The aroma of the 2002 Clos Rebberg Riesling "Aux Vignes" from Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss is quite developed. I can smell the age. And the minerals. The stones are broken. Honeyed fruit seeps out of the cracks. I enjoy the intense bouquet of dried fruit and the scent of sweet tarragon. But it is deceptive.
Rebberg is German for "hill of the vines" and they grow there on what is one of the steepest vineyards in Alsace, farmed biodynamically by Marc Kreydenweiss, one of the early adopters of biodynamic viticulture.
The Clos Rebberg 2002 Riesling "Aux Vignes" is dry on the palate. Very dry. Despite the sweet tarragon scent. The acidity is still very high and comes a bit as a shock after the sweet honey and tarragon aroma. The acidity sweeps aside any kind of illusion of sweetness we may have been under after the bouquet and reveals the underlying minerality of the wine. An unforgiving, ruthless acidity that lays bare the stones so we can lick them. We obey: it is an intensely pure taste. Its goodness is nihilistic. It makes us reject all religious/moral principles as we close our eyes to indulge in purity. We taste schist. It must be schist. The Rebberg is full of grey schist rock. During its long length the this Riesling finally reveals the dried fruit we smelled when we swirled.
The 2002 Clos Rebberg is a Kreydenweiss Riesling in its essence: crisp acidity and then stones, stones, stones. Fruit is there but not the focus. It complements the experience of earth. Drink now through 2015.