Okay ... I tasted 57 wines at the Gränd Tasting of Rieslingfeier this year, which was way past my limit for being able to give reasonable assessments of the wines. That said, the transparency of Riesling was on full display, with fascinating variations as one moved between vineyards and vintages and Winzers. And the tasting was a great way to gain a sense of the 2016 vintage in Germany. I easily doubled the number of 2016ers I have tried. While the lousy weather in the spring led to a short crop, the wine that was produced is very good and has produced a lot of nice wines, especially the trockens, feinherbs, and Kabinetts. And almost everything that was being poured fits into my category of "wines I would be happy to drink." I can’t claim I found a uniform, distinguishing characteristic of the vintage, but I encountered quite a few wines where I wrote “saline minerality,” which is not something I was finding in 2014 or 2015.
Below are a few highlights, ordered by the table number.
I had to come back and re-taste at the Trimbach table after taking a short break, as the Trimbach style is quite different than the German wines. Even with the break, palate fatigue and palate disorientation were an issue. That said, I really enjoyed the 2014 Riesling Reserve and the 2015 Selection de Vieilles Vignes which had quite a bit more structure than the handful of 2015 wines from Alsace I have tried. The 2008 Clos St Hune was still quite tight and I can understand why they have been holding it back for so long. I had a chance to chat briefly with Jean Trimbach, who had complimentary things to say about the upcoming 2017 vintage.
Koehler-Ruprecht brought their 2008 Saumagen Auslese Trocken, which was a serene and beautifully balanced wine.
Immich-Batterieberg had a 2014 Ellergrub that was a beautiful mix of fennel and grapefruit.
I thought the 2016 Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett from Willi Schaefer was outstanding. It was elegant, fresh, and had a complex mix of floral and citrus. It was a great foil to the 2015 Graacher Domprobst Spätlese that was a rich mix of cherries and earth. Sorry, I didn't note which specific 2015 GD Spätlese it was. Maybe it was the #10, but my notes are less than clear.
Selbach-Oster was pouring the 2016 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese feinherb "Uralte Reben" which was stunning. Vines planted in 1909 are producing small berries that turned into a glass of peaches and apricots with some zesty acidity. One of my favorite wines at the tasting, even though it wasn't my favorite wine at the table. Sometime recently they found a few dozen bottles of their 1976 Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese tucked in the cellar and decided to offer it for tasting. While there was some botrytis, at this stage it presented as a very nicely balanced, elegent wine where the flavors were integrated rather than competing with each other.
It's great to get to taste the wines of Egon Müller, especially since they are in an uncomfortable price range for me. The 2016 Scharzhofberg Kabinett Alte Reben was one of the true highlights for me of the tasting. This isn't the regular Kabinett, but rather the version that is sold at auction. And darn it all, it was absolutely beautiful. It has the same general character of the basic Kabinett, solidly on the dry end of the spectrum, with a really captivating interweaving of floral notes and something I’m going to call gooseberry. I say “Darn it all” because this ended up selling for 180 euro/bottle at auction. Herr Müller commented that he brought this one because Rieslingfeier and the Gränd Tasting gathers folks who really like Riesling, so it was a good place to let folks taste the wine. His generosity also extended to pouring the 2005 Scharzhofberg Auslese. There were a lot of wonderful wines being poured at the tasting, and even among this group, this really was outstanding. It is nicely integrated, still youthful, with fascinating tangerine aspects and ending with some wonderful tropical flavors.
Hofgut Falkenstein was another table where I wrote "saline minerals" on a number of the wines. The highlight for me was the 2016 Herrenberg Kabinett Feinherb #4, from a special parcel within the vineyard. Compared to the trocken Kabinett this had more earth and herbs (thyme?) and the added richness one should expect from a feinherb.
The 2016 Barrel X from Lauer once again provides a tremendous Saar-to-price ratio. Grapefruit and slate for under $20 a bottle.
Anyone have stories to share from the Rieslingfeier dinner?
Below are a few highlights, ordered by the table number.
I had to come back and re-taste at the Trimbach table after taking a short break, as the Trimbach style is quite different than the German wines. Even with the break, palate fatigue and palate disorientation were an issue. That said, I really enjoyed the 2014 Riesling Reserve and the 2015 Selection de Vieilles Vignes which had quite a bit more structure than the handful of 2015 wines from Alsace I have tried. The 2008 Clos St Hune was still quite tight and I can understand why they have been holding it back for so long. I had a chance to chat briefly with Jean Trimbach, who had complimentary things to say about the upcoming 2017 vintage.
Koehler-Ruprecht brought their 2008 Saumagen Auslese Trocken, which was a serene and beautifully balanced wine.
Immich-Batterieberg had a 2014 Ellergrub that was a beautiful mix of fennel and grapefruit.
I thought the 2016 Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett from Willi Schaefer was outstanding. It was elegant, fresh, and had a complex mix of floral and citrus. It was a great foil to the 2015 Graacher Domprobst Spätlese that was a rich mix of cherries and earth. Sorry, I didn't note which specific 2015 GD Spätlese it was. Maybe it was the #10, but my notes are less than clear.
Selbach-Oster was pouring the 2016 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese feinherb "Uralte Reben" which was stunning. Vines planted in 1909 are producing small berries that turned into a glass of peaches and apricots with some zesty acidity. One of my favorite wines at the tasting, even though it wasn't my favorite wine at the table. Sometime recently they found a few dozen bottles of their 1976 Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese tucked in the cellar and decided to offer it for tasting. While there was some botrytis, at this stage it presented as a very nicely balanced, elegent wine where the flavors were integrated rather than competing with each other.
It's great to get to taste the wines of Egon Müller, especially since they are in an uncomfortable price range for me. The 2016 Scharzhofberg Kabinett Alte Reben was one of the true highlights for me of the tasting. This isn't the regular Kabinett, but rather the version that is sold at auction. And darn it all, it was absolutely beautiful. It has the same general character of the basic Kabinett, solidly on the dry end of the spectrum, with a really captivating interweaving of floral notes and something I’m going to call gooseberry. I say “Darn it all” because this ended up selling for 180 euro/bottle at auction. Herr Müller commented that he brought this one because Rieslingfeier and the Gränd Tasting gathers folks who really like Riesling, so it was a good place to let folks taste the wine. His generosity also extended to pouring the 2005 Scharzhofberg Auslese. There were a lot of wonderful wines being poured at the tasting, and even among this group, this really was outstanding. It is nicely integrated, still youthful, with fascinating tangerine aspects and ending with some wonderful tropical flavors.
Hofgut Falkenstein was another table where I wrote "saline minerals" on a number of the wines. The highlight for me was the 2016 Herrenberg Kabinett Feinherb #4, from a special parcel within the vineyard. Compared to the trocken Kabinett this had more earth and herbs (thyme?) and the added richness one should expect from a feinherb.
The 2016 Barrel X from Lauer once again provides a tremendous Saar-to-price ratio. Grapefruit and slate for under $20 a bottle.
Anyone have stories to share from the Rieslingfeier dinner?