Yesterday was the London VDP Tasting for the 2006 vintage, which as you have probably heard by now was a somewhat complicated year with a tendency towards awkward botrytis-heavy wines. So there were few portfolios that bowled me over across the entire range (Müller and Dönnhoff standing out in that respect, but what else is new) however there were plenty of tasty wines worth drinking all around. Will be curious to see how these evolve with time.
Saar
In general it seems that the Saar was less plagued with botrytis than the Mosel, but to my palate Egon Müller's wines were the clear standout among the Saar wines on display. This perhaps justifies the high prices, although I won't get into the minutiae of how these wines relate to previous Müller vintages because I don't have enough experience (plus one got the distinct sense that these were not legendary wines, however delicious they were). Instead I will just say that they were relatively fresh and "true" to pradikat. In addition they were much firmer and more focused than the other Saar contenders, and playing on a much higher level of elegance (2006 Egon Muller Riesling, Scharzhofberger Kabinett, Spätlese #5, Auslese #8, Auslese Goldkapsel).
The Zilliken wines were nice soft weightless light wines that were a confected candy-filled pleasure to drink. But, they were a bit soft for my tastes, lacking the electricity and cut of the 05s as well as the serious elegance of 06 Müller (2006 Zilliken Riesling, Saarburger Rausch Kabinett, Spätlese, Spätlese Auction, and the 2005 SR BA Auction that reminded us how great 05 was).
I found the von Hövel wines to be fresher and more mineral than the Zilliken wines, and as such they appealed more to my sensibilities, but again they were a bit soft and lacking the focus that would really get me excited (2006 Oberemmeler Hütte Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese #8, the 2005 OH BA and TBA also reminded us how great 05 was, but I thought the acids and the clarity were more impressive on the 05 Zilliken Auction BA).
von Othegraven was more difficult to sum up, as the 2006 Riesling feinherb and the Kanzem Altenberg Kabinett were both a bit coarse and rough, while the 2006 Ockfen Bockstein Spätlese was so rich botrytis-infected and clumsy that Heidi Kegel could only defend it by saying that it needed time (you be the judge of that). The 2004 KA Spätlese she had opened was lovely refreshing and balanced, and the 2005 KA Auslese Alte Reben was also a lovely balanced relatively-restrained sipping version of Auslese, but those were different years.
The Schloss Saarstein wines seemed coarse yet refreshing, perhaps with a slight green note, but they would still be good fun if they were cheap and on a restaurant list with few other alternatives. Otherwise, not worth the effort to hunt down in my opinion (2006 Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese).
Ditto for Dr. Wagner, where the timid simple boring wines did not show much concentration or excitement. Crisp limpid wines that did not do much to get me going but which worked very well as palate cleansers in the context of this tasting (2006 Saarburger Kupp Kabinett feinherb, Saarburger Rausch Kabinett, SR Spätlese, Ockfener Bockstein Spätlese, SR Auslese).
Ruwer
The Karthäuserhof wines were more impressive than most of the Saar, but they did not have the same consistent mineral clarity that I remember from the Grünhaus wines in early May. Although, to be fair I suppose one would need to sit down with bottles from each producer for a more comprehensive evaluation. The Spätlese trocken was one of my favorite trocken wines of the day, elegant, lovely, and with just the right amount of guts, but to my tastes the Kabinett feinherb was less successful. For the sweet wines the Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese were all crisp jade jewels that had plenty of material and plenty of elegance to make them worth drinking but my main reproach was that in comparison to the Grünhaus wines they seemed a touch soft and lacking the mineral sparkle, but we need future evaluation.
Mosel
Nothing really jumped out as a masterful portfolio here, although plenty of wines worth drinking.
I liked the Fritz Haag wines much better than the Willi Haag wines because they showed more balance and integration. The FH wines were relatively gentle and sherbety Mosel wines, despite their 06 weight, while the WH were diffuse, soft, muddled and cumbersome. My favorite of the tasting between the two was the FH BJS Spätlese because it had the best balance and poise, but these things can change so much with time/aeration/mood, etc, plus I'm not sure I would look to stock up on the FH wines anyway given the other options available on the market. But that's just my relatively selective strategy.
Fritz Haag (2006 Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett, BJ Sonnenuhr Spätlese, BJS Auslese, BJS Auslese Goldcap, BJS Beerenauslese)
Willi Haag (2006 Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett, BJ Sonnenuhr Spätlese, BJS Auslese, BJS BA #1, BJS BA #2)
Reinhold Haart had some nice wines on display (not including the Wintricher Ohligsberg Auslese that others have been so bullish about as Theo said quantities were too limited) that were a bit compact and marked by the botrytis for my tastes at the moment, but not ponderous or muddled and definitely with the material to watch for future development (2006 Feinherb Piesporter Kreuzwingert Spätlese, Piesporter Grafenberg Spätlese, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Auslese).
von Kesselstatt was the last winery I tasted, at a point when my tastes buds were hanging on for dear life amidst all the sugars that had assaulted them, but the 2006 Kaseler Nies'chen Kabinett stood out as something rich but poised and worth drinking again. The 2005 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese was balanced and lovely, but it was 2005 and you probably already knew that.
