WTN: 2010 Theise DI Tasting - Mosels Part 1

[David M. Bueker]

Ok, here come the German notes. These are just some of the Mosels. More to come later.

Please forgive the brief commentary, as there was a lot to taste.

Here’s Selbach-Oster.

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spatlese Trocken ‘Schmitt’
Auslese level juice made dry – lots of power here. Very fruity, not shrill at all. Excellent depth. Very good+

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken
Another well done vintage of this wine. Good balance, green fruited (lime), off-dry and ready for the patio or the dinner table. Very good+

2008 Selbach Riesling Spatlese Saar
Ver minerally and leafy. Good Saar typicity. Chalky finish. Good+

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
Floral, elegant – very typical in its kabinett style. Very good

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sclossberg Riesling Spatlese
Classicially spatlese, clean, sweet entry, but nearly dry finish. Mineral backbone. Very good

2009 Selbach-Oster Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese
More power here. Greater richness, and also rounder impression – not as much perceptible acid. Should have a long life. Very good+

2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling ‘Anrecht’
Matchstick on the nose, but underneath ripe citrus fruit and stone. Long finish. Very good (perhaps better, but could not get a feel for the aromatics)

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling ‘Anrecht’
Richer than the 2008, but also showing a greater refinement. Intensely mineral on the finish. Excellent-

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonenuhr Riesling ‘Rotlay’
Spicy, slatey, lots of tree fruit and a citrus chaser. Very tasty, and a long finish. Excellent

2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling ‘Schmitt’
Best-ever Schmitt? I think that every year. Richer than 2007 or 2008, but balanced on a knife edge of slate – fall off the side into a pool of fruit. Excellent+/Outstanding

And now Reuscher-Haart

2009 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Riesling (liter bottle)
Very peachy. Off dry and quaffable. Maybe a touch of bitterness on the finish. Good

2009 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett
Stone fruit – literally. This is like a peach that has a core of slate. Refreshing. Good+

2009 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese #10
Very peachy and honeyed. Shows the characteristic of the site very well. Needs a little more length. Very good-

2009 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese #12
More lift than the #10 and lots of honey, but retains elegance. Longer finish. I like this very much. Excellent-


Merkelbach

2009 Merkelbach Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett
Nicely aromatic, light on the palate, but a rather tart finish. Good-

2009 Merkelbach Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese
Pretty, floral and red fruit nose. Elegant and refreshing – typical for Merkelbach it’s more like other producer’s kabinetts, but still quite tasty. Very good

J. J. Christoffel-Erben

2009 J. J. Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett
Shows good kabinett delicacy with brightness and finishing minerality. Very good

2009 J. J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett
Slightly richer than the Treppchen and also shows more sweetness, thus the finishing minerality is hidden. Good potential here. Very good(+)

2009 J. J. Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese
This is zippy! I’m liking Erden in 2009. Apples and slate! Classic Mosel. Very good+

2009 J. J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese
Like the Erden spat compared to the kab, this is a bigger version, though in this case I like the balance better & see more of the Wurzgarten spice and slate than in the kabinett. Very good.

Meulenhof

2009 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett
The first Riesling I tasted in the day, and I went back to it a couple of times to confirm my impressions: this is lovely. Very floral and perfumed. Excellent fruit and density, but still retains elegance. Super value here. Excellent!

2009 Meulenhof Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese
Rather pillowy sweetness, but good back end minerality. Needs time. Could be quite fine. Very good-

2009 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese*
Amp up the kabinett and retain the fine balance. There’s a phenolic chalkiness on the finish that will need some time. Lots of extract here. Excellent.

2009 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese Alte Reben
This seems closed compared to the Spatlese*, but it opens in the glass. Tons of slate scattered with citric flowers. Send this wine to the cellar for a while. Excellent-

2009 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese #36
This is dense and sweet – big auslese! I like the balance for cellaring or even drinking after a meal now. Very good+

2009 Meulenhof Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
Spiced apples! Even richer than the Erdener Auslese, and also great balance. The best Wehlener in the Meulenhof collection, and has a richness and a finishing zing that reminds me a little bit of 2001. Excellent!

A great collection from Meulenhof. Skeptics be aware that the wines are under screw cap. I’m buying.

Thanks, David, very useful for next shopping spree. Sounds like 09 was a crack vintage in the Mosel too.

I liked the Zeltinger Schlossberg Spatlese a bit more than you did. That's on my buy list.
The bloc-picked trio were fantastic, but that's hardly surprising. Selbach is always so consistent at a really high quality level.

Loved the Meulenhof table. Probably my favourite among the Mosel lineup, and I will be hunting down some of the Spatlesen and Auslesen. Screwcaps, really good pricing and gorgeous wines makes it a no-brainer. I revisited the Erdener Treppchen one-star Alte Reben a couple of times later on, and really loved it.

The Christoffels didn't do it for me. I have really liked the wines young in the past (particularly the 08 Treppchen Spatlesen), but the wines I tasted yesterday did not have the cut, brilliance or energy I was hoping for.

Missed Reuscher-Haart completely. Schaefer's Domprobst Spatlese BTW was stunning, one of my favourite Mosel wines of the day.

Von Othegraven's wines were also quite striking. Had to revisit the table a couple of times, as some of the pours were very sulfury - I got to try the wines from the bottom of the bottles later on, and with air they had an incredible purity and cut, particularly the Altenberg Kabinett.

Sounds like lots of good wines (as one would expect).

Are you going to hazard any vintage overviews from the wines you tasted? (Although I guess Theise has already done that in his catalogue - which I haven't read).

[David M. Bueker]

More to come, including an overall vintage comment or two.

Are you going to hazard any vintage overviews from the wines you tasted?

The line I heard from a lot of people (Stephen from Crush in his vintage report, Tim Frohlich and a few others with much more experience of the vintage than I) was that '09 combined the ripeness of '07 with the more bracing acids of '08. Can't disagree from what I have tasted so far (sampled most of the German wines that were poured at the Theise DI tasting, a few from Schafer-Frohlich at a dinner recently, and a couple of other odd bottles).

The wines were generally very good with bright, clear fruit that was fairly ripe - usually along the lines of ripe apples or peaches, really nice acids and lots to suggest that it's one of those 'drink and hold' vintages. Donnhoff, Leitz and Selbach-Oster had very strong lineups as expected. What really struck me was how strong the lineups from the other Nahe producers were. Kruger-Rumpf had some fantastic wines (both the Spatlese were stunning), and I also really liked Jakob Schneider's lineup (particularly the Hermannshohle Spatlese and Auslese 'Junior' – the Eiswein was great, but a bit out of my price reach). Schafer-Frohlich also did a tremendous job.

Christoffel was the only German producer that didn't particularly thrill me from a decent sample size, generally enjoyed everything else and there were a lot of producers (Meulenhof, Spreitzer, Kruger-Rumpf and Schneider among others who I will definitely be buying from).

The line I heard from a lot of people (Stephen from Crush in his vintage report, Tim Frohlich and a few others with much more experience of the vintage than I) was that '09 combined the ripeness of '07 with the more bracing acids of '08. Can't disagree from what I have tasted so far...

Yes, that's more or less what I gathered but was wondering how people felt as the wines are released. I guess no need for folks around here to add too much hype? (Although the profile does sound attractive).

The crazy thing is that I never really drank many 2008 German rieslings. These new vintages come around too quickly!!

[David M. Bueker]

I do not see how 2009 has the acid profile of '08. Perhaps the juiciness of the wines overwhelms it, but I do not see it.

I like the vintage. I prefer the balance of '09 to that of '07, but I don't see it as a great vintage, rather a consistently very good one.