2013 Riesling Kabinett

Once the pride of the nation as the State Domaine, this property on the middle stretches of the Nahe had been almost forgotten by serious wine drinkers until it was purchased in 2009 by Jens Reidel and Christine Dinse, who not only invested in this stunning estate’s vineyards and cellars but had the wisdom to hire Karsten Peter to manage them. Now called Gut Hermannsberg, it has been on an upward trajectory for the past four vintages. Willing to take risks, Peter harvested very late in 2013 and was unrelenting in his selections, which resulted in the shortest crop in recent history. Further, in fine-tuning the estate’s style, he chose to forego the primary fruit qualities that made his dry Rieslings so approachable in the past in order to, as he says, “gain in structure and depth for bottle aging.” I must admit that I was a bit perplexed when I first tasted his four Grosses Gewächs last summer, but now I am beginning to see that he may be right. With more excellent sites in his portfolio than anyone else on the Nahe, he certainly has the potential to resurrect the reputation of this once-unrivalled property. To be continued!