WTN: 2009 Drhon Hofberg Riesling Kabinett, A.J. Adam

2009 Drhon Hofberg Riesling Kabinett, A.J. Adam
I've heard quite a lot of praise for this producer here on the forum and this summer I finally could taste their wines. I the middle of a heat wave in July, I came together with a group of wine loving friends came wandering along the Mosel and stopped by in Dhron to taste with Alexander Adam. I might post complete notes from this tasting later (sorry, no promises), but here are some notes from this bottle which I brought home and which was opened tonight.
The nose has the fresh and clean fruit that we learned is the hallmark of the 2009 in the Mosel. Ripe sweet apples and citrus mingle with an incredibly charming scent of roses. Lovely!
The initial taste is again this incredibly clean fruitiness supported by a marvellous acidity. A grapey sweetness that almost has a hard time to get through the acidity and the fruit in spite of weighing in at 70 g/l. Deliciously clean and refreshing aftertaste. Wonderful play between the sweetness and the acidity. Quite simply a great Kabinett and also a great buy for less than 10 EUR. The best Kabinett we tasted during a fine week wandering through the vineyards, mostly along the Saar and with 12 winery visits.
Cheers,
Anders

Adam makes some awesome Kabinett. That and his Hofberg Spatlese are becoming must-buys for me each year.

Thanks for the note.

I wish this cost 10eur here in the states!

I wish this cost 10eur here in the states!

I certainly wish that would be the case here in Sweden too, but unfortunately it is not even available here. Remember, the 9.50 EUR I paid was directly from the producer.
/A

Anders - I would be very grateful for more detailed impressions if you are able to post them later, as I will probably buy some of the Hofberg Spätlese again this year, and depending on budget/space may consider Auslese.

Did you get a chance to try the trocken wines from Hofberg and Piesporter Goldtropfchen?

I loved the 2008 Kab and Spät - they were some of the most exciting wines I have recently drunk. I now have a Spätlese 2009 in my glass, but it seems a bit too ripe, tropical and low in acid (I will never turn down a glass of this, however!). Funny how I always seem to find the "great years" less enjoyable than the average ones...

Sounds like one I'll have to try before I buy in quantity. Good to know, though I was worried how rich the higher pradikats would be after drinking the remarkably sweet/rich Kabinett.

Though I wouldn't ever call '08 an average year. Maybe inconsistent in some places, but I thought the general quality was very, very good (particularly at the Kabinett and Spatlese levels) with some truly exceptional wines being made by a number of producers. So far from what I've tasted, I don't find '09 "great" compared to '08 - both have a lot of quality to offer, but in very different styles.

[David M. Bueker]

Count me as another who does not cinsider '09 as a "great" vintage. It's very good and very consistent.

Otto, it's probably more apt to say that you prefer more classical vintages. Unfortunately "greatness" seems to be determined by ripeness levels, so years like 2005, 2007 and 2009 get more play than they should IMO.

Salil: Sorry for late reply, but I have been both busy from work and tired from a nasty cold - not the best conditions for writing notes here. I still have the ambition to post my notes from, at least, the tasting with Alexander Adam, and, hopefully, also the other 11 visits during our wine walking week, mostly in the Saar.

Anyway, regarding the 2009 Spätlese, I think it simply could described as made in the same mould as the Kabinett, though, as expected, of course fuller, with sweeter, riper fruit and with impressions of sweet peaches, honey and linden-blossom. A lovely acidity was playing with the sweetness in the mouth in a lovely way together with a little spiciness. The aftertaste maybe a bit on the sweeter side, but with the fine acidity there to balance the impression of sweetness. Regarding Otto's comment about a bit lowish acidity, I must object. After all this wine has 8.6 g/l if acidity, which is a bit hard to regard as low, in my opinion, but I also agree with David's comment regarding the comparison with the 2008 Spätlese. Although I haven't tasted it, I have enough experience of comparing the two vintages 2008 and 2009 to imagine how it could have been. 2008 is a leaner vintage, or "classical" if you want, with less ripe fruit and even more pronounced acidity, which I could imagine would be more to Otto's preference. Personally, for drinking while these two vintages are still young, I prefer the lovely, seductive fruit of 2009. It simply makes the wines soo charming and delicious!
BTW, the amount of sugar in the Spätlese is 95 g/l, not too much higher than the Kabinett which weighs in at 70 g/l.

And, yes, we were treated with a preview of both the Grosses Gewächse Goldtröpfchen and Hofberg from 2009 and both were splendid. I'll put writing notes from those high up on my to-do list.
/Anders