The wines at Schloss Lieser were not too heavy as they claimed to have lots of blue overripe grapes but not necessarily botrytis. They all seemed relatively classic and in proportion, definitely rich but not extravagant. They were all drinkable if they didn't make you want to run down the street to buy a bottle (2006 QbA, Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett, Niederberg Helden Spätlese, Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel, Niederberg Helden BA).
Dr. Loosen displayed a remarkably consistent level of boredom with wines that were fresh, simple, with not much to get excited about. Although the Erdener Prälat Auslese stood out for its concentration and verve and was more worthy than the others (2006 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett, Bernkasteler Lay Kabinett, Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, Erdener Prälat Auslese).
JJ Prüm did not have any 2006 wines to show as they were not yet in bottle, but the collection of older wines was a lovely melange of fruit cocktail, sulphur, and elegance (2004 Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese, 2004 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, 2003 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, 2005 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese, 2003 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese Goldkapsel).
Studert-Prüm also did not have any 2006 wines to show as they wanted to sell out the remaining stocks of previous vintages still available for the UK. This stock issue was perhaps evidence of the lackluster demand because the wines they did offer were mostly forgettable (2005 Bernkasteler Graben Spätlese feinherb, 2005 Graacher Himmelrecih Kabinett, 2004 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese, 2005 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, 2003 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese).
Dr. H. Thanisch, Erben Thanisch offered a dramatic display in vineyard differences because the Bernkasteler Badstube wines (2006 Kabinett and Spätlese) showed heavy botrytis and annoying bitter flavors while the Bernkasteler Doctor wines (2006 Kabinett and Spätlese) were much more concentrated, balanced and composed. I haven't had much Doctor wine over the years but I would be interested to study these further.
St. Urbans-Hof was relatively crisp and refreshing and the wines could be relaxing if poured in your glass while pondering a beautiful vista. But the lack of concentration and verve meant that they did not leap out to grab me in this setting, although perhaps I will change my mind in the future (2006 Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese, OB Spätlese, OB Auslese).
The Wegeler wines were also pretty crisp and refreshing, clean, not too much botrytis, and again they were pleasant to sip, but not necessarily anything for me to chase down - although they didn't show any 06 Doctor wines (2006 Estate QbA, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese, and a 2005 Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese Gold Cap to remind us how thick and oily and blah blah blah fun fun fun the rich wines can be).
Nahe
My two favorite portfolios here were Dönnhoff and Emrich-Schönleber. The former because of the elegance, and the latter because of the rustic energy and personality that really seemed to speak to me. I haven't had many ES wines in the past year, so I will have to remedy that.
Of course you don't need me to tell you that the Dönnhoffs were lovely. I don't have the same extensive history to hash out the details of the bottlings that others on these boards do, but they all showed a consistent firm weight and mineral elegance that made them seem like they had everything going for them. Composure and confidence at its finest (2006 Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett, Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Spätlese, Oberhäuser Brücke Spätlese, Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Auslese, Oberhäuser Brücke BA).
I liked the Emrich-Schönleber wines for their combination of rich fruit and rustic earthy energetic pleasure. You could fault them for being not the most refined wines, but to me they had such character that I could definitely find a place for a few in my cellar (2006 "Lenz" Riesling, Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Kabinett, Monzinger Halenberg Spätlese, MF Auslese **, MH BA).
Only tasted two Crusius wines (2006 Traiser Bastei Spätlese and Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Auslese) but both were juicy rich exotic and shiny fruit cocktails without a lot of depth and without the minerality of the wines I preferred. But some may like this.
Only tasted three Diel wines (2006 Dorsheimer Burgberg Kabinett, Dorsheimer Goldloch Spätlese, Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Auslese) which were all good and more my style than the Crusius wines, as despite the heavy weight they had good tingling minerals. But they lacked both the elegance of the Dönnhoffs and the rustic energy of the Schönlebers, and so for that I probably wouldn't buy them. But your strategy may be different, and they were certainly competent wines.
Only tasted one Kruger-Rumpf wine, the 2006 Münsterer Dautenpflänzer Spätlese, but it had a lot going for it and would be a potential purchase, because it had plenty of fruit, earth, and minerals, and was a nice rustic package for sipping and relaxing, if not for being taken to nirvana.
Niederhausen-Schlossböckelheim did not get my full attention, but my quick impression was that the wines were drinkable but not remarkable. Perhaps more attention was required. Perhaps not. (2006 Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube Kabinett feinherb, Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese, Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube Auslese).
After that, it was off to the wine store to pick up some Burgundy...
