Old German TBA

In the early '90s I splurged on a few bottles of 1989 Trockenbeerenauslesen from a couple of top producers. Last night I opened a von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn TBA. It was more or less what I had expected: complex aroma with lots of botrytis, complex flavors (again with lots of botrytis), extreme sweetness but with the acidity to back it up. What concerns me is the wine's color. It is very dark, a color I'd expect from an oloroso Sherry or a Madeira. I have zero experience with TBAs. Is the dark color normal for a TBA or has the wine oxidized?

-Paul W.

In the early '90s I splurged on a few bottles of 1989 Trockenbeerenauslesen from a couple of top producers. Last night I opened a von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn TBA. It was more or less what I had expected: complex aroma with lots of botrytis, complex flavors (again with lots of botrytis), extreme sweetness but with the acidity to back it up. What concerns me is the wine's color. It is very dark, a color I'd expect from an oloroso Sherry or a Madeira. I have zero experience with TBAs. Is the dark color normal for a TBA or has the wine oxidized?
-Paul W.

Well, Paul....
Sounds about exactly where it should be. Did it smell or taste oxidized?? I doubt it. Just looks oxidized.
That dark/black color like a PX is pretty normal for an old TBA. Even more so in Calif TBAs. The Germans tend to use more SO2 at
bottling & they don't blacken quite as soon. But it's only a cosmetic effect. The botrytis is what makes the color unstable and causes it to blacken.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

In the early '90s I splurged on a few bottles of 1989 Trockenbeerenauslesen from a couple of top producers. Last night I opened a von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn TBA. It was more or less what I had expected: complex aroma with lots of botrytis, complex flavors (again with lots of botrytis), extreme sweetness but with the acidity to back it up. What concerns me is the wine's color. It is very dark, a color I'd expect from an oloroso Sherry or a Madeira. I have zero experience with TBAs. Is the dark color normal for a TBA or has the wine oxidized?

-Paul W.

Sounds like a completely proper color. TBAs get dark, and the more botrytis the darker they get. 1989 was a monster botrytis year, and so the wines are getting darker than they even normally would.

Thanks, Tom and David. The wine doesn't smell or taste oxidized or flat. To the contrary, there's a lot of lively acidity there, which of course is necessary to prevent all that sugar from doing a belly flop on the palate. I suspected that this was just the natural way a TBA evolves. It's good to have that confirmed.

Not surprisingly, the same thing happens to Tokaji Essencia, but even faster. True Essencia (not Aszu Essencia) is even sweeter than a TBA and only drinkable in a very small sip or two before the palate gets overwhelmed. It's like drinking pancake syrup. Too much of a good thing, IMO. The one bottle I bought went brown after about 5 years or so.

-Paul W.

Had another glass of the 1989 TBA last night (a little goes a long way). I'm keeping it using a nitrogen dispenser. No sign at all of oxidation. But if you're not fond of botrytis, this wine definitely isn't for you.

-Paul W.