A. J. Adam

I see from the archives that Salil really enjoys them. But other than that I have no idea what to expect. All I can see from the recent arrivals list is that the ones we have available are called Hofberg, one Kabinett and one Auslese. From such little information is it possible to tell if we will finally see Mosels with sugar in them? Or does Adam make also trocken Kabs and Auslesen?

Naturally with such positive notes from Salil I will be trying them out once they arrive, but I was hoping to hear a little beforehand so I will know what to expect.

[David M. Bueker]

I like Adam very much as well. His kabinett will be off-dry, so not too sweet, especially if it's a 2008.

I haven't had an Adam auslese.

High quality, small producer, farming an old, neglected, high quality site in the middle Mosel - the Hofberg. Go to this link to see the Terry Theise catalog that contains a short profile of Adam.

Nothing to add except that my experiences with Adam's kabinett and auslese corroborate Salil's adoring account. Stunning wines. It'll be interesting to read your take on the wines.

I see from the archives that Salil really enjoys them. But other than that I have no idea what to expect. All I can see from the recent arrivals list is that the ones we have available are called Hofberg, one Kabinett and one Auslese. From such little information is it possible to tell if we will finally see Mosels with sugar in them? Or does Adam make also trocken Kabs and Auslesen?

He doesn't make "trocken Kabinett/Auslese" as such, but his "Hofberg" Riesling mimics the Grosses Gewachs style (he can't call it that as he's not a member of the VDP yet) - basically Spatlese/almost Auslese ripeness but vinified almost dry.
The Pradikat wines all have residual sugar, though as David said the 08 Kabinett isn't particularly sweet. As for his Auslese, I've only had his 03 Dhronhofberg 'Tholey' which was a knockout and perhaps the best wine I've had from 03 from Germany. If that is any indication I expect his other Auslesen should be worth seeking out. I am looking forward to trying his 08 Auslese sometime this spring.

Alko just released more info on them: they are 2008s and they have sugar in them! That makes me happy as I am still not convinced of the dry styles - at least not in the Mosel. I very much look forward to them now.

Lucky Finland! It's kind of a shame that you guys get some because Adam hardly makes enough wine for only me!

Chambers lists a 2008 Riesling Dhron Hofberg Kabinett at $25.99 and a 2008 Riesling Dhroner for $29.99. Anyone know the difference?

[David M. Bueker]

The Riesling Dhroner is the drier wine.

The Riesling Dhroner is the drier wine.

Bitte.

A. J. Adam Dhron Hofberg Rieslign Kabinett 2008

Yup, I see why Salil has only praise for this producer. 7,5% abv; 65 g/l RS; 9,8 g/l acidity. Light as water. Lovely, intense, pure scent. Crisp acidity, lovely raciness. It is steely and tastes off-dry despite the amount of sugar. In other words, it actually seems more like Mosel Kabinett (rather than Spätlese with Kabinett printed on the label) than any other recent Kab I have had. "F**k me this is awesome" is the best understatement I can come up with to describe my feelings on this wine.

2008 A.J Adam Dhron Hofberg Riesling Kabinett 7.5%
Peach and wet stone aromas with a hint of something more exotic, like quinine. Light but pleasing weight, a feat for 7.5%. Reminds me of a winemaker in the Douro saying that extraction is not even correlated to alcohol. Off-dry, with decent acidity, that appears higher because complemented by light effervescence that lines the glass walls with very fine CO2 bubbles. This was very fine but I was a little disappointed, perhaps because the praise had led me to overexpect, without keeping in mind that this is, after all, a very young $25 kabinett that ably punches above its weight. I don't drink riesling anywhere near as often as you guys; the last one to rock my world was a 2002 Breuer Nonnenberg. Like the 06 Weinbach St. Catherine from the other day, this was sort of perfect in a way that I found a little boring, like Reese Witherspoon, or how the Venus de Milo might look if she had all her limbs. But I respect your palates so much that I can safely say "it's not you, it's me."

[David M. Bueker]

That actually works out well Oswaldo. If everyone felt the way Salil or I did about Riesling (or you do about Morgon) then the prices would take them out of reach.

After hearing less less than enthusiastic remarks on the '08s from people, like Yixin or Oswaldo, whose tastes I usually agree with, I opened a half-bottle of the A.J. Adam Dhron Hofberg Riesling Auslese 2008 with a bit of trepidation, wondering if my enthusiasm had been caused by, say, me being not on form that day, or perhaps there having been far too few non-trockener Riesling here in recent years and a resulting over-enthusiasm for a style I happen to like.

The former can now be (fairly safely) ruled out; but the second is still a possibility. But I loved the Auslese as well. 7,5% abv; 110 g/l RS; 8,1 g/l acidity. Light as water. Lovely passion-fruit aromas and crystalline purity and focus. Light, intense and refreshing. It is built like a ballerina: seemingly delicate and sweet yet with reserves of power and energy that one doesn't notice during the performance (until you realize toward the end that what looks so easy is actually grueling physical work). Awesome wine again, very primary, needs a decade or three (but it is rather fun, now, too ). Sadly this was far too tasty so I have nothing left in the half-bottle to try tomorrow.