2017 Riesling Johannishof trocken

My experience at a couple of other northern Pfalz estates pointed to a more challenging 2017 vintage in that sector than elsewhere in the region, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found at Knipser. Harvest here didn’t begin until September 20, but recovery from the mid-month rain was evidently more than adequate, since the crop was of average size and the resultant wines possess admirable clarity and focus. In order to make time for tasting an unexpectedly expanded range of wines from the Knipsers’ collaboration with Bernd Philippi (reviewed in this report under the latter’s name), I omitted tasting Knipser Pinot Noirs of 2016 or 2017, but I did re-taste their many vintage 2015 Pinots on which I had so enthusiastically commented in my previous report and found them performing at the upper end of my projections. When I report on the Knipser 2018 whites, I’ll supply an update on their recent Syrah bottlings as well. And apropos of things on which I miss out, it bears reiterating that the full Knipser portfolio features a mind-boggling wealth of bottlings, including multiple Chardonnays, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon, Scheurebe, Orleans, two white cuvées, Dornfelder, St. Laurent, and reds from Bordeaux varieties. Occasionally, there are sweet and nobly sweet wines as well. (For much more about this estate, including its stylistic evolution, consult the introductions to my accounts of its vintage 2014 and 2015 Rieslings; for some detail regarding the vineyard sites, consult especially my tasting notes on the vintage 2014 Rieslings and the 2015 Pinot Noirs; and on recent changes in wine nomenclature, see my report that focused on 2016.)