2018 Riesling trocken Albersweiler Latt

Volker and Tanja Gies began their 2018 harvest – with Sauvignon Blanc – on August 21, and they started picking Riesling just a few days into September. “The weather was dry and lovely,” related Tanja, “but very warm – so much so that some days we had to lay out.” Ironically, as they explain, some of their cooler sites as well as those with more water-retentive soil needed to be picked first, demonstrating that in warmer locations, vine shutdown during the late summer had slowed ripening. Overall, results here from 2018 are softer, less focused and marginally less interesting than in 2017; still, the Rieslings largely remain impressive. Among wines that I did not have an opportunity to taste from the vintage 2018 collection: the Sauvignon Blanc, a Muskateller and a Pinot Gris. Nor did I catch up on Pinot Noirs. (For background on this young estate and its expanding vineyard surface, consult the introduction to my reviews of their wines from 2015 to 2017.)