Trade tasting at Boucherville I attended with Rainer on the 15th of September, 2007. The positive surprise of the day was Fritz Hasselbach’s Gunderloch portfolio – they have stopped using cultured yeasts here (or almost, for more details, see below), and it shows!
Clemens Busch Riesling trocken Pündericher Marienburg 2006
Medium-firm and -bodied, good intensity, medium length. Soft herbs. Rating: 86+?
Clemens Busch Riesling Spätlese** trocken Pündericher Marienburg 2006
Stone-dustier, bit longer, but not especially fruity. Rating: 84+/85(+?)
Clemens Busch Riesling Qualitätswein feinherb “Roter Schiefer” 2006
Interesting/attractive minerals and herbs as well as pine forest floor. Bottled the day before, perhaps the reason it was a tiny bit weird to taste. But intense and essentially attractive, nice spices, herbs, iron. Rating: 86+/87(+?)
Clemens Busch Riesling feinherb Fahrlay-Terrassen 2005
Sweeter. Blue slate: more subtle, completely different minerality that extends to an American blueberry characteristic in the fruit. The superior vintage clearly shows, as Rainer said. Rating: ~88
Clemens Busch Riesling Kabinett Pündericher Marienburg 2006
A very sweet and botrytised Kabinett, a bit exotic, tobacco, lime zest. Soft but sufficient acidity (note that in general, the level of acidity in Busch’s 2006 portfolio is higher than in 2003 and 2005!). A slight hole in the middle is what kept me from being as impressed with the 2006 as some earlier vintages, but again, that may have been due to (subjectively no longer easily noticeable) residual yeast. Rating: 87+
Clemens Busch Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule Pündericher Marienburg 2006
The sweetness of an Auslese, and quite a botrytised one. Thick and exotic on the surface, the fruit of an (unoxidized, of course) Tokaji Föbor, certainly concentrated if perhaps not super-dense underneath – but there is good tropical fruit freshness and precision here. Rating: 89+/90
Clemens Busch Riesling Auslese “Falkenlay” 2006
Also rather Tokaj-like, quite thick, super-fresh tropical fruit, rather botrytised mango, complex citrus rind, fresh bitter note. Racy and lively acids unlike most 2006s. Rating: 91+?
Clemens Busch Riesling Beerenauslese “Fahrlay” 2006
Oily, citrusy/balm minty butter, very sweet, not too dried-fruity, mainly candied fruit. Clean, good density. Fairly mouthpuckering acidity. Quite long, not ideal persistence, though. Rating: 92+?
It took me one wine to notice, and two to ask Fritz Hasselbach and wife if they had stopped using cultured yeasts – that is how much of a difference it makes! Having said that, I was informed they will still use a cultured yeast to start off fermentation if necessary, but only a specific strain cultured from their own Rothenberg ones.
Gunderloch Riesling trocken Grosses Gewächs Nackenheim Rothenberg 2006
Herbs, firmly minerally, quite structured, medium-plus length. 86+/87?
Gunderloch Riesling Auslese*** Nackenheim Rothenberg 2006
Quite sweet for this bottling, good body, nice minerals, faint but pretty bitter note. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Gunderloch Riesling Kabinett feinherb “Jean Baptiste” 2006
Nice, as if grey peppery slate dust, bit longer than the previous two wines. Rating: 87+?
Gunderloch Riesling Spätlese Nackenheim Rothenberg 2006
Botrytis-free, sweet, a bit a bit broad in the middle, if partly due to residual yeast, but again, so natural-tasting in contrast to Gunderloch wines of recent vintages. Found it more promising the longer it sat in the glass. Rating: 88+
Gunderloch Riesling Auslese Nackenheim Rothenberg 2006
100% botrytis that is so clean it is barely noticeable at this early stage. A touch of sultana, clean apple, basil, blackcurrant cough drop top note hinting at partial superripeness. Rating: 89+(~90
Gunderloch Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Nackenheim Rothenberg 2006
Bee’s waxy botrytis, less high-toned and refreshing than the standard Auslese, fat and oily. Subjectively soft acidity, since virtually pure tartaric acid (due to/thanks to the thorough ripeness there was little or no malic acid). Good density, touch of melon. Could be livelier, though. Rating: 89+/90(+?)
Reinhold Haart Riesling feinherb Haart to Heart 2006
Nicely intense smoky minerality, quite viscous, good length. A success for this kind of bottling. Rating: 86(+?)
