a sensitive topic

K

kirk wallace

kirk wallace
'03 MSR -- in this case Toni Jost, Bacharacher Hahn Spat.

it is a lovely, delicious and persistent wine. Balanced, with a supple spine of acid; and yes, b/c it's '03 there is plenty of ripe fruit, but never sloppy or unfocused. This is white flowers, tart grapes, white peaches and barely ripe pears, while giving no sense of aging or fatigue. And actually tastes like merely a ripe Spatlese and not an Auslese masquerading as something less ripe.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Pedantry
'03 MSR -- in this case Toni Jost, Bacharacher Hahn Spat
Click to expand...

Isn't this Mittelrhein?

Regardless, glad to hear it drank well.
Click to expand...

Yes, of course. Mittelrhein all the way. I won't even fix the OP; let it serve as a warning to me, if no one else.
 
We all err. But still interesting because I don't remember Jost as the most streamlined or elegant of producers. (Although I haven't tasted any of their wines in a few years). Perhaps that's why you subconsciously wrote MSR, because of how this bottle performed.
 
I hate to say it, but the 03's I bought have been working out much better than I expected. Though mine are really MSRs.

Jost has had a good, fairly quiet reputation for a while, it seems. Haven't tried one yet myself.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I hate to say it, but the 03's I bought have been working out much better than I expected. Though mine are really MSRs.

Jost has had a good, fairly quiet reputation for a while, it seems. Haven't tried one yet myself.
Click to expand...

Yes. '03 Christoffel, Merkelbach in particular, IMHO.
 
So those 03 Christoffels are coming around? The ones that got sold extra-cheaply and were made by Eymael? (Or something like that). I remember a couple of years after release they seemed so simple and not even really worth the $10 discount prices, so I was happy to drink them up as Simple Sweetness. Oh well.
 
I have not enjoyed any of the '03 Christoffels. Young they were fat and flat. Right now at least they are slimmer and flat to my taste.

Willi Schaefer did a good job in 2003.
 
Oh well, sometimes having unrefined tastes works to one's advantages. The 03 UW Kab became pretty good with time, I thought, though not typical of MSR; the SL is getting better, and the AL is light and faery-like right now. I've been impressed by the acid spine that hoves into view with the passage of time, though the flavor superstructure is not exactly what I expect in wines from this area.

Life's full of surprises.
 
originally posted by David M. Bueker:
I have not enjoyed any of the '03 Christoffels. Young they were fat and flat. Right now at least they are slimmer and flat to my taste.

Willi Schaefer did a good job in 2003.
Click to expand...

You know, David, call me easy, but I have yet to find a Willi S wine that i don't like. I recall not being sure about the '06's, but i bought them anyway and have not revisted them, but yes, his '03s are just fine. As for Christoffel, the ET spat and UW kab have not been flat of late, to my taste. a bit fat/ripe, yes, but not detrimental to me, but I do admit to liking that. The '09s however, as least the Thiese tasting, I thought were awful and bought none. Maybe I'll regret that, in time.
 
Agreed on Schaefer - the wines are consistently excellent, and the only disappointment I've had was a bottle of his 2000 Domprobst Sptlese last year.

Haven't been a big fan of Christoffel's 03s, but have found a few other really enjoyable 03s from Diel, Catoir and recently von Othegraven.
And I'm with you on the '09 Christoffels from the Theise tasting - found the lot quite underwhelming (really disappointing, as I really liked his 08s, particularly the Treppchen wines) and didn't bother buying anything.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace: The '09s however, as least the Thiese tasting, I thought were awful and bought none. Maybe I'll regret that, in time.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm sure you'll find something else to buy and drink in the meantime!
 
Lots of really good German 2003s -- it was the most successful region in Europe for that year, IMO, followed by red Loires and (believe it or not) SOME red Burgundies. In white Burgundies, Montrachet was great, Corton-Charlemagne was sometimes great, and there were some surprisingly good Meursaults; forget the rest, for the most part.
 
My recent couple of experiences with the 03 Christoffel Auslesen have been positive -- not mind-bending, but very nice wines, still primary and sweet but coming together in a way I wouldn't have guessed a few years ago.
 
Funny, I thought the 03 white Bugundies were pretty much hands-off across the board - but I pretty much only buy Chablis and Savingy-Pernand. I've been curious about the Burgundy reds. IIRC reading here and there at the time, many producers acidified, the thought of which is somehow unappetizing.
 
Regarding the '09 Christoffels: with the exception of 2001 I have never been impressed by the wines at the June Di tasting. Then six months later they are completely different. Of course they are much more available than they used to be, so buying late is no issue.

Kirk - Salil and I had a bottle of the 2006 Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese last week. It was quite delicious if young.
 
I thought both Saar and Ruwer guys made good wine in '03. The Rheinhold Haart wines have settled down, too. Had a good, and I think representative, line up of SUH the other day; clean, sometimes flat, but tasting slimmer and fresher than at release. The wines I would stay away from are those towards the dry end of the spectrum, where the flatness becomes problematic and in some cases, where the alcohol (e.g. Clemens Busch) is intrusive.

The 'flaws' of the vintage, if one chooses to view them as such, are more apparent alongside its siblings, particularly '04. But to do so is to leave unnecessary gaps at the table, in my view.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Funny, I thought the 03 white Bugundies were pretty much hands-off across the board - but I pretty much only buy Chablis and Savingy-Pernand. I've been curious about the Burgundy reds. IIRC reading here and there at the time, many producers acidified, the thought of which is somehow unappetizing.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying that there aren't better places to put your money (except maybe for a handful of red Burgundies and some late harvest Germans and you've got 30-50 years to wait), just saying that there's more quality out there than people want to recognize.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top