2010 Dhroner Hofberg Riesling Kabinett

Adam’s 2010 Dhronhofberger Riesling Kabinett was plagued on the occasion of my tasting it with yeasty, cheesy overtones such as often afflict young, fructose-rich Mosel Rieslings. But things picked up – a lot – from there on! First, luscious, infectiously juicy evocations of apple, quince, honeydew melon, and grapefruit that flood the palate eventually work their way back into the nose as the wine takes on air. What’s more, the sense of inner-mouth perfume by way of honeysuckle and apple blossom is utterly beguiling, and perfectly complements the wine’s sense of buoyancy. Harvested at 88 Oechsle and possessed of 8% alcohol, this is a genuine Kabinett even though the silken, subtly lees-enhanced mouth-feel typical for Adam wines casts its alluring spell at the slight price of sheer refreshment and of sharp contours or contrasts such as one associates with the best Kabinetts crafted to typical, call them “1990s,” specifications. Site-typical smoky crushed stone allusions; an invigorating nip of wintergreen; and saliva-inducing salinity add interest and appeal to the unabashedly sweet but next sip-compelling finish. There are around 2,000 liters of this amazingly delicate not to mention delectable elixir, which once it (inevitably) sheds its post-fermentative aromatic veil will be that much more impressive. “Until the last couple of years,” notes Adam ironically, “we had too high a percentage of really ‘good’” – i.e. warmer, faster-ripening – “vineyards in the Hofberg to be able to render Kabinett.” No longer, obviously! I would anticipate at least 15 years of satisfaction. Only thanks to the additional acreage he acquired last year, says Andreas Adam, was he able to offset the reduced yields of 2010 and come close to meeting a demand for his wines that has significantly increased. (And if you don’t now why it’s increased, my guess is you have yet to discover his wines!) Next year, additional parcels will come on-line particularly in cooler portions of the Dhronhofberg where it follows the Dhron heading away from the Mosel and into the Hunsruck hills. Adam has also acquired additional steep, mechanically inaccessible plots in the Piesporter Goldtropfchen whose old vines he feared would otherwise be at risk. “But I want to put most of my emphasis on Dhronhofberg,” he clarifies, “not compete with Theo and Johannes (Haart) who are the leaders in Piesport.” Adam is especially proud of recently restoring a Dhronhofberg parcel planted in 1973 to unusual density and elated over having been able to acquire what he believes is the last remaining terraced portion of this Einzellage, an almost perpetually breezy location nearly half of which had long ago gone to scrub. With yet more incredible good luck, Adam has latched onto some perfectly-maintained casks from a neighbor that will insure a consistent degree of reliance on fermentation and maturation in neutral oak. Picking in 2010 began already on October 15, in Piesport, “otherwise,” notes Adam, “some of that fruit would have gotten too ripe, because we’re talking about terraces that already in the 1990s were routinely reaching Oechsle in the 90s,” and was not completed until November 6. “It was a stressful harvest, with very small results on any given day. We did no chemical de-acidification and no malo-lactic either,” he asserts, “but we upped the length of maceration a bit to 18 hours, and in the feinherb wines we left behind additional residual sugar. We pumped some warm air into the cellar to promote spontaneous fermentation and that functioned really well. Most of the wines were finished by New Year’s: we must have a strong yeast population in our cellar. It was very cold last winter, so once the fermentations were done, we threw open the doors and got lots of tartrate precipitation.” The wines were separated from their gross lees early but stayed on their fine lees until bottling, which took place on the estate’s usual schedule, already in late March. “I’ve found that it’s on their fine lees that my wines acquire elegance,” contends Adam, “whereas if they spend too long on the full lees they can easily become too creamy for my taste.” In considering my prognostications of age-ability, readers should bear in mind not only that I have tried to be very conservative, but also that a track record is only now accumulating for this estate, whose first harvest was 2001. (Note too that on his presentation labels, Adam prints only the name “Hofberg” in large – gothic – letters, but I continue to refer to “Dhronhofberger” which, along with “Dhroner Hofberg,” is one of the two officially sanctioned ways of referring to this site.) Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300