.com