WTN: 2003 Dr. Wagner Ockfener Bockstein Ries Auslese, MSR.

I finally managed to dig out some notes taken on Xmas day! A recent gift from one of the owners of a local winestore and without a doubt one of my whites of the year! Went very well with traditional ham and turkey
Nice slatey mineral nose plus white stone fruit, honey and hints of petrol. Delicious entry, not too sweet on the palate and a wonderful balance. Finish was quite memorable with orange notes and ripe apple. Clean and refreshing, non-wine geeks at the crowded table were impressed. I feel sure they had never tasted anything like this!
I see there is only the `09 Riesling Kab. downtown so might stock a couple and put away but feel will never match this bottle.

Well, I found some more an hour ago hidden behind the `10 kabinett!!

Well, I found some more an hour ago hidden behind the `10 kabinett!!

That's delicious treasure. And a fun surprise I'm sure.

Rahsaan, wait till you see the list of German wines just arrived at DeVines downtown. The owners were in Germany for 3 weeks and seem to have made some stunning buys, including some library nourishment. A fair amount of MSR but also Rheingau, R`essen, Baden, incl Spatburgunder.

It doesn't sound like a 2003 from elsewhere ("clean and refreshing"). I wonder if that is due to the special character of the Saar valley, which is reputed to give especially outstanding wines in warm vintages; not that I have found much wrong with, say, Zilliken and Müller in normal vintages .

Dr. Wagner in the Saar and Dr. von Schubert in the Ruwer are two confidence inspiring names for a music lover with my tastes!! Of the two, the styles of the wines and music are much more akin in the Schubert case.

My experience from when I lived in Germany (in three stretches starting in 1968 and ending in 1991) was that some years the Saar didn't get enough warm weather to produce fine wine at the Auslese level but that when they did, they were some of my all-time favorite white wines. At that time I was particularly fond of Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein wines. With the climate change we have experienced, and the ferociously hot European weather in 2003, the Saar may be one of the few German wine-producing regions that resulted in highest quality wines. Glad you got to sample the Dr. Wagner.

Thanks for all the comments. I would not have gone out of my way to initially buy the `03, it was a gift from one of the owners of a local store! I was quite impressed and my attitude of "if it MSR, it has to be good" prevailed. OK so a hot year but I was just out to enjoy it. Now I have found another bottle so can spend a bit more time with it. The first bottle was enjoyed at Xmas dinner-time and there was a lot going on with no real notes taken.
Over on Beserkers, they are going through the last ten vintages in Germany and yup `03 rates so-so by most there on line.

Hi Bob -

Thank you for the note. Obviously, I missed it back in December, but it sounds like a nice wine.

Thanks Andrew, not sure my "crisp and refreshing" note is all that accurate but will see when I open next bottle of the same vintage!
Is Dr. Wagner available in your area?