Battenfeld-Spanier Gruner Sylvaner Qba Trocken, Rheinhessen, Germany

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Spanier has once again done credit to a sadly under-appreciated grape with his 2009 Gruner Sylvaner trocken (yes, spelled on his label with a 'y,' which was long illegal). A deep green-gold color somehow portends the concentration of mint and hazelnut, as well as fresh kiwi fruit and apple flavors that convene on an ample yet refreshing, metaphorically cooling palate. Other than in its satisfyingly glycerin-rich texture, I would not guess this wine's 13% alcohol; in fact, it is gratifyingly fleet-of-foot for its variety. Spanier says it was ornery and unruly early-on - an experience he attests to having had before with this grape - however it's anything but that way now. Piquant nut oils and hints of crushed stone add to the complexity of an impressively persistent finish. I would expect this to offer myriad opportunities at table over the next 3-4 years if not beyond. (Unfortunately, I missed out this year on tasting a Pinot Blanc from Battenfeld-Spanier.) Oliver Spanier - for information about whose distinctive sites and methods consult especially my report in issue 185 - harvested until November 3, 2009, allowing almost an entire month for optimizing ripeness. Just as at their Kuhling-Gillot estate, the team of Spanier and his wife Carolin Gillot seek to avoid bottling non-trocken wines, instead blending away any lots that finish with more than 9 grams of residual sugar. Spanier is among the many German Riesling growers who - in his words - are "working in the direction of clarity, freshness, finesse and elegance of expression rather than extract or power" (for which he used the English word). But it's one thing to talk the talk and another to walk the walk - assuming that one is attracted by these stated goals - and in that respect, Spanier is not the only ambitious German grower I have encountered whose ostensibly lesser bottlings (from 2009, anyway) strike me as living up to his stated ideals better than do his Grosse Gewachse.Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799