2000 Riesling Engelgarten

This head turner explodes from the glass with boisterous yet pure aromas of pears and minerals. This medium-bodied, satin-textured beauty is harmonious, intense, and reveals superb balance. Stones, red berries, lemons, apples, and spices can be discerned in its complex flavor profile. Deiss's rule concerning his field blends is that they must be harvested and vinified together, "if not, you're talking about blended wines, mine are terroir wines," he said with a smile. While Deiss prefers not to reveal the varietal compositions of all his field blend wines, he did say that the 2000 Englegarten was produced from Muscat, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Pinot Gris, yet percentages of each were not forthcoming. Projected maturity: Now-2014. According to Deiss, "2000 was a vintage of great weather, yet one that carries with it problems of balance, like all great vintages. Some will consider these wines as too rich and having too much alcohol or residual sugar." He added that "2001 presented us with climatic chaos but the end result is as great as 2000." Deiss, a bio-dynamic farmer, stressed that he never chaptalizes his wines, including the reds. Importer: New Castle Imports, Inc., Myrtle Beach, SC; tel. (843) 448-9463