As part of my preliminary work for this year's guide, I spent today on the Ahr tasting from barrels, starting with Nelles and Adeneuer on the lower stretches of the valley and ending with Kriechel, Meyer-Näkel, Stodden and Sermann-Kreuzberg on the upper reaches of the river. Seldom have I heard such varied opinions from the producers themselves, ranging from 'high alcohols with low acidities' (Thomas Nelles) and 'perfect balance' (Gerhard Stodden) to 'best vintage I have ever produced' (Werner Näkel). Whatever the truth, they will, on the whole, certainly provide infinitely more pleasure than the 2010s, few of which go down in history books. Whether the vintage will prove as luscious across the board as 2009 remains to be seen, but the highlights have the potential to surpass them in character. Comments