2015 Riesling Tobel

In keeping with the pattern of long élevage and late release that Fritz Salomon junior has established in recent years, only one 2015, his generic Grüner Veltliner, had yet been bottled when I last visited him in June 2016, and his other two impressive Grüner Veltliner were set for release late that year and in early 2017. From cask, Salomon’s latest multi-cépage exercise in skin-fermented, very-late-bottled white, the 2015 Oran, was not yet ready to properly assess, but the 2014, slated for bottling in September 2016, showed nicely in June of that year, in keeping with the optimistic end of my projection when I published my tasting note on it as part of my last report. Meeting up again in June with Salomon’s 2013 Blauburgunder (a.k.a. Pinot Noir) was such a pleasant surprise that I felt compelled to re-review that wine below. Along with the aforementioned move toward leisurely élevage has come an Oberstockstall policy of extreme restraint with sulfur. The combination of these factors has rendered malolactic transformation a near certainty and tended to promote textural allure. A further flattering feature of recent Oberstockstall wines has been ripe flavors allied to modest alcohol. Salomon has always been a fearless experimenter and sensitive taster with deep affection for his vines, and those traits keep paying more delicious dividends with each passing year. (For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history, readers are invited to consult the extended introduction to my report on its 2013s.)