A nobel swarm of the southern Palatinate's finest producers showed their new vintage at the Frank Loeb House in Landau this past weekend. Amongst others, this one of the events that kicks off our tastings of of the 2012s in the Pfalz for Gault Millau. It is generally an excellent opportunity to asses the style of the new vintage, scroll through a range of the lesser known estates and see how the established producers stand in comparison. Interestingly, Rebholz, Becker and Wehrheim were all present. This year's surprise for me was Volker Gies. His is an estate that we have now long appreciated, especially for its respect of site and soil, but it would appear that he has put the pieces of his puzzle into new order with the 2012s. I'll be interested to see if our tasting behind closed doors shows him in the same light. The upward march in this region is continues unabated. Beyond the 94 estates present, there were another 150 who wanted to show their wares. This stretch of Germany on the northern border of Alsace is alive with the sound of music. Comments