WTN: Maturing German Riesling

David Bueker hosted our local tasting group last night for a lineup of Riesling aging across different pradikats. A very enjoyable, informative tasting - wines for once were not poured blind - thanks again David for your generosity.

Starter:
2005 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Spätlese trocken
Really good. Ripe pear and apple fruit, vivid steely and stony mineral notes and faint herbal elements combining together into a dry but very well balanced package. It's quite rich, showing the ripeness of the vintage with moderate acidity, and very pleasant to drink.

Flight 1: QbA
2001 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone
The '01 Leitz Rieslings are extraordinary. The 'basic' Klosterlay QbA was staggeringly good a few weeks ago, and this is even better - a spectrum of pale, fresh Riesling fruit over a mineral base with the start of developing creamy elements. Incredibly pure and seamless with the acidity giving it a sensation of real energy and vibrancy. Fantastic wine, one of my favourites of the evening.
2004 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone
Enjoyable but completely overwhelmed when poured alongside the '01. It's full of bright peachy fruit, seems a little lusher and sweeter than the '01 without the same acidity and precision.
2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone
Very reductive and disjointed, not consistent with previous experiences.

Flight 2: Kabinett
2009 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
All about freshness and clarity. Bright, precise apple and citrus fruit with gentle herbal and stony accents, moderately sweet but very well balanced with bright acidity and impressive length. Lovely.
2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
Fresh apples and white fruited flavours accented with stony mineral notes and the start of some developing creamy characteristics. There's a sense of restraint here, and it seems to be holding a lot in reserve - opens aromatically with air, but I get the impression this needs a few more years.
1998 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
Perfectly mature now; white cherries and apples combining with developed smoky and fusel notes and conveyed with the typical Dönnhoff sense of understatement and lightness. Excellent.

Interlude for a quick red...
1997 August Kesseler Rüdesheimer Berg Schloßberg Spätburgunder Spätlese Trocken ***
Not particularly enjoyable - there's some red fruit still lingering, but there's a dried out quality to the fruit, aged tea/dried herb notes and it's rather shrill and disjointed in the mouth.

Flight 3: Spätlese
2009 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #10
Outstanding once again. Layers of fresh Mosel apple and peachy fruit, vivid slatey minerality and herbal elements, all conveyed with a sense of incredible clarity and purity. There's plenty of sweetness but also fantastic acidity that gives this incredible cut and balance.
2002 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #9
In a great place right now, combining fresh, still youthful Mosel fruit and slate with the start of developing smokiness and creaminess. Very layered and complex with superb balance and length.
1997 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #12
Incredibly complex and layered, weaving rich apple and peachy fruit, lemon cream, minerality and other developed smoky, savoury flavours into a seamless whole. It's texturally richer and creamier than the '02 and '09, but there's still impressive acidity beneath that keeps it very fresh and precise. Fantastic depth, balance and length - spectacular wine, and my favourite (just barely) of an outstanding trio.

Dessert:
1997 Wittmann Westhofener Steingrube Albalonga Auslese
Very unusual. Ripe peach and apricot fruit with spicy accents, but there's a powerful topnote of spearmint gum that continues to build with air and dominates the other flavours.
1998 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *
Riper than I remember from my last experience with this wine; full of ripe apples and peaches with a slightly overripe banana-like note and maturing honeyed and creamy flavour elements. Nicely balanced, though not showing the same acidity and focus I've found in a lot of other '98s - still, very nice.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for posting the notes Salil. I had the opportunity to re-taste a number of the wines last night, and the '01 Drachenstein was still the class of the field, closely followed by the '97 Willi Schaefer, which had opened up more to show off a smoky element that I had not picked up on Thursday. The '01 Donnhoff did open up some, and it was very cool & relaxed which was strange following the electric Drachenstein. Still it really grew on me in the glass.

I still found the '05 Karthauserhof Trocken dull. For some reason that producer's wines have never struck a chord for me.

That Albalonga was truly weird, but it was Albalonga. The Spatburgunder was a bit of an intentional joke. It should have been drunk up years ago.

Thanks for posting these notes Salil,

I opened an 09 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't its usual fresh, bright self as per your notes. I'm relieved I seem to have struck a substandard bottle rather than a style change on one of my favourite Kabinett!

cheers

Andrew

Hi Salil - Thank you for the great notes. Who says Dönnhoff can't age???

