2009 Leitz Riesling "Eins Zwei Dry"

Leitz makes his "Eins Zwei Dry" (or merely "one, two, three" with a play on the word three) bottling from a vineyard site called Geisenheimer Rothenberg, which a greedier guy would (and could) bottle as an Erstes Gewächs and sell for the price of something three times its value. Thus a mind-boggling value. But why?  As Terry Theise, the importer explains so well, ...the vineyard came into Leitz’s hands through the demise of the old Erbslöh estate. It was too good to pass up. But did he really want to add to his already ample lineup of “serious” dry Rieslings? And did he want to confuse his identification with Rudesheim? He opted to use the fruit to make a far-too-good wine at a price permissive of everyday use. That way a lot of normal folks can drink it on normal occasions. Let’s just pause for a second and consider how humane that is. The ’09 is by far the best bottling yet. 

And so let us "un-Theise" this for you. Leitz's Eins Zwei Dry bottling is full of aroma and all the perfumy, flowery things you want from the nose of a riesling, but is so dry that it makes an Alsatian look German. It should be served super cold so the minerality can come cutting into you. Well balanced with great citrus fruit (oh so slight, but prevalent) and vast stony flavors in the finish. Good by itself and great with food it will serve a host of varying tastes. 

Leitz Riesling 2009     $18 a bottle

meet the winemaker

Josef Leitz
Terry Theise says it best since he knows Josef well...
Universally regarded as one of the three rising stars of the new generation of Rheingauers (with Kunstler and Weil). Leitz is a small estate of 5.8 hectares. Extraordinarily aromatic, vigorous wines from a vintner who grows more commanding each vintage. They have the lusty vitality of wines that were never racked; he bottles them off the gross lees from the casks in which they fermented. They have a remarkable reconciliation of weight, solidity and buoyancy. They tend to run stony, as is the Rheingau type—when it’s true! They have the coiled power of a tightly closed fist. They are intensely fragrant, as though they wished to convince you of something. They are, to my way of thinking, the most exciting wines currently made in the Rheingau and they didn’t get there with bazillions of yen or with mega-technology or with a Kantian superstructure of philosophy: Just a man, his dog, and their wines.