2010 Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett

Schloss Lieser’s 2010 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett must shed some leesy, reductive overtones before smelling of apple, lemon peel, and wet stone, features that then follow on brightly, delicately, buoyantly, and refreshingly on the palate. Saline and alkaline notes add interest to its sustained finish. Hopefully a bit more time will convey some middle richness and further complexity to this distinctly sweet but adeptly-balanced, lithe and lip-smackingly persistent Kabinett. I would expect this to perform admirably for at least ten or a dozen years. Thomas Haag – who picked into November – is one of those who swears to have only de-acidified (and then as must) a very few lots of lesser wine, by which it transpired that he meant principally material for his generic Q.b.A. and Kabinett trocken bottlings, which I didn’t get chance to taste. But whether or not you’re willing to accept his assertion about (eschewing) de-acidification, this is one of the most successful collections of its vintage, and the already proven ability of wines from this estate to perform a high-sugar, high wire act, having been sorely-tested, has once again been confirmed. “Of course,” notes Haag, “to balance these acids meant high residual sugar and correspondingly low alcohol” – by which he means, even by his standards! (From Niederberg Helden Spatlese “up” in Haag’s collection, the alcohol is a mere 7% – roughly half a degree less than usual at this address – until it drops to the legal limit of 5.5% with the pair of Beerenauslesen.) Long fermentations and extended lees contact were important to achieve balance, Haag opines, especially for his dry wines. “These 2010s as a group are exciting if also highly unusual wines,” he adds, and I couldn’t agree more. (Notice – many of you will breathe a sigh of relief – that in a fortuitous departure from this estate’s norm, there is only one pair of wines that requires you to check A.P.#s in order to disambiguate. Every other wine has its own complete verbal description; what’s more, Thomas Haag continues the practice inaugurated last year of sneaking a wine’s gold capsule status into tiny print right on its label, so there’s no need to ask for a standard unit or take out a tape measure to tell gold capsule from long gold capsule!) Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463