2008 Pechstein Forst Riesling, Grosses Gewächs, Reichsrat Von Buhl, Pfalz, Germany (£34.50, Harrods tel. 020 7730 1234). It is the black basalt soil in this vineyard which gives these Grand Cru Riesling vines their extraordinary complexity. I tasted the full range of Von Buhl ‘08s the other day and they are a mightily impressive lot. Pechstein was my pick of the bunch not least because the nose was so captivating that the world became a blur and I went temporarily mute and deaf as I waded knee deep in this glorious wine. Riesling is the most expressive of white grapes and it has the ability to reduce me to a jabbering idiot when it is this good. With only 6 g/l of residual sugar in this breathtaking creation this is a bone dry Riesling and it is this vitality and nervy edge of minerality, which follows the cavalcade of lime and blossom, which shocks the senses to attention. This is a young wine and I am certain that it will age incrementally for well over a decade. Food wise, drink it with the finest sushi, impossibly tender fruits de mer or the most expensive Manchego you can find. This is a staggeringly serious wine and it contains more beauty within its masterful core than any white I have tasted this year.
