WTN: 2004 Gunderloch Riesling Dry (Rheinhessen)

[David M. Bueker]

Sitting in a hotel room at O'Hare airport (here for a conference), and brought a bottle of the Gunderloch along for some easy quaffing. I've had two bottles of this wine previously, and one was good and one was off (very reductive).

This bottle is the best so far by a long shot. Immediately showing red mineral and steel coated stone fruits and tart pineapple in a truly dry matrix that shows off the fruit and mineral elements to maximum effect. Delicious wine, and it's a good value at about $17 per bottle. The screwcap is a nice bonus. There's plenty of material here for short to mid-term aging - say perhaps 7-10 years.

I wonder how much of this wine comes from the Niersteiner Pettenthal, as it has that site's distinctive iron/fruit blend.

If you go back 5 years or so I was a non-believer in dry German Riesling. Well from the 2001-2004 vintages I have been totally turned around. I now wait to see how they age. I am hereby searching for the German Clos St. Hune! Heck, it's almost got to be cheaper than the real Clos St. Hune.

For German Clos Ste. Hune, I'd go for Pfalz as a region, but I'm not familiar with producers.

As an Austrian alternative, the usual supects are obvious: Hirtzberger Singerriedel, FX Pichler Kellerberg, Alzinger Steinertal. But for the very long run I'd turn to Heiligenstein vineyard in Langenlois. Bründlmayer and Hiedler come to my mind. In their youth the wines from this former volcanic basalt terroir never shine as much as their Wachau counterparts, but have an extraordinary staying power. I once had a 1923 (from Retzl) that was simply phantastic.

If Roman pushes his 'harmonische trocken' just a tad drier in either the Pergentsknopp (sp?) or the Wiltinger Gottesfuß alte reben, those might qualify someday...

As Johannes Leitz' vineyards get older, perhaps a Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg trocken will qualify soon...

There're more, I'm sure, but my brain's fried...maybe more tomorrow.

At any rate, delicious speculation, since none of the above are over $35 a bottle.................yet.

Great to have you here on the forum, Peter. As the weather warms up here in Alberta, I am looking at opening some nice German wines I have been hoarding!

Thanks for the notes. I almost opened this last night, but opened an Anselmi once-Soave as I feared the Gunderloch might be too austere for the dish. Will try soon.

Michael,
thanks for the Austrian Alternative to CSH list. How about Nikolaihof Steiner Hund as another? I haven't tried the Alzinger, will look for it.

Nikolaihof wines are long-distance keepers, but without any gram of fat. Just compare an olympic marathon runner to a decathlete, then you have Nikolaihof vs. FX Pichler. Or — in the best of their times — Audrey Hepburn to Liz Taylor.

Hmmm, how did I forget an old favorite that might contend with a small upgrade in quality....

Kallstadter Saumagen Trocken R bottlings from Koehler Ruprecht, spat or aus.

The 2001's are finally released and mine are coming to the shop in October with my Thiese order. (sound of lips smacking!)

I am hereby searching for the German Clos St. Hune! Heck, it's almost got to be cheaper than the real Clos St. Hune.

The problem is of course that the wine has to prove its long term aging potential over 20 years or so, so the search may take some time, even if the wine already exists (I'm not saying it does).
Köhler-Ruprecht has made some wines that age beyond 10 years, but I would not put them quite in that class. The dry wines that excite me most from 2005, and perhaps most of all dry German Rieslings I have come across, are those 1st Gewächs wines from Keller and Dönnhoff. Keller's GMax is certainly getting close to Hune in price though... The Morstein is bigger, but perhaps less refined. Hubacker and Kirchspiel are superb too. Dönnhoff has a great dry Dellchen, a true grand cru wines, plus and even greter HH trocken, which I belive Terry is shipping to the US.

Peter

[David M. Bueker]

Dönnhoff has a great dry Dellchen, a true grand cru wines, plus and even greter HH trocken, which I belive Terry is shipping to the US.

Peter

It's true! Terry is finally bringing in one of Donnhoff's dry wines. I hope to taste it soon.