I'm more of a Karthäuserhof fan than David is. In fact, Karthäuserhof probably tops my list of producers whom I don't buy or drink as much as I should from.

Still haven't had an Albalonga. For that matter, I don't see much Wittmann around since they switched importers from Terry Theise to Wildman.

Finally, there are still some bottles of the 1997-1999 Kesseler Spätburgunders at some Boston area retailers. I've been waiting for the stores to close them out and mark them way down before buying them, as they are quite expensive with no discounts. Anyway, I did enjoy the 2002 Kesseler Spätburgunder Max last year, and hoped that his single vineyard Spätburgunders would age 15+ years or so based on that...

We enjoy one of our 2006 Dr. Pauly Bergweiler, Bernkasteler Badstube, Riesling Kabinetts tonight. Although drinking wonderfully, it could still go a few more years. Matched it with roast chicken smoked over apple wood, sourdough bisquits, and salad.

Finally, there are still some bottles of the 1997-1999 Kesseler Spätburgunders at some Boston area retailers. I've been waiting for the stores to close them out and mark them way down before buying them...

That's a long wait for closeouts! These bottles haven't been sitting there for over 10 years have they?

[David M. Bueker]

Finally, there are still some bottles of the 1997-1999 Kesseler Spätburgunders at some Boston area retailers. I've been waiting for the stores to close them out and mark them way down before buying them, as they are quite expensive with no discounts. Anyway, I did enjoy the 2002 Kesseler Spätburgunder Max last year, and hoped that his single vineyard Spätburgunders would age 15+ years or so based on that...

I would not buy the '97-'99 wines at any price. I know where they are and how long they have been sitting out.

Thanks for the warning.

Finally, there are still some bottles of the 1997-1999 Kesseler Spätburgunders at some Boston area retailers. I've been waiting for the stores to close them out and mark them way down before buying them, as they are quite expensive with no discounts. Anyway, I did enjoy the 2002 Kesseler Spätburgunder Max last year, and hoped that his single vineyard Spätburgunders would age 15+ years or so based on that...

I would not buy the '97-'99 wines at any price. I know where they are and how long they have been sitting out.

ANY price?
I've had thoughts similar to Andrew's, but having tasted the 2003 Cuvee Max and 2002 regular Pinto Noir from the same source this year, I'm not a buyer either.
Charles

[David M. Bueker]

Any price.

I still found the '05 Karthauserhof Trocken dull. For some reason that producer's wines have never struck a chord for me.

I think you gotta catch the year, and Trockens are tough to pull off for any producer. I like their traditional designations, esp. kabinetts and spatlese.

I just had the 2005 Peter Jacob Kühn, Riesling Quarzit Trocken, Reingau, Germany and thought it was really good, with a lifted and aromatic nose full of petrol and melons followed by a palate of savory minerality and acidic backbone onto a decently strong finish...i.e., delish.

I don't know much about Rieslings, but intend to dive into this world in the future. I think these wines have the wonderful distinction of being wines that are interesting enough to drink on their own, but if it's a good example and you pair it well with the right food, they can be excellent companions at the dinner table. I'm thinking by contrast of some of the good Italian wines I've had, which were just not interesting enough to drink on their own, despite their food-ability. I also am finding that Rieslings, as opposed to say, Burgundy wines, are often very reasonable if purchased young--though certainly we are talking about two different things and I wouldn't compare grapes or regions that simply.

Also, and again, I'm new to this scene, it seems like Rieslings (as well as perhaps Gewurztraminers) are varietals than can lead to a 'miracle in a bottle' over time. Other wines may improve with age, but the Alsatian and German wines at the top of their game really play tricks on the drinker at certain points in their lifetimes. I suppose that's the beauty of residual sugar in balance with other elements. This tasting offers a glimpse into such a dimension.

I don't know much about Rieslings, but intend to dive into this world in the future. I think these wines have the wonderful distinction of being wines that are interesting enough to drink on their own, but if it's a good example and you pair it well with the right food, they can be excellent companions at the dinner table. I'm thinking by contrast of some of the good Italian wines I've had, which were just not interesting enough to drink on their own, despite their food-ability.

