Impressions of some older Catoirs

S

Salil Benegal

Salil Benegal
Been opening a bunch of these over the past few weeks, mostly with Indian cooking. Korma, paratha, and Haardter Bürgergarten Spätlese is one hell of a combination.

1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken -
This was a showstopper of a wine a few years ago when I last had it; hauntingly complex and at peak. Sadly this bottle seems a few years past peak. The aromatics are still brilliant, showing bright tropical fruit, exotic herbal and floral notes, and mature smokiness, but the palate is flat, tired, and the fruit there is faded. Alas.

2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2134 - Just an amazingly complex, powerful, and piercingly intense wine that kept getting better and more fragrant with air.

2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2133 - opened this maybe a week after I'd opened the 2134. This is spectacular as well. The fruit's still lusciously rich and tropical and framed by lots of mature smokiness and other burnished/honeyed notes. It doesn't quite have the same piercing intensity and sheer power as the #2134 bottling - but to be fair, this one is a solid 10, that one goes to 11. It's a brilliant wine and I will probably open my last bottle soon.

1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese - deep gold in colour, darker than the '01s were, and pretty much everything I could ask for in mature Riesling. Layers of ripe citrus, tropical fruit, smoke, fresh herbs, and an intense earthy/rocky mineral character all coming together into a package that's complex powerful and impeccably balanced. Drink these if you have em - I can't imagine this getting any better.

1997 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Auslese - liked this a lot, but I think I enjoyed it more a few years ago. It's mellowed out a bit since I last it had it; the ripe apricot and peachy fruit has taken on a more burnished and smoky tinge, and the palate feels gentler and more creamy.

1998 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein - fucking incredible. The best showing I've had from this wine yet - this is a fireworks display. Such intense but clear fruit and that high toned horseradishy spice Eiswein tends to show, a high wire balancing act of incredible sweetness and almost searing acidity, this is pretty much everything I want great Eiswein to be.
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:
Impressions of some older CatoirsBeen opening a bunch of these over the past few weeks, mostly with Indian cooking. Korma, paratha, and Haardter Bürgergarten Spätlese is one hell of a combination.

1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken -
This was a showstopper of a wine a few years ago when I last had it; hauntingly complex and at peak. Sadly this bottle seems a few years past peak. The aromatics are still brilliant, showing bright tropical fruit, exotic herbal and floral notes, and mature smokiness, but the palate is flat, tired, and the fruit there is faded. Alas.

2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2134 - Just an amazingly complex, powerful, and piercingly intense wine that kept getting better and more fragrant with air.

2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2133 - opened this maybe a week after I'd opened the 2134. This is spectacular as well. The fruit's still lusciously rich and tropical and framed by lots of mature smokiness and other burnished/honeyed notes. It doesn't quite have the same piercing intensity and sheer power as the #2134 bottling - but to be fair, this one is a solid 10, that one goes to 11. It's a brilliant wine and I will probably open my last bottle soon.

1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese - deep gold in colour, darker than the '01s were, and pretty much everything I could ask for in mature Riesling. Layers of ripe citrus, tropical fruit, smoke, fresh herbs, and an intense earthy/rocky mineral character all coming together into a package that's complex powerful and impeccably balanced. Drink these if you have em - I can't imagine this getting any better.

1997 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Auslese - liked this a lot, but I think I enjoyed it more a few years ago. It's mellowed out a bit since I last it had it; the ripe apricot and peachy fruit has taken on a more burnished and smoky tinge, and the palate feels gentler and more creamy.

1998 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein - fucking incredible. The best showing I've had from this wine yet - this is a fireworks display. Such intense but clear fruit and that high toned horseradishy spice Eiswein tends to show, a high wire balancing act of incredible sweetness and almost searing acidity, this is pretty much everything I want great Eiswein to be.
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Thanks for those notes. I don't think Pfalz spätlesen age quite as well as those from the Mosel and Saar. Catoir wines had such amazing fruit when young, I probably drank all of them within a few years. Loved scheurebe and rieslaner from them, too. I wonder if you have tasted the most recent vintages, compared to those made by Hans-Günther Schwartz?
 
