Arnt Egil Nordlien
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Visit at Weingut Stephan Steinmetz
Stephan Steinmetz is one guy that likes to do things against the odds. As a young winemaker on the Obermosel with no riesling in his vineyards fame will not come easy. Despite this Stephan Steinmetz has managed to do one thing no one has done before him on the Obermosel; to be mentioned in the german Gault millau-guide. When I met Stephan at his winery in Wehr in September 2009 I asked him if he would be interested in farming land in the nearby area of Saar, Wehr lies a 20 minutes drive west of Saarburg. The answer came quickly, he rather wanted to search for better and older vines near or in his own village. Old vines of elbling were of most interest. He told that riesling is a possibility in the area, but that the muschelkalk-soil here is better suited for other grapes, such as elbling, the burgunder-grapes and auxerrois. The grapes that go into the wines from Weingut Stephan Steinmetz comes mostly from the einzellage of Wehrer Rosenberg. But some vines are also owned in Nenniger Rmerberg. The wines are pure varieties and labelled without einzellagen-names. Here are my notes from the tasting:
Elbling landwein 2008
11,0% alcohol. Light colour. Clean and stoney nose. Medium bodied and refreshing wine in the mouth. Typical quite neutral fruit with hints of stone, citrus and a touch of minerality. Round wine with a crisp acidity and medium length. Good wine with a fine refreshing quality. Sold in 1 liter bottles for 4,50 .
Elbling qualittswein 2008
11,0% alcohol. Deeper and more intense nose. More minerality and stoney hints. A little fuller in the mouth. More structure and again a highly refreshing wine. Fine minerality and hints of citrus and a touch of pear. Higher and cleansing acids. Better length. Very good wine. Pure and refreshing. I really like this. As good as elbling gets. Sold in 0,75 liter bottles. Great buy for 4,50 .
Weissburgunder qualittswein 2008
11,5% alcohol. Very light colour. Lightly floral and typical greenish notes on the nose. Hints of citrus. A little bigger, with some fat in the mouth. More fruit-notes and less minerality. Quite typical and pure weissburgunder. Rounder and kinder structure, yet fine acidity for this grape and good length. A good, pure and lighter weissburgunder. Price: 5,80 .
Auxerrois qualittswein 2008
11,5% alcohol. The nose is not unlike the weissburgunder. But this is a little fruitier with more pear-notes and flowers. A touch of spice. More powerful in the mouth and the fruit shows a little more interest. Some minerality. Still a grapey character. Lower acids than the weissburgunder and medium length. Good wine. Price: 5,80 .
Grauburgunder qualittswein 2008
12,5% alcohol. More chalk on the nose, showing more of the muschelkalk. A little more tropical fruit and ripeness. Clearly the most powerful wine of the whites. This has more initial fruit in the mouth. Slightly tropical elements and with a fine hint of minerality and chalk. This has good acids and is still on the slim side of a grauburgunder. Good length. Very good wine. Price: 6,40 .
Elbling cremant brut NV
AP: 07 09. 100% elbling from the 2007-vintage. 12,5% alcohol. Clear citrusy nose. Smells almost a little fresh and acidic. Light yeast and stone. Slim and refreshing sekt in the mouth with a fine and cleansing quality. Neutral, slightly stoney fruit. Bubbles perhaps not the smallest. Fine balance and long citrusy finish. Good sekt. Price: 8,50 .
Liaison cremant brut NV
AP: 09 08. 60% sptburgunder from the 2005-vintage. 40% weissburgunder from 2006. Aged 28 months on the lees. 13% alcohol. Lightly golden/blush-like colour. The nose shows sptburgunder-notes of flowers, biscuits. Some minerality and chalk. Fuller sekt in the mouth with a little sweeter fruit, showing some dosage. Hints of biscuits, chalk, sweet flowers. Lightly complex. Good acidity and dry, crisp finish. Very good sekt. Price: 9,50 .
Sptburgunder qualittswein 2007
12 months barriques, mostly used. This is not yet out for sale. Red colour. Fruity sptburgunder showing young primary fruit on the nose. Light oak and some hints of spice. Well-balanced. Medium bodied in the mouth. Again this is a very young wine showing highly primary at this stage. But the fruit is pure and well-focused. Some oak and slight bitterness on the finish from the oak. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. Very good sptburgunder that shows promise, but needs a year or two to develop and integrate the oak a little more. Very good wine. Price: 9,50 .
Sptburgunder qualittswein 2006
13% alcohol. This shows a light evolvement and some complexity on the nose. Still fruity with hints of autumn-leafs, spice and light oak. Medium bodied in the mouth. This is in a more harmonic stage, showing a core of fruit with fine hints of some development and the oak more aromatically integrated. Medium acidity and decent length. A nice 06 sptburgunder, but this is lacking a little of the freshness and finer structure of the 07-vintage. The 06 is drinking far better today, but the 07 will be the better wine in the end. Very good. Price: 9,50 .
The tasting of the wines at Weingut Stephan Steinmetz showed wines that displayed focused and clear grape-typicity. They lack the finest minerality and complexity of the great vineyards, but are generally well-balanced wines that are sold at very fair prices. My two favorites here is the Elbling qualittswein and the 07 sptburgunder. The first is a great little wine for its purity, transparency and intensity. The price-tag is very low. The same can be said about the 2007 sptburgunder. Rarely will you find a sptburgunder of such quality at such a price. It is a finely tuned wine that avoids both the over-oakiness and the tartness of fruit that plagues too many german sptburgunders.
