Basalt is of course (and famously) the soil of the Pechstein, from which this wine indeed hails, but it’s bottled under the name of a small privileged Grosslage because it’s the “item” Müller’s private customers recognize. It is also a super-aromatic lot fermented with a less vigorous yeast strain that guarantees an incomplete result, i.e., residual sugar. It’s more gentle than to intervene to stop fermentation by chilling, filtering or sulfuring. So if you’re someone for whom the very notion of cultured yeast fills you with dread…well, um yes: actual thinking is hard. This wine also snakes its way around the palate but this time it’s all flowers and gloss; starts out musky but firms up and becomes sleek and lithe with a refined dialogue among herbs, pebbles and blooms.
