On Wednesday, Rudi Wiest and his merry band of German growers, less this year than in previous years, descended upon the Tribeca Grill to show off their 2009's. More on those wines at a later date. Before the tasting I attended a seminar on the top 2008's. I have been pretty down on the 2008's as a whole, but have had some amazing wines, but also some clunkers. The '08 Felseneck from Schafer-Frohlich was notable as I mentioned earlier this year. So I was skeptical, yet excited to taste Rudi's top '08's as the man has a palate to be reckoned with. What a great seminar it was with the dry wines showing incredibly. Not that the sweet wines did not show well, but the dry wines were in another league. Onto the seminar.
The first wine was the 2008 Kunstler Stielweg Alte Reben and this was maybe my favorite rendition yet of this great wine. The nose was funky, mineral, peachy, creamy and had great breadth. The palate had a lovely tangy citricity that grew more intense as the wine aerated. Ripe, but not too ripe, but perfectly ripe in the context of this wine. The acids were amazing. Ripe but very intense. Probably why I loved the wine so much. The palate had pinpoint precision, more than any dry Kunstler I have ever had. There was a lovely focused minerality all over this wine. The nose, the finish, the mid-palate all were swimming in minerals. The finish drags on and on. Epic, compelling stuff.
Next up was the 2008 Rebholz Ganz Horn Grosses Gewachs. Ganz Horn is a separate section of Im Sonnenschein that has a special soil type. I'm not sure as Hansjorg's accent can be tricky. The website is in German too and the translation's provided by Google are laughable at best. Very expressive nose of mineral, sea air and something I call "hot rocks." Lots of dirt and mineral, but nuanced and ever-changing. One of those beguiling noses that you cannot stop smelling. Crystalline in its purity. The palate had the lovely high-acid of '08, but perfectly ripe acids and not too ripe fruit. Or should I say over-ripe fruit. That was a theme with these dry '08's. The fruit was ripe enough to support all the other elements of the wine. Classic I guess you could say. Tension may be a better word. The fruit seemed more ripe than the Kunstler, but that is to be expected in the warmer Pfalz.But it was not all fruit as my notes indicated. I wrote "mineral as fuck." The palate had that mouthwatering aspect that made this wine easily slurpable at this young age, but Rebholz really needs age for the wines to be fully expressive. The finish was something to behold as it did not end. And when it did end, it left a wonderfully salty extract on the palate. Life affirming wine.
If the Ganz Horn was life affirming I'm not sure how I would describe the 2008 Rebholz Im Sonnenschein Grosses Gewachs which was uber-life affirming. Very chalky, complex and detailed nose. Even more detailed than the Matter Horn, I mean Ganz Horn. Some truffles were sneaking through. Maybe not truffles but there was an umami aroma that was original as it was unexpected. Also some clove, spice aromas happening too. The palate had amazing presence, with density and lots of ripe fruit on a sturdy frame. Acidity is a given. The purity was quite nice and there even was some confectionary notes to mix it up a bit. Sappy extract on the epic finish. In five years this will be amazing. Every year Rebholz's GG's just get better and better. Cannot wait to taste Kastanienbusch and Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder when I visit in August.
Next up was the 2008 Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg "M" Grosses Gewachs which easily is the best Pfeffingen Riesling I have ever had. People know this estate for its always excellent collection of Schuerebe but the Rieslings have been really on point since '06 and I think now surpass the Schue's in quality. The nose was restrained for a Pfeffingen wine but still had great nuance. Very smokey nose with lovely stoney minerality. This was a touch less precise than the previous two Rebholz wines. The palate had the highest acidity of all the dry wines presented. Amazingly structured and young, but what a juicy, explosive, long finish that holds promise for the future. One of the most backward young Pfeffingen wines I have ever tasted. And that is a good thing.
Now there was a palate break for around 30 seconds, I mean this a Rudi Wiest seminar, so I was grateful for the long break. Now we moved onto the fruity wines and the Mosel
We started off with the 2008 Kunstler Hocheimer Reichestal Kabinett which was ok. Mineral, floral ad delicate nose. Very juicy palate impression due to the great acidity. The palate was like biting into a cake of Riesling. It was pretty and very creamy. Suprisingly soft for a 2008.
Next up was the 2008 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese which was so good. I love Prum in leaner vintages and this was a stupendous WS Spatlese. Creamy mineral, slatey nose. Even a bit leesy for a Prum. Shocking I know. Amazingly pure. The palate was very young and closed but showed the wine's enormous potential. The finish was actually a little short but the acidity on this wine was electric. Strasburg-like!
We moved onto the 2008 Monchhof Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese which was a lovely wine as usual. Ripe, spicey, pure and balanced in an easygoing style. Lots of puppy-like peach fruit and gorgeous slate aromas. Open for business.
Next up was the 2008 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese "Erste Lage". The high acids and lean quality I think greatly benefited Schloss Lieser in 2008. Lovely, evocative nose of rain water, earth, mineral and slate. Not many fermentation aromas which is a nice change for a Lieser wine. There was a hint of nail-polish remover, so it's still a Lieser wine in that respect. The palate was creamy, ripe and closed but had a sneaky finish that was long and detailed. Very filigreed. Needs time. Maybe even more than the Prum.