Stephan Steinmetz is one guy that likes to do things against the odds. As a young winemaker on the Obermosel with no riesling in his vineyards fame will not come easy. Despite this Stephan Steinmetz has managed to do one thing no one has done before him on the Obermosel; to be mentioned in the german Gault millau-guide. When I met Stephan at his winery in Wehr in September 2009 I asked him if he would be interested in farming land in the nearby area of Saar, Wehr lies a 20 minutes drive west of Saarburg. The answer came quickly, he rather wanted to search for better and older vines near or in his own village. Old vines of elbling were of most interest. He told that riesling is a possibility in the area, but that the muschelkalk-soil here is better suited for other grapes, such as elbling, the burgunder-grapes and auxerrois. The grapes that go into the wines from Weingut Stephan Steinmetz comes mostly from the einzellage of Wehrer Rosenberg. But some vines are also owned in Nenniger Rmerberg. The wines are pure varieties and labelled without einzellagen-names. Here are my notes from the tasting:
Elbling landwein 2008
11,0% alcohol. Light colour. Clean and stoney nose. Medium bodied and refreshing wine in the mouth. Typical quite neutral fruit with hints of stone, citrus and a touch of minerality. Round wine with a crisp acidity and medium length. Good wine with a fine refreshing quality. Sold in 1 liter bottles for 4,50 .
Elbling qualittswein 2008
11,0% alcohol. Deeper and more intense nose. More minerality and stoney hints. A little fuller in the mouth. More structure and again a highly refreshing wine. Fine minerality and hints of citrus and a touch of pear. Higher and cleansing acids. Better length. Very good wine. Pure and refreshing. I really like this. As good as elbling gets. Sold in 0,75 liter bottles. Great buy for 4,50 .
Weissburgunder qualittswein 2008
11,5% alcohol. Very light colour. Lightly floral and typical greenish notes on the nose. Hints of citrus. A little bigger, with some fat in the mouth. More fruit-notes and less minerality. Quite typical and pure weissburgunder. Rounder and kinder structure, yet fine acidity for this grape and good length. A good, pure and lighter weissburgunder. Price: 5,80 .
Auxerrois qualittswein 2008
11,5% alcohol. The nose is not unlike the weissburgunder. But this is a little fruitier with more pear-notes and flowers. A touch of spice. More powerful in the mouth and the fruit shows a little more interest. Some minerality. Still a grapey character. Lower acids than the weissburgunder and medium length. Good wine. Price: 5,80 .
Grauburgunder qualittswein 2008
12,5% alcohol. More chalk on the nose, showing more of the muschelkalk. A little more tropical fruit and ripeness. Clearly the most powerful wine of the whites. This has more initial fruit in the mouth. Slightly tropical elements and with a fine hint of minerality and chalk. This has good acids and is still on the slim side of a grauburgunder. Good length. Very good wine. Price: 6,40 .
Elbling cremant brut NV
AP: 07 09. 100% elbling from the 2007-vintage. 12,5% alcohol. Clear citrusy nose. Smells almost a little fresh and acidic. Light yeast and stone. Slim and refreshing sekt in the mouth with a fine and cleansing quality. Neutral, slightly stoney fruit. Bubbles perhaps not the smallest. Fine balance and long citrusy finish. Good sekt. Price: 8,50 .
Liaison cremant brut NV
AP: 09 08. 60% sptburgunder from the 2005-vintage. 40% weissburgunder from 2006. Aged 28 months on the lees. 13% alcohol. Lightly golden/blush-like colour. The nose shows sptburgunder-notes of flowers, biscuits. Some minerality and chalk. Fuller sekt in the mouth with a little sweeter fruit, showing some dosage. Hints of biscuits, chalk, sweet flowers. Lightly complex. Good acidity and dry, crisp finish. Very good sekt. Price: 9,50 .
Sptburgunder qualittswein 2007
12 months barriques, mostly used. This is not yet out for sale. Red colour. Fruity sptburgunder showing young primary fruit on the nose. Light oak and some hints of spice. Well-balanced. Medium bodied in the mouth. Again this is a very young wine showing highly primary at this stage. But the fruit is pure and well-focused. Some oak and slight bitterness on the finish from the oak. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. Very good sptburgunder that shows promise, but needs a year or two to develop and integrate the oak a little more. Very good wine. Price: 9,50 .
Sptburgunder qualittswein 2006
13% alcohol. This shows a light evolvement and some complexity on the nose. Still fruity with hints of autumn-leafs, spice and light oak. Medium bodied in the mouth. This is in a more harmonic stage, showing a core of fruit with fine hints of some development and the oak more aromatically integrated. Medium acidity and decent length. A nice 06 sptburgunder, but this is lacking a little of the freshness and finer structure of the 07-vintage. The 06 is drinking far better today, but the 07 will be the better wine in the end. Very good. Price: 9,50 .
The tasting of the wines at Weingut Stephan Steinmetz showed wines that displayed focused and clear grape-typicity. They lack the finest minerality and complexity of the great vineyards, but are generally well-balanced wines that are sold at very fair prices. My two favorites here is the Elbling qualittswein and the 07 sptburgunder. The first is a great little wine for its purity, transparency and intensity. The price-tag is very low. The same can be said about the 2007 sptburgunder. Rarely will you find a sptburgunder of such quality at such a price. It is a finely tuned wine that avoids both the over-oakiness and the tartness of fruit that plagues too many german sptburgunders.