WTN: Couple of Pfalz Trocken Rieslings

Although Terry Theise/Skurnik import Eugen Müller's wines, I don't see too many of them around. In fact, this is only the second one that I have tried.

2009 Eugen Müller Forster Freundstück Riesling Spätlese Trocken
Apricot/mineral nose. Full, ripe, though quite elegant; well balanced, with good underlying acidity. Dry, chewy, very mineral – the minerality is more soft/cooling than chiseled, however, although that is not necessarily a bad thing. Shows some citrus, peach, and melon flavors, with herbal/spice notes, and a spicier finish. Very nice.


Also, it took some doing, but I finally managed to obtain a Christmann wine. For what is essentially their equivalent to a 1er cru (although note that this has been a Großes Gewächs for von Buhl), I was impressed. For whatever it is worth, Steffen Christmann is currently the president of the VDP.

2008 A. Christmann Deidesheimer Paradiesgarten Riesling
Lovely apricot/orange/cantaloupe//mineral/lightly herbal nose. Full-bodied, poised, rich, bone dry, with fairly high extract, which is nicely balanced by strong underlying acidity. Displays intense, focused minerality, with notes of pink grapefruit, golden apple, sage, and fresh flowers, with a hint of wintergreen. Less spicy than many Pfalzer dry Rieslings. Despite the raw power, it manages to retain a real sense of finesse. Moderate length on the peppery/caraway/mineral finish; the slight lack of “staying power” is my only real criticism here. Very good/excellent.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes Andrew. Sucking up to Bill Hooper I see.

Nice notes Andrew! You quite clearly have exceptional taste in dry Riesling. Welcome to the dark side.

For my money, Eugen Müller makes the most spectacularly aromatic, pure-fruit, pure-fun to drink, and delicious dry-Riesling in the Pfalz. Thrill-ride Riesling at a great price.

Christmann has a pair of great vineyards in Deidesheim (Paradiesgarten and Langenmorgen which they use as a GG.) The Paradiesgarten should probably be broken up into smaller parcels like many of Germany’s vineyards, because of the fact that it has so many different soil types and you never know what you're going to get. Christmann though, has parcels on Sandstone which typically give more forward, fruit-driven wines of more concentration. That Steffen Christmann is the VDP President is important because you can see in the Christmann range pretty clearly what the classification model of the Verband strives to look like (Estate wines, Village wines, Single-vineyard wines and GG wines.) It is also worth noting that although all (or most) of Christmanns wines are labeled Qualitätswein, none are chaptalized. FWIW, most everything is Spätlese ripeness (including the most basic estate wines), with the GGs often reaching Auslese ripeness -though of course all are dry. They are also very flexible in that they use a mix of both SS tanks and old-oak barrels, though lean heavily on wild yeast for fermentation. If you take only Riesling into account, I have a very hard time choosing between Christmann, MC and KR for my favorite Pfalz producer -but the styles vary so dramatically that I don't feel the need to choose.

Hopefully you can find more selection. I especially like the Biengarten Riesling form 2010 which is sold out in Germany.

If you don't mind my asking, what did the Paradiesgarten cost in USD?

Cheers,
Bill

Nice notes Andrew! You quite clearly have exceptional taste in dry Riesling. Welcome to the dark side.


If you don't mind my asking, what did the Paradiesgarten cost in USD?

Cheers,
Bill

Bill - About $27, if I remember correctly.

A good price I think. It is normally around 15-16€ here IIRC.

Cheers,
Bill