I was able to spend two days last week visiting wineries in the Mosel-Saar region, and while I greatly prefer lurking, thought it might be worthwhile to make a quick post on my visits. It was an interesting moment to be visiting, as many winemakers had recently bottled some or all of their 2015 wines, and I was able to taste a good number of 2014s and 2015s. Based on what I was able to taste, I share the general excitement about the 2015 vintage in Germany. The wines I tasted had terrific mixtures of mineral and fruit flavors and noticeable but not, to my taste, obtrusive levels of acidity. In terms of vintage comparisons, many felt it aligned with 1975, with additional votes for 1971 and 2001 as companion vintages.
Some highlights from my visits in chronological order
I’m planning to buy a bunch of the 2015 Goldgrube Kabinett from Daniel Vollenweider, which he was bundling up the morning of my visit for export to the States. Daniel thought the sample I was tasting was suffering from a bit of bottling shock, but goodness, I thought it was terrific with a huge nose and incredible length.
I hadn’t previously encountered the wines of Martin Müllen, and the twenty (!) different bottles he shared were really convincing ... mouth-watering in fact. I was particularly taken with the Hühnerberg vineyard, which you can find ranked as a highly regarded parcel on the classic tax map. It’s tucked back from the Mosel in a side valley in the general vicinity of Trarbach. The 2013 Hühnerberg Spätlese is a rare mixture of freshness and acidity, with a hint of raisin character.
I had a cask sample of Weiser-Künstler’s 2015 Ellergrub Auslese, and can’t wait for that to get to the States. It was classic Auslese, with dried apricot flavors and a long mineral finish. Here’s hoping that the hard working folks at Vom Boden bring gobs of this to the States! That said, in all honesty I am now among those who would buy anything these folks make, especially when it comes from the Ellergrub.
Everything was wonderful at Willi Schaefer, so it is hard to know what I might highlight. I really enjoyed the 2015 Dompropsts, whose flavors were distinctive at the various predicates, but somehow retained a thread of darker fruits and earthiness from Kabinett through Beerenauslese. In a different vein, the 2015 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese was an amazing wine, with its vineyard-signature floral and apple notes, and maybe a hint of mint on the finish.
And finally, at Weingut Zilliken I was very impressed by the Feinherbs from the Rausch that I tasted, but which I haven’t seen in the States. The 2015 Auction Spätlese is a vivid, elegant Spätlese, with tropical flavors. That wine and the concluding sip of the 1990 Eiswein were so good that I stayed in a great mood even while being stuck in rush hour traffic in Trier.
John
Some highlights from my visits in chronological order
I’m planning to buy a bunch of the 2015 Goldgrube Kabinett from Daniel Vollenweider, which he was bundling up the morning of my visit for export to the States. Daniel thought the sample I was tasting was suffering from a bit of bottling shock, but goodness, I thought it was terrific with a huge nose and incredible length.
I hadn’t previously encountered the wines of Martin Müllen, and the twenty (!) different bottles he shared were really convincing ... mouth-watering in fact. I was particularly taken with the Hühnerberg vineyard, which you can find ranked as a highly regarded parcel on the classic tax map. It’s tucked back from the Mosel in a side valley in the general vicinity of Trarbach. The 2013 Hühnerberg Spätlese is a rare mixture of freshness and acidity, with a hint of raisin character.
I had a cask sample of Weiser-Künstler’s 2015 Ellergrub Auslese, and can’t wait for that to get to the States. It was classic Auslese, with dried apricot flavors and a long mineral finish. Here’s hoping that the hard working folks at Vom Boden bring gobs of this to the States! That said, in all honesty I am now among those who would buy anything these folks make, especially when it comes from the Ellergrub.
Everything was wonderful at Willi Schaefer, so it is hard to know what I might highlight. I really enjoyed the 2015 Dompropsts, whose flavors were distinctive at the various predicates, but somehow retained a thread of darker fruits and earthiness from Kabinett through Beerenauslese. In a different vein, the 2015 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese was an amazing wine, with its vineyard-signature floral and apple notes, and maybe a hint of mint on the finish.
And finally, at Weingut Zilliken I was very impressed by the Feinherbs from the Rausch that I tasted, but which I haven’t seen in the States. The 2015 Auction Spätlese is a vivid, elegant Spätlese, with tropical flavors. That wine and the concluding sip of the 1990 Eiswein were so good that I stayed in a great mood even while being stuck in rush hour traffic in Trier.
John
