WTN: Is the MSR region really suited to the trocken style?

I opened two bottles from this region in the past week and the experience once more leads me to ask whether the wines from this region do not need a touch of residual sugar for best balance. This not to say that the Grünhaus here was a bad wine, far from it and a bottle two years ago had shown even better, but I have yet to have a "trocken" from the region which shows the sort of magic of which I caught a glimpse in the Christoffel Kabinett. In particular I wonder whether, in the middle Mosel and Ruwer, a touch of RS is not needed to bring out a juicy, mouth-watering character in the acidity. On the other hand I have had "trocken" wines from the Rheingau, Nahe and Pfalz, which with their greater body and fullness, seemed perfectly balanced.

Here are the TNs -

Maximin Grünhäuser Herreberg Riesling Spätlese-trocken 2007 der C. von Schubert’schen Schlosskellerei 03-08 - Alc. 11.5%

I liked a lot a bottle of this quite light bodied and bone dry wine opened two years ago in its first flush of youth. At present the floral aromas with white fruit, mineral and citrus elements and a dab of spice were much more subdued than before and the balance tilted towards mineral elements, crisp steely acidity and saline backbone which were more prominent whilst the tactile feel was less caressing than noted then. This would have been a good wine for high iodine oysters but it clashed somewhat with salmon trout in a sauce made of fish stock and mussels. I hope that this wine is in a somewhat closed period to re-open gloriously down the track like this estate’s wines with RS traditionally do. At this stage 15.5/20.

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett – 05 - 2000 – Weingut Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben – Alc.7.5%. This vintage has a reputation of being difficult with a lot of rot of the wrong kind but I found this bottle delicious. It showed aromas of white fruit, touches of honey and petrol type minerals and medium/light bodied slightly sweeter than much Kabinett, perhaps a tad less mineral in the slate and stone vein than much MSR but was perfectly balanced by that mouth-watering acidity of which this region has the secret. This was an excellent pairing for a shrimp dish in a sauce similar (but without mussels) to one with the Grünhaus above; 16.5/20.

[David M. Bueker]

I could agree with the idea that the overall Mosel region is not suited to the trocken style, though good trockens can be made.

I had a very simple, inexpensive 2008 Trocken from Knebel the other day that was well balanced and very drinkable, even in my still impaired sense state.

That said, the chances of finding a great trocken increase away from the Mosel. A style that I do love for the Mosel is feinherb/halbtrocken, whch has worked well for Adam, St. Urbans-Hof, Selbach-Oster and others.

A style that I do love for the Mosel is feinherb/halbtrocken, whch has worked well for Adam, St. Urbans-Hof, Selbach-Oster and others.

I agree. I also find real Kabinett from the area an excellent food wine but not those which are too rich like declassified Spätlese or even Auslese.

A year or two ago I would have said no.

But there are more and more producers who are making some compelling dry wines. Van Volxem's wines aren't exactly dry (they have a fair bit more residual sugar, but taste dry-ish - really feinherb wines) and Peter Lauer's in the same bracket, but I'm really enjoying their wines these days. AJ Adam as David mentioned is doing some stunning dry and feinherb wines as well, and Ulli Stein is also worth seeking out.

For pure trockens, I'm really excited by what Schloss Lieser is making - had a chance to try his '09 Spatlese trocken earlier this fall, and it was stunning dry Riesling with the same lightness, clarity and elegance I look for in traditional Mosel sweeter wines, but on a dry frame. Karthauserhof is also making some very impressive trockens.

[David M. Bueker]

A year or two ago I would have said no.

But there are more and more producers who are making some compelling dry wines. Van Volxem's wines aren't exactly dry (they have a fair bit more residual sugar, but taste dry-ish - really feinherb wines) and Peter Lauer's in the same bracket, but I'm really enjoying their wines these days. AJ Adam as David mentioned is doing some stunning dry and feinherb wines as well, and Ulli Stein is also worth seeking out.

For pure trockens, I'm really excited by what Schloss Lieser is making - had a chance to try his '09 Spatlese trocken earlier this fall, and it was stunning dry Riesling with the same lightness, clarity and elegance I look for in traditional Mosel sweeter wines, but on a dry frame. Karthauserhof is also making some very impressive trockens.

Hence my comment: I could agree with the idea that the overall Mosel region is not suited to the trocken style, though good trockens can be made.


Mosel trocken is also much more up and down than from other regions (and referencing Van Volxem doesn't count as he is not doing trockens).

For me it comes down to oechsle, acidity, and just how damn trocken the wine is. I am much more likely to enjoy a drier Mosel wine if it is of spätlese weight than of kabinett and if the acidity is a bit more mild. High-acid kabinett super-trockens (like drier than 5 g/l rs) from any region can come off screeching like a knife on a chalkboard. A little old-oak oxygen as opposed to stainless-steel helps too.

Cheers,

Bill

[David M. Bueker]

For me it comes down to oechsle, acidity, and just how damn trocken the wine is.

Agreed. It is a rare kabinett trocken that I find enjoyable to drink. No doubt Salil will posit examples that are stunning but then we get into blind squirrels and nuts.

No, even I've not found a good Kabinett trocken. Now that's a toughie.

(Kabinett halbtrocken is another matter, after that freaking incredible '01 Catoir Burgergarten a couple of nights ago... )

MSR Kabinetts are dry enough for me. Don't need them to be any more trocken.

Tim - Thank you for the notes - interesting to read your take on the Grunhaus Trocken. I did enjoy a Karthauserhof Feinherb earlier this year, and am looking forward to hopefully trying their 2009 Grosses Gewachs sometime. Also, 2000 isn't a total loss - I have found a few gems in the rough from that vintage. A 2000 from a well regarded producer is certainly worth trying at the right price, in my opinion.


Anyway, to weigh in quickly on the whole MSR Trocken issue: As an acidity lover, I may well have a different opinion than many on this issue, but am looking forward to trying some of the 2009 Grosses Gewachs from some of my favorite MSR producers. In fact, the 2009s should be less austere and overwhelmingly acidic than they would have been in 2008, for example. Not that there was anything wrong with 2008, at least to me...

Although I rarely see much from the Terrassenmosel in Massachusetts, it does seem like that section of the Mosel may have been more suited to dry wines than the Middle Mosel, Saar, or Ruwer, at least before the recent increase in climate change. The likes of Knebel and Heymann-Lowenstein have seemingly made more dry wines over the years than most Middle Mosel producers have.

One Middle Mosel producer who virtually only makes Trocken wines is Sybille Kuntz. Kuntz' wines manage enough ripeness so to not taste overly acidic, and often have a rounder texture to them. At the same time, they also avoid being too alcoholic, and they are very good food wines in my experience. I have not seen Kuntz label any of her wines as Kabinett or Spätlese, but have seen her use Auslese on some of her dry wines.

Incidentally, the 2008 Adam Hofberg (GG-style) was an excellent Trocken in my book, whether or not the T-word was actually on the label. I am also a big fan of most of the Feinherb wines from the MSR that I have had recently.