Universally regarded as one of the three rising stars of the new generation of Rheingauers (with
Künstler and Weil). They are a small estate of 5.8 hectares. Extraordinarily aromatic, vigorous wines
from a vintner who grows more commanding each vintage. Way above-the-pack 1999s. On another
PLANET in 2001! 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. “A lot of people talk about ‘yeast-contact’ but I
think I’m the only one who actually does it.” They have a remarkable reconciliation of weight, solidity
and buoyancy. They tend to run stony, as is the Rheingau type—when it’s true! And they are
fastidiously specific in their site characteristics. The dry wines are better than most! Still, almost none
of Johannes’ wines taste “sweet.” 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 like Wachau wines;
they crave oxygen, and they do show their best ice cold. 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.
•Vineyard area: 5.5 hectares
•Annual production: 3,400 cases
•Top sites: Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, Roseneck and Rottland
•Soil types: Weathered slate
•Grape varieties: 91% Riesling, 9% Spätburgunder
http://www.leitz-wein.de
Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese
This is a luminous Riesling Ideal; serenely glowing; apple flesh and
skin, a little fibrous sweet-leesy texture anchors what might have been too “fruity”; talc
aromas, and a subtle tamped-down minerality until the finish, which is stony, silky and
texturous. Notwithstanding the Grand Crus coming up, this “Magda” (Leitz’s own
term for the tongue-twister) gives as much sensual pleasure as great Riesling can.
