2011 Domaine Leon Beyer Riesling

Mint, apple and orange are joined by faint suggestions of fusel oils in a captivating nose from Beyer’s 2011 Riesling; though the wine’s appealingly juicy, satiny mid-palate is relatively simple and culminates in a modest, faintly bitter finish. Still, there is plenty of appeal here, including ample refreshment. I would plan to enjoy this bottling by 2016. (I was unable to locate a sample of the corresponding 2010, and neither was Beyer when I visited him.) Small though yields were in 2010, Marc Beyer says they were adequate in the realm of basic bottlings. It was only when it came to the special cuvees that volume dropped off dramatically, as much due to the need for stringent lot selection and declassification of usually prime fruit sources as to overall paucity of juice. The results are especially impressive in the line-ups that are ostensibly “low end,” and with Riesling. Given the track record for vinous longevity at this address (not just of how vintages from the 1970s and 1980s developed two decades on, but also because methods have remained unusually constant) I recommend them with special urgency to those who like this house’s relatively lean and adamantly dry style and who prefer to savor their Riesling with bottle age. The restrained Beyer style has largely flattered 2011 in a series of bottlings immediately engaging when it comes to Riesling, while Gewurztraminer takes the palm in terms of profundity and potential longevity. Imported by Aveniu (A.V.) Brands, Baltimore, MD; tel. (410) 884-9463