Pinot Blanc is a white mutation of Pinot Noir, although the aromatic and flavour profile is generally a lot closer to Chardonnay. This wine is a pale yellow/straw colour, with aromas of lemon zest, peach and greengage, with some interesting honeysuckle and herby notes (oregano in particular). And as with most of the wines grown in this region, there is also a strong mineral element, in this case a note of flint. The palate is at the same time both racy and fairly rich, with peach and apple flavours, a touch of honey and again a strong backbone of flinty, steely minerality and tongue-tingling lemony acidity. It isn't as rich as (say) an Alsace Pinot Blanc, but it is no shrinking violet either, and has an impressively long finish. In a region dominated largely (and quite rightly) by Riesling, this provides an interesting and rather delicious diversion.

This gorgeous Riesling has pungent aromas of apricot, lime and apple, with notes of cinnamon and clove. The effect is a bit like piercing the pastry on an apple pie, fresh from the oven. It also displays some nice floral and herbaceous notes - how is it possible to encounter so many wonderful aromas in a single wine?! The flavours are equally as intense, concentrated and really quite rich, with palate-coating flavours of lime oil, nectarine and dessert apples, the sweetness of which is offset by spine-tingling acidity, slatey minerality and a refreshing spritzand again a distinct, though gentle spiciness. The intensity of the fruit is more akin to a Spätlese (i.e. late picked) than a mere Kabinett, but I guess that is the beauty of the 2009 vintage in the Mosel - you get more bang for your buck in this vintage. Since we first tasted this in September 2010, it has shed a little of its puppy fat, with the intensely mouth-watering acidity integrating more with the fruit. I have no doubt that this wine will age and evolve gracefully for another 5 to 8 years, but I find the combination of mandarin and lime, a touch of honeyed richness and oiliness, together with truly mouth-watering acidity almost impossible to resist. A superb wine and the perfect introduction to the delights of top-class Mosel Riesling.

Bright, pale yellow/gold, with a water rim. Of the trio of Hain Spätlese 2009's in our range, this one is probably the softest, most fruit-forward and hedonistic of them all. That said, it already shows a fair degree of complexity, even at this early stage. The nose is absolutely brimming over with the scents of fresh grapes, mandarin orange and apricot, with plenty of that classic Mosel minerality cutting right through the fruit. My rule of thumb for 2009 Mosel Rieslings is that the Kabinetts have almost Spätlese levels of ripeness, whilst the Spätlesen are more akin to Auslesen - and this one is a perfect example, with intensely ripe, luscious fruit flavours and a hefty dollop of residual sugar. But great Riesling at any level needs acidity to balance the sweetness, and this one has it by the bucket-load. The result is a wine of both immense concentration and supreme balance, with the acidity countering the fruit sweetness perfectly. The purists would probably say that this wine needs 5 to 10 years before it is really ready. I say it is utterly wonderful and delicious now - and will always be so.

There's a touch of sulphur on the nose at present, but this quickly blows off and is certainly not enough to mask the intense mineral, lemon and lime aromas, with hints of white pepper, cloves and flowers. The palate shows intense lime and peach flavours, dessert apples and spice. For all its lush sweetness and huge core of ripe fruit, it remains incredibly focused, with laser-like acidity and minerality to spare. Whilst it possesses a huge core of ripe, rich fruit, it remains balanced, poised and very long. Fabulous stuff.

Another amazingly intense wine. The nose has stone/slate, with an array of fruit aromas including (but not limited to) lemon zest, peach, apricot and mango, along with an interesting toffee/fudge note. And what a palate! The flavours of oranges, apricots and grapes are so rich, so intense, so concentrated, yet once again this is a wine that is so focused and zingy with its firm backbone of minerality and acidity. It is just this sort of contrariness that I love in fine Riesling - how can a wine be so luscious and seemingly sweet, yet so utterly bracing, juicy and mouth-watering? Is it worth a couple of quid more than the No.12 Rotschiefer and the No.13 Grauschiefer above? I think it is. A brilliant, delectable wine, with a great future.