Reinhold Haart Riesling Kabinett Piesporter Goldtröpfchen 2006
A pretty Kabinett, if a bit light. Good ripeness level, a touch of blackcurrant cough drop superripeness. Clean fruit. Medium length. Rating: 86+
Reinhold Haart Riesling Spätlese Piesporter Goldtröpfchen 2006
Nicely sweet yet lively, despite not especially high acidity. Better density than the Kabinett. Rating: 87
Reinhold Haart Riesling Auslese Piesporter Goldtröpfchen 2006
A little botrytis, a bit curranty, sweeter, smoother, more candied. Rating: 87+?
August Kesseler Spätburgunder Qualitätswein trocken Assmannshäuser Höllenberg 2005
Medium-plus ruby-black. Quite Burgundian, if with its own terroir typicity/expression, pretty soil notes. Perfectly ripe Pinot Noir, not a hint at overripeness. Nice oak spice, not overdone. Very long on the finish. Expensive, but very possibly the finest Pinot Noir I have ever had from Germany. Rating: 91
August Kesseler Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule Rüdesheimer Bischhofberg 2006
Fair enough concentration, Auslese sweetness, creamy sultanas, round and soft peach. Medium length. Rating: 87(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2006
Quite sweet and Auslese-like, intense, lively, medium length. A pretty and terroir-typical, expressive Graacher, perhaps the most open of the Prüms on show that day. Liked this even better the second time round (retasted the Prüm portfolio at the end). Rating: 88+?
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
Stone-dustier, nicely complex, longer. Just as sweet, I guess, although not yet showing it to the same extent. Nice thickness to the texture on the mid-palate. Thought I preferred this to the Graacher by a hair the first time round, but realised that preference is for the site (its expression) rather than the wine in this particular case (they really very similar in quality this year). I remember buying Prüm Spätlese at half the price on a yearly basis – sorry folks, but the current price is just too close (all but identical) to standouts of the vintage such as Vollenweider’s Gold Capsule, Weil’s Gräfenberg etc. Rating: 88+?
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Zeltinger Sonnenuhr 2006
Nicely sweet and pure, not a cerebral wine at all, but tasty. Not too long. Rating: 87+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Graacher Himmelreich 2006
More aromatic acidity, more intense especially on the nose, smooth if a bit loose on the palate, and not too long, but another exceptional Graacher for this producer, more minerally in this vintage than either the Zeltinger or the Wehlener. Much more botrytised (as were all the Graacher in this vintage, I was told by Prüm’s youngest daughter) with vanilla and housedust botrytis. Creamy, quite lovely, nicely clean. Bit soft on the aftertaste. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
The typical spring flowers, more light on its feet, if not altogether lighter this year, not super-concentrated, but still fairly so. Nicely integrated stone dust minerality. Not easy to judge (as always at this stage), but the discussion I had with other Riesling fans we know and met there was symptomatic of what is happening here: Auslesen seem lighter than they used to a couple of decades ago, and Gold Capsules are outrageously expensive – anyone looking for bargains will be looking elsewhere these days (Riesling newbies sometimes do not realise that QPR pricing for everything up to the standard Auslese used to be one of the Prüm portfolio’s main assets). Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Graacher Himmelreich 2006
The more botrytised of the two GKAs. Now there came a wine of some density after all. Creamy-clean vanilla botrytis, smoky graphite minerality, smooth fruit. Satiny, faintly oily finish. Rating: 90+/91(+? )
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2006
Lighter on its feet, almost as botrytised (both more or less would be fine with me, but...), this again seems altogether lighter than the respective Graacher in this vintage. But there is the more “aristocratic” signature of the terroir, more hinted-at underlying depth (usually resulting in greater complexity and depth of fruit, as well as greater subtlety of minerality, although perhaps not this year). Rating: ~90?
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Beerenauslese Bernkasteler Badstube 2006
There will be BAs from the top sites also, but those were not yet fit to be shown. Viscous, clean and gluey with botrytis. Balm mint, Amalfi lemon, viscous on the mid-palate and finish. Highest in acidity of the Prüms poured that day, nicely intense. Clean, fairly bright apple juice concentrate. Quite good, but super-expensive for what it is. Rating: 91+/92(+?)
Christoph Tyrell Karthäuserhof Riesling Kabinett feinherb Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006
Faint stone dust to crisp but soft herbs, fair enough body, medium-short on the finish. Rating: 83+/84(+?)
Christoph Tyrell Karthäuserhof Riesling Kabinett Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006
A bit light and bland, some slate and watery apple, short. But less oxidative than when last tasted in May. Rating: 83+?
Christoph Tyrell Karthäuserhof Riesