Kuhling-Gillot Niersteiner Pettenthal Gewurztraminer Trockenbeerenauslese

點擊次數：1706

From four rare rows of this variety and perfectly-shriveled, virtually botrytis-free fruit that nonetheless netted 500 liters, the Kuhling-Gillot 2007 Niersteiner Pettenthal Gewurztraminer Trockenbeerenauslese is completely engrossing. Caraway, bacon fat, celery salt, litchi, and honey in the nose spill over into a similarly multi-faceted, subtly oily, and by no means superficially sweet palate. This finishes long on all of the aforementioned varietal virtues, but surprisingly under-stated, even quiet. I’ve little doubt though that it will evolve interestingly for decades.Since taking the reins from her father several years ago, Carolin Gillot has proven to be a dynamo. A showcase modern addition has been made to the beautiful Jugendstil home and cellars in Bodenheim, while vinification – along with a veritable fleet of ancient yet impeccably maintained casks that she and her new husband Oliver Spannier luckily happened-upon in 2007 – has been largely transferred to the cellars of Battenfeld-Spanier in southern Rheinhessen, where the couple are raising their son (soon to be joined by a little brother). All this would of course matter little to readers had not the wines become very good indeed, and following the promising 2006s I tasted, the 2007s and 2008s each mark improvement. This estate’s holdings are in the classic Permian red sandstone of Nierstein’s “Rotem Hang” and the immediately-adjacent and once-famous vineyards of Oppenheim, the Gillot family’s original home base. (Bodenheim’s calcareous sites, too, were once justifiably renowned, but the Gillots have no major holdings there. For an account of the 2007 vintage wines of Battenfeld-Spanier, see elsewhere in this report. The two wineries, incidentally, now have a new legal name in common, which appears in small print on the labels, but can be ignored in descriptive practice.)Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799