1997 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Singerriedel Smaragd

A sweet peachy essence of riesling, with salty and faintly cyanic peach-pit notes, almost as if it were a Rheingau riesling from Marcobrunn (except that no Rheingauer currently vinify Marcobrunn to Hirtzberger standards). Very expansive and full, if perhaps a bit dominantly peachy in a way that suggests youth and above all residual sugar are holding back full expression. Restrained, bittersweet finish of peach, peach-pit and marzipan. "Singerriedel," says Hirtzberger, "is always somewhat harder, somewhat more mineral than Hochrain and needs longer to develop. In earlier times, the deeper soils and gentler slope in Hochrain made the better wine in hot years. But nowadays, the steeper, stonier Singerriedel above it gets the benefit of drip irrigation and that is a happy tale. In '97, the wine wouldn't ferment fully and stopped with eight grams of residual sugar, even after taking until February."