2002 Riesling Smaragd Klaus

Hans Altmann, cellarmaster Volker Mader, and vineyard manager Christian Leitzinger have achieved notable consistency in quality and expressive clarity in vintage 2002.Quite possibly, the potential handicap of encroaching botrytis was turned to advantage, because even Federspiel wines represented in effect (negative) Auslese:a severe triage of bunches to remove any taint of rot.Even at the Federspiel level, Jamek's wines characteristically spend two to five months in large ovals after fermentation, and when the material is as precise and pristine as it was this year, the subtle effect of cask maturation adds layers of complexity and textural nuance.My notes on the 2001 vintage at Jamek were inadvertently omitted from publication in Issue 106.The aforementioned consistency of Jamek's 2002s ought in no way to deflect consumer attention from the exceptional high points Jamek achieved with certain 2001s, and I have included my notes on their top successes in the earlier vintage.Fortunately, these wines are still available in our marketplace or are still to be shipped from the estate.(Terry Theise) Also recommended: 2002 Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Stein am Rain, 2002 Riesling Federspiel Klaus, 2001 Muskateller Federspiel Kollmitz.