wtn: Ol' Willi

No , not our favorite MoCool/Michigan attorney but Willi Haag 2006 Brauneberger Juffer Spatlese Riesling.
This wine is HOT S**T. Probably one of two finest German wines I've tasted in the past 5 years. I was saving this to blend with a Riesling QBA from Burklin-Wolfe that was overly acidic but I forgot and am glad I did. The balance in this wine is fantastic with GREAT prickly (but not tart) acidity that goes on and on to balance full flavors of citrus and tropical fruits. The integration of acid and big fruit is so fine that I can see this wine aging gracefully for 15-20 more years. I have had lots of Willi and Fritz Haag kabinetts and spatlese but though very nice, none were on this level. I have never had a Donnhoff and probably never will at those prices but I cannot imagine a Riesling Spatlese getting much better than this! abv is %10 with lots of tiny tartrate snowballs. Color is medium straw.

[David M. Bueker]

Glad to hear of a good showing for Willi Haag. The estate has suffered some bumps and bruises over the years.

I have never had a Donnhoff and probably never will at those prices but I cannot imagine a Riesling Spatlese getting much better than this! abv is %10 with lots of tiny tartrate snowballs. Color is medium straw.

Donnhoff's prices (particularly after they've come back down a bit in the last couple of vintages) are not that bad - certainly in the same range (or less) than Fritz Haag. I've bought recent vintages of Kirschheck at less than I paid for Fritz Haag's Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spatlese. His Kabinett's also very, very reasonably priced and a tremendous buy.

Haven't had much from Willi Haag, but that certainly sounds very good.

thanks for notes. I'm not usually a Willi Haag buyer, but happen to have the '06 BJ Auslese. Hope it shows as well

Jim,

The 1975 Willi Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr was the very first Auslese I had. It was back in my restaurant days in the 80's. I could not believe what I was drinking! Magnificent! Viscous! such a pleasure.....we were dissappointed when the 75's were all gone and thought we would have to search for a new Auslese for the wine list. Then came the 76's....dare I say....even better!!!

Michael

Hi Jim -

Thanks for the interesting note - I was actually expecting a note on Willi Schaefer, whose wines I have sadly neglected recently. Anyway, Willi Haag's wines are quite available around my area, although I have never made any effort to try them so far. Now, maybe I will have to buy a bottle or two in the near future - the prices are pretty reasonable for Mosel Riesling, and your note is encouraging me.

On the other hand, I am an acidity lover, and have enjoyed the Burklin-Wolf QbA in the past. I wish that more of their "Premier Cru" wines were available around here. ("Premier Cru" is in quotes because there is no such thing as an official premier cru in Germany; Burklin-Wolf thinks that the VDP is too lax with their standards, and have therefore developed their own set.)