Josef Leitz Dragonstone Riesling 2009
Wine Advocate
After a dozen vintages of what has long since become by far his largest-production wine; and following some very recent property acquisitions, Leitz now controls the better part of the Einzellage Drachenstein, and his 2009 Riesling Dragonstone returns to being entirely from that site as well as exclusively from estate-controlled acreage. (That Leitz is officially designated on the label as merely “bottler” (Abfuller) rather than “producer” (Erzeuger) is due to the technicality of this wine having to be blended in another facility that can accommodate tanks large enough for a single 60,000 liter cuvee, which is then subjected to numerous bottlings, each receiving a separate A.P. number.) At 45 grams of residual sugar, this years rendition is drier than some recent installments and once again displays the remarkable ability of Riesling – especially from certain sites – to simply swallow up any sense of sweetness. Luscious yet tart peach, cherry, and rhubarb are seem suffused with salt, crushed stone, and shrimp shell savor in this bright, invigorating, irresistibly enticing and far from simple Riesling. Hints of inner mouth floral perfume and the piquancy of peach pit add further depth to what has consistently counted as among the worlds most remarkable Riesling values. Thus far, Dragonstone seems to keep well for 6-8 years, though I realize that few wine lovers will have the interest or the will power to test this assertion.
Score: 90.
—David Schildknecht,
January
2011.
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