Italy is a big country, you might want to be more specific here.

I also am finding that Rieslings, as opposed to say, Burgundy wines, are often very reasonable if purchased young--though certainly we are talking about two different things and I wouldn't compare grapes or regions that simply.

No doubt that the general QPR is much higher for German riesling.

Also, and again, I'm new to this scene, it seems like Rieslings (as well as perhaps Gewurztraminers) are varietals than can lead to a 'miracle in a bottle' over time. Other wines may improve with age, but the Alsatian and German wines at the top of their game really play tricks on the drinker at certain points in their lifetimes. I suppose that's the beauty of residual sugar in balance with other elements. This tasting offers a glimpse into such a dimension.

Nothing miraculous about what happens to riesling. It ages well and we expect it! But I wouldn't age your gewurztraminer anywhere near as long. Most examples don't have the acid for extended cellaring.

[David M. Bueker]

I still found the '05 Karthauserhof Trocken dull. For some reason that producer's wines have never struck a chord for me.

I think you gotta catch the year, and Trockens are tough to pull off for any producer. I like their traditional designations, esp. kabinetts and spatlese.

Perhaps, though I have had their wines from many vintages and pradikats, and I just do not like them all that much.

I don't know much about Rieslings... I'm thinking by contrast of some of the good Italian wines I've had, which were just not interesting enough to drink on their own, despite their food-ability.

Italy is a big country, you might want to be more specific here.

true. no way to qualify that one. In Israel, where I am, the big importers of Italian wines tend to go for big commercial names on the whole, and mainly reds from central Italy. I've mostly had the low to mid grade levels of those, and I find that they tend to be amazing at the consistency of them to be unintellectual. The local importers of German Rieslings, on the other hand, seem to do a good job locating wines that make you think at almost every price point.

Perhaps, though I have had their wines from many vintages and pradikats, and I just do not like them all that much.

Interesting. But yet you like Grunhaus?

I guess on the positive side it is one less producer you have to worry about following/buying!

[David M. Bueker]

Perhaps, though I have had their wines from many vintages and pradikats, and I just do not like them all that much.

Interesting. But yet you like Grunhaus?

I guess on the positive side it is one less producer you have to worry about following/buying!

I find very few similarities between Karthauserhof and Grunhaus.

I find very few similarities between Karthauserhof and Grunhaus.

Really?

They obviously work from different vineyards so they are unique. But from my experiences they both lean austere, backwards, and acidic (relative to the pradikat/vintage of course). I'm not sure I could say much more about what makes the Ruwer distinct, but they certainly both are distinct from 'typical' Middle Mosel flavors and I would have thought that generally speaking they appeal to similar palates.

But hey, I guess there are a lot more specifics going on.

[David M. Bueker]

I have never thought of Grunhaus as austere, but then I have never bought any of the trocken or related wines.

I have never thought of Grunhaus as austere, but then I have never bought any of the trocken or related wines.

Compared to the Nahe/Rheingau? And even compared to the Middle Mosel where there are more similarities in terms of weight and mouthfeel, the flavors seem more herbal and less fruity (again, relative to pradikat and vintage).

So you wouldn't say that Grunhaus is one of the more restrained MSR rieslings? (I'm speaking mainly of late 1990s through mid 2000s, where I have most of my Grunhaus experience. And I guess they have gotten a bit more forward in recent vintages and I haven't tasted much post 2006/7).

[David M. Bueker]

Restrained and austere are two different things in my mind. I find that Grunhaus is indeed restrained, but it has what it needs in balance. I find Karthauserhof to be lacking in fruit to be balanced. I just don't like the wines.

I've always found Grunhaus Rieslings very understated, wines that require time and attention to enjoy all they have to show - but certainly not austere.

Restrained and austere are two different things in my mind. I find that Grunhaus is indeed restrained, but it has what it needs in balance. I find Karthauserhof to be lacking in fruit to be balanced. I just don't like the wines.

Ok. I guess that makes sense and I do prefer Grunhaus to Karthauserhof.

But FWIW I didn't mean anything pejorative by 'austere'.

[David M. Bueker]

But FWIW I didn't mean anything pejorative by 'austere'.

I did not think you did. There are some very austere wines that I like.