My own purchases/tasting history haven't supported any generalizations about ageability from region to region. It's more producer by producer, and Catoir's been a reliable one.
 
I haven't tasted any Catoirs 80s and older so can't comment there, but I've had 70s Spätlese and Auslese from Burklin-Wolf and Bassermann-Jordan that aged just fine.

Re. recent vintages, I've tried them but been largely unimpressed. I've had the odd bottle here or there that has really impressed (e.g. the '08 Herzog Rieslaner, the '07 Muskateller TBA, and a couple of the '05 Riesling Spätlese), but for the most part the wines are not anywhere near the same level. And given both current pricing and the annoyingly heavy/oversized bottles that make them a pain to store, I'm not a buyer.
 
Great to see you posting, Salil. And on some of my favorites. As I reported earlier this year I thought 98 HB Spatlese (not Haut Bailly or Haut Brion) took the slight nod over the 2001 2134 side by side, basically because 98 is on an incredible plateau of drinkability, while 2134 is still unwinding. Both amazing to me as well.

I think it’s time to finish 98 HB Halbtrocken. There seems like no reason to wait especially if there’s bottle variation, so at this point it’s either brilliant still or getting tired. Maybe I’ll pull my last bottle this winter.

Do you still have all of these in the cellar?
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Catoir Burgergarten is another one of those wines I've been accumulating a vertical of and never get around to do anything about.
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You should be enjoying them! You won’t regret popping corks with one of your homemade Chinese dishes — just tone down the spice a touch if it’s Szechuan.
 
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

Do you still have all of these in the cellar?
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Thankfully, have all of those except the 97 Rieslaner and the 98 halbtrocken - those were my last bottles of both.

Also have some of the 98 and 01 Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlesen remaining - one of those is likely getting opened over the holidays.

And agree on the drinkability of '98.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Catoir Burgergarten is another one of those wines I've been accumulating a vertical of and never get around to do anything about.
Click to expand...

the obvious answer is to visit NYC and open them at a dinner to which I'm invited.
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

Do you still have all of these in the cellar?
Click to expand...
Thankfully, have all of those except the 97 Rieslaner and the 98 halbtrocken - those were my last bottles of both.

Also have some of the 98 and 01 Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlesen remaining - one of those is likely getting opened over the holidays.

And agree on the drinkability of '98.
Click to expand...

I still don't have a ton of experience with old Riesling, but that 01 Scheurebe Spätlese you brought to a Szechuan Gourmet jeebus (in 2009!) remains one the best couple bottles of German wine I've ever had.

Cheers!

Kevin
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Catoir Burgergarten is another one of those wines I've been accumulating a vertical of and never get around to do anything about.
Click to expand...

the obvious answer is to visit NYC and open them at a dinner to which I'm invited.
Click to expand...

I like Jay's idea.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Catoir Burgergarten is another one of those wines I've been accumulating a vertical of and never get around to do anything about.
Click to expand...

the obvious answer is to visit NYC and open them at a dinner to which I'm invited.
Click to expand...

I like Jay's idea.
Click to expand...

Don’t get too excited. His stuff isn’t that old.
 
originally posted by maureen:
originally posted by Brad Kane:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Catoir Burgergarten is another one of those wines I've been accumulating a vertical of and never get around to do anything about.
Click to expand...

the obvious answer is to visit NYC and open them at a dinner to which I'm invited.
Click to expand...

I like Jay's idea.
Click to expand...

Don’t get too excited. His stuff isn’t that old.
Click to expand...
You underestimate the time it takes to plan one of these things
 
Ended up opening the 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese tonight with chicken tikka and parathas.

Holy shit this is incredible. That exuberant mango and other luscious tropical fruit is still here in spades, along with all that Scheurebe herbal/floral awesome, the richness and intensity of a modern Auslese and a shitload of acidity to match. One of the absolute best wines I've had in a long time in terms of pure, visceral pleasure.
 
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