WTN: Erben Renewal

[David M. Bueker]

2003 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *** - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/26/2020)
Vintages like 2003 get thrown in the dustbin of history, as blatant, even obstreperous acidity is the fashion of the day. I admit that I wasn’t expecting much, as I have even gotten caught by fashion. Wow was I wrong. It was not a 9 volt battery to the senses, but it was by no means fat or flat. Still very young, not even to early adolescence, the peach, strawberry and tropical fruit tones were held together by sufficient acidity. There was even a little zing at the finish. I wish I had bought a bunch, as this could be a real treasure for the long haul, maybe even the afterlife.

2003 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *** - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/26/2020)
Vintages like 2003 get thrown in the dustbin of history, as blatant, even obstreperous acidity is the fashion of the day...

I know certain elements of winegeeks are praising obstreperous acidity. But 2003 was plenty maligned by other versions of those winegeeks when it came out. I was one of them! It's not just a dustbin of history thing...

But to be fair, back on release, 2003 was less offensive in the off-dry German wines than elsewhere. They were already setup to deal with sweetness and there was pleasure even for me on release. But Burgundies that tasted like the Rhone and Rhone wines that tasted like the Languedoc were much more 'offensive'.