Weingart

A rising star on the Mittelrhein with the advent of young Florian Weingart at the helm. Still-good value for in-your face fruity-minerally steep-slope wine. Florian had lower yields in 2001 than in 2000 (40 hl/ha) because of green-harvesting and rigorous selection to avoid negative botrytis. He’s had to raise prices as a matter of financial survival, after two small crops and many one-time expenses associated with the changes he’s making, but bless him, he’s apologetic. He even swears he’ll lower prices as soon as he can. These are wines that move, that push and pull on the palate. Then tropically fruity, vanilla, papaya, mango in the ripest wines. With the 1996 vintage a new minerality came; you feel it on the sides of the palate, and it sets up a call-and-response of fruit and stone that keeps you returning to the wine just when you were done attending to it. These are smiling,cheerful wines, but now perhaps with a fundamental intelligence that makes you want to spend lots of time with them.

•Vineyard area: 9 hectares
•Annual production: 7,500 cases
•Top sites: Bopparder Hamm Ohlenberg, Feuerlay, Engelstein and Mandelstein
•Soil types: Weathered slate
•Grape varieties: 92% Riesling, 8% other varieties