2015 Riesling Dhroner Hofberg Grosses Gewächs

Gerhard and daughter Catherina Grans picked their 2015s during the first three weeks of October. Along with other growers, they remarked on the relative efficiency of fermentative conversion, which in their case contributed to Grosse Gewächse reaching 13 percent alcohol. But Gerhard Grans has long been at pains (arguably at times too much so) to render dry Rieslings whose fullness and sense of density and power can compare with a Grosses Gewächs from the Pfalz or Rheinhessen. This vintage’s large number of overtly sweet bottlings is unusual for a Grans collection and the prominent role of botrytis unusual for any from 2015. I wrote recently about a wonderful feather-light 1994 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Kabinett with a deftly supportive 15 grams of residual sugar that Gerhard Grans opened in 2015 and asked, “Why doesn’t this inspire him to again render something even remotely similar?” My enthusiasm on that occasion unfortunately did not prompt the Granses to present during my subsequent visit a bottling labeled “Riesling 9” that debuted from 2015. I found out about the existence of this 9.5 percent alcohol, off-dry offering only recently, and it isn’t available in the US, so I hope to taste it, or at least its 2016 successor, when I return to Germany. Incidentally, the estate acquired a hectare of additional vines in 2015, divided between the Laurentiuslay and Apotheke. (For background on Grans-Fassian, consult the introduction to my account of their 2014s.)