Weingut Tesch, Laubenheimer Remigiusberg, Riesling trocken, 2010

When we last heard of Martin Tesch, the brain behind the Tesch vinery of Germany's Nahe region, my fellow Wine Rambler Torsten reported on the young winemaker's gift for marketing and label design and, not least, his manic laugh. The bottle of 2010 dry Riesling from his St. Remigiusberg vineyard recently on this Rambler's kitchen table emitted no sound whatsoever, but the other qualities of its creator were very much in evidence:

With its mixture of the historical seriousness and visual overload associated with old-style German Riesling, the hint at family traditions in the stern look and the the sideburns of the Tesch ancestor who presides over it, and finally the memorable colouring of the screw cap, this is no doubt a very well-designed bottle of wine. Is it any good?

It's very good, but I liked it for a quality that's harder to describe than the peachy-citrussy aromatics and the stony minerality that ticked all the right Riesling boxes: I liked how it changed over time for me. On the first day, I found it very drinkable, if maybe a bit subdued aromatically, but I already liked its green, freshly herbal character. On the second day, with half the bottle left, I thought it remarkably reminiscent of a Ruwer Riesling, with more freshly cut herbs coming out, giving it a very light, but also very elegant and classical character. On the third day, it had neared perfection as a food companion, seemingly at rest within itself. Fairly high acidity, the number one characteristic of the 2010 vintage, is excellently integrated into the wine's texture, lending it some grip, but none of the dry feeling on the palate that unripe acidity can give you.

Excellent, and the joyful sounds emitted by the drinkers were quiet, sane, and sustained.