Talkin' about Trocken

J

Joe Perry

Joe Perry
I was invited to a cool (mostly) trocken tasting two weeks ago at fellow Wine Geek's house in Cambridge. Despite the hour and a half that I got lost trying to find it, it was an invaluable education. I don't have the experience to write decent notes about trocken wines, but there were a few interesting impressions that I got from the tasting.

The wines:
2007 Jochen Beurer Stettener Pulvermacher "Shilfsandsstein"
2007 Franz Kunstler Hochheimer Holle
2007 Matthais Muller Bopparder Hamm Ohlenberg "Alte Reben"
2007 Muller CAtoir Haardter Burgergarten "Breumel in den Mauren"
2007 Schafer Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck GG
2007 Rebholz Birkweiler Kastanienbusch GG
2001 Rebholz Birkweiler Kastanienbusch GG
2007 A. Christmann Konigsbacher Idig GG
2001 Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Spatlese Trocken "R"
2002 J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Spatelese "Alte Reben"
2004 Heymann-Lowenstein Winninger Rottgen
2005 Peter Jakob Kuhn Mittelheimer St. Nikolaus "Drei Trauben"

And sweets 2005 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Held and 2003 Rebholz Godramsteiner Munzberg Muskateller Beerenauslese.

Standing out from the above wines were those produced by Rebholz. The 2007 Rebholz trocken was actually really angry and funky, but was captivating at the same time. The 2001 displayed what the 2007 would achieve with time, and it hit all the right notes. While we were trying to keep the focus on dry wines, but the Rebholz Muskateller was phenomenal. It had a touch of spicy cologne on the nose and the palate was sweet without being too heavy. Wow.

The trocken of the night, for me, was the Koehler-Ruprecht "R". The palate shifted and rotated, not just in the glass, but as I was actively drinking it. There was this really interesting note that was like burnt crme brulee but without the sweetness. I buy German Riesling when I have a craving, but I generally prefer Austrian or Alsatian Riesling for my cellar. This I would buy and put away. I know that might not sound like the greatest vote of confidence, but in this instance, it is.

The Kunstler and Kuhn were both excellent. The Breurer was nice too, though I might have been swayed more positively after I learned that he was a European BMX champion (sweet!). There was serious variation in the two bottles of Muller-Catoir. I think one might have been a little prematurely advanced.

The rest were enjoyable, but not so notable.

Best,
Joe
 
I'm not shocked by the performance of the Koehler-Ruprecht "R". It's consistently one of the best dry Rieslings in Germany.

There's quite a mixed bag for the rest of the list (I have virtually no experience with Rebholz). I must admit a bit of surprise that the Schaefer-Frohlich did not make a positive impression (at least not enough to warrant a narrative description).
 
I detected a touch of bitterness in the Schaefer-Frohlich that I found distracting. It was served blind in flight with the Muller-Catoir x2 and the heft of the MC was likely not the best wine to shine against.
 
The R was very good, but I liked the Heymann-Lowenstein better. That and the Rebholz 07. What brought these three together for me was that they had a wildness and funk that took me by surprise and made them seem very much alive.

The Schaefer-Frohlich and the Becker were definitely overshadowed by the wines they had in the same flight, but returning to them on their own, they were both ethereal and crystalline. Just not heavyweights.

The Idig came with a good reputation but didn't really live up to it. A little too flat overall, disjointed in spite of being obviously crafted. Didn't improve the next day either.

The real eye opener for me was the random Italian riesling that Marco brought - do you remember its name, Joe? It was just completely unlike any other riesling I'd ever tasted, to the point where I felt it couldn't even be identified as riesling.
 
I was hoping you would remember what it was. It was my favorite wine of the night aside from the BA, but I thought it unfair to try and compare two so entirely different wines as it and the trocken... I'll have to hit up the Wine Bottega in the near future and put a name to it.

Oh, I don't even remember the Haymann get Lowenstuff, I'll have to recheck my notes.

Thanks again for passing the invite along.

I should have mentioned how good the food was. I can't believe that I enjoyed tripe!

originally posted by twlim:
The Idig came with a good reputation but didn't really live up to it.
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That is the good thing about tasting a wine totally blind. I did not know the rep., but that was the simplest tasting wine of the night in my opinion...
 
Please do not go there. I actually ate most of a huge bowl of tripe before remembering that it was tripe and subsequently was unable to finish.
 
ouch.

Nice tasting, Joe and TW. The only one of those I've tried is the Schafer Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck GG. I, too, would have thought it might stand out a bit more than it did, but can understand the context. I need to try a tasting like this one of these days.
 
originally posted by Joe_Perry:
Please do not go there. I actually ate most of a huge bowl of tripe before remembering that it was tripe and subsequently was unable to finish.
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Well that's a less violent reaction than you have to some cheeses.
 
Hi everybody!
I finally found this site, previously not being able to memorize the name when tw told me.....and just in time....I ran down (in lovely 17 degrees) and was able to rescue the missing bottle just 5 minutes before the collectors arrived:

originally posted by twlim:
The real eye opener for me was the random Italian riesling that Marco brought - do you remember its name, Joe? It was just completely unlike any other riesling I'd ever tasted, to the point where I felt it couldn't even be identified as riesling.
Click to expand...

It was the Bruno Verdi Riesling "Vigna Costa" 2005 from the Oltrepo Pavese DOC region in Lombardy. It was funky indeed and definitely not rieslingy, but very good and I want to try it again.
 
Welcome, Georg! Thanks for saving the bottle in the nick of time!

(Georg hosted the tasting)
 
Ah, yes. The bottle that Rahsaan thinks "doesn't have the vine age or the terroir for breed." (the emoticon goes here)
 
originally posted by Thor:
Ah, yes. The bottle that Rahsaan thinks "doesn't have the vine age or the terroir for breed." (the emoticon goes here)
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It was just a question, not an opinion.
 
originally posted by Thor:
Ah, yes. The bottle that Rahsaan thinks "doesn't have the vine age or the terroir for breed." (the emoticon goes here)
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Rahsaan's always going on about "breed" and "nobility." I begin to suspect he's a secret Royalist.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
Rahsaan's always going on about "breed" and "nobility." I begin to suspect he's a secret Royalist.
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Far from it.

I consider myself very postmodern.

For wines (as with people and many other things) one can notice traits such as nobility, breed, frivolity, and so on. But the real action comes in how you interpret and use those traits, being flexible and supple-minded depending on the situation and relevant question. Avoiding simplistic notions of "better" "superior" and such.

Anyway, speaking of wine, I've only tasted a couple of the producers mentioned in this thread so I would be happy if someone could come put on a noble tasting of this kind for me!
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Anyway, speaking of wine, I've only tasted a couple of the producers mentioned in this thread
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Aside from the few at Crush, I'm fairly sure Georg corners the market on Rebholz.
 
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