The final wine of the event was the 2008 Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese "Erste Lage." This showed very young but still slayed me. Elegant, mineral nose with some earth scents and a touch of that Goldie flamboyance. Much more to come with age. Like sweet creamed corn on the palate with alive acidity. Very ripe and maybe a just a tad diffuse, which is the common issue I find with the sweeter '08's. Very good.
The first wine was the 2008 Kunstler Stielweg Alte Reben and this was maybe my favorite rendition yet of this great wine. The nose was funky, mineral, peachy, creamy and had great breadth. The palate had a lovely tangy citricity that grew more intense as the wine aerated. Ripe, but not too ripe, but perfectly ripe in the context of this wine. The acids were amazing. Ripe but very intense. Probably why I loved the wine so much. The palate had pinpoint precision, more than any dry Kunstler I have ever had. There was a lovely focused minerality all over this wine. The nose, the finish, the mid-palate all were swimming in minerals. The finish drags on and on. Epic, compelling stuff.
Next up was the 2008 Rebholz Ganz Horn Grosses Gewachs. Ganz Horn is a separate section of Im Sonnenschein that has a special soil type. I'm not sure as Hansjorg's accent can be tricky. The website is in German too and the translation's provided by Google are laughable at best. Very expressive nose of mineral, sea air and something I call "hot rocks." Lots of dirt and mineral, but nuanced and ever-changing. One of those beguiling noses that you cannot stop smelling. Crystalline in its purity. The palate had the lovely high-acid of '08, but perfectly ripe acids and not too ripe fruit. Or should I say over-ripe fruit. That was a theme with these dry '08's. The fruit was ripe enough to support all the other elements of the wine. Classic I guess you could say. Tension may be a better word. The fruit seemed more ripe than the Kunstler, but that is to be expected in the warmer Pfalz.But it was not all fruit as my notes indicated. I wrote "mineral as fuck." The palate had that mouthwatering aspect that made this wine easily slurpable at this young age, but Rebholz really needs age for the wines to be fully expressive. The finish was something to behold as it did not end. And when it did end, it left a wonderfully salty extract on the palate. Life affirming wine.
If the Ganz Horn was life affirming I'm not sure how I would describe the 2008 Rebholz Im Sonnenschein Grosses Gewachs which was uber-life affirming. Very chalky, complex and detailed nose. Even more detailed than the Matter Horn, I mean Ganz Horn. Some truffles were sneaking through. Maybe not truffles but there was an umami aroma that was original as it was unexpected. Also some clove, spice aromas happening too. The palate had amazing presence, with density and lots of ripe fruit on a sturdy frame. Acidity is a given. The purity was quite nice and there even was some confectionary notes to mix it up a bit. Sappy extract on the epic finish. In five years this will be amazing. Every year Rebholz's GG's just get better and better. Cannot wait to taste Kastanienbusch and Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder when I visit in August.
Next up was the 2008 Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg "M" Grosses Gewachs which easily is the best Pfeffingen Riesling I have ever had. People know this estate for its always excellent collection of Schuerebe but the Rieslings have been really on point since '06 and I think now surpass the Schue's in quality. The nose was restrained for a Pfeffingen wine but still had great nuance. Very smokey nose with lovely stoney minerality. This was a touch less precise than the previous two Rebholz wines. The palate had the highest acidity of all the dry wines presented. Amazingly structured and young, but what a juicy, explosive, long finish that holds promise for the future. One of the most backward young Pfeffingen wines I have ever tasted. And that is a good thing.
Now there was a palate break for around 30 seconds, I mean this a Rudi Wiest seminar, so I was grateful for the long break. Now we moved onto the fruity wines and the Mosel
We started off with the 2008 Kunstler Hocheimer Reichestal Kabinett which was ok. Mineral, floral ad delicate nose. Very juicy palate impression due to the great acidity. The palate was like biting into a cake of Riesling. It was pretty and very creamy. Suprisingly soft for a 2008.
Next up was the 2008 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese which was so good. I love Prum in leaner vintages and this was a stupendous WS Spatlese. Creamy mineral, slatey nose. Even a bit leesy for a Prum. Shocking I know. Amazingly pure. The palate was very young and closed but showed the wine's enormous potential. The finish was actually a little short but the acidity on this wine was electric. Strasburg-like!
We moved onto the 2008 Monchhof Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese which was a lovely wine as usual. Ripe, spicey, pure and balanced in an easygoing style. Lots of puppy-like peach fruit and gorgeous slate aromas. Open for business.
Next up was the 2008 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese "Erste Lage". The high acids and lean quality I think greatly benefited Schloss Lieser in 2008. Lovely, evocative nose of rain water, earth, mineral and slate. Not many fermentation aromas which is a nice change for a Lieser wine. There was a hint of nail-polish remover, so it's still a Lieser wine in that respect. The palate was creamy, ripe and closed but had a sneaky finish that was long and detailed. Very filigreed. Needs time. Maybe even more than the Prum.
The final wine of the event was the 2008 Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese "Erste Lage." This showed very young but still slayed me. Elegant, mineral nose with some earth scents and a touch of that Goldie flamboyance. Much more to come with age. Like sweet creamed corn on the palate with alive acidity. Very ripe and maybe a just a tad diffuse, which is the common issue I find with the sweeter '08's. Very good.