2005 Ludwig Hiedler Riesling Heiligenstein

The 2005 Riesling Heiligenstein, raised in tank and tasted from tank, offers lovely buddleia, cassis, and herbal aromas, then comes onto the palate quite firm in texture – in contrast with the Gaisberg – but soft in acidity, lightly salty, and persistently floral. At 13.5% alcohol it weighs in under last year’s, although I detect a small measure of heat in the otherwise lovely, spicy, floral finish. There is plenty of promise here and the personality of this great site will clearly be maintained despite the unusually low acid profile. Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86). Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300