2000 Riesling Heiligenstein Alte Reben

Having expressed the view that some of Brundlmayer's ostensibly best bottlings at times push ripeness and extract to the extreme, I was frankly a bit wary of what might come of vintage 2000. quot;�Take it easy!� had to be the watchword this year," Brundlmayer announced, then proceeded to demonstrate in the glass how that's done. He credits a late green harvest, rigorous selection, and gentle handling of the fruit, especially at the press, for his success in balancing ripeness with elegance and clarity. He held back around one-third of the riesling fruit for overnight skin contact, sending the rest directly to press. Between fruit selectivity and the already high skin-to-juice ratio in the berries, it was a small and costly harvest here, just as at so many other Krems area addresses. There is a full contingent of sweet botrytis wines this year here as there was in '98, but Brundlmayer was not ready to show them in June. If they approach the quality of those '98s they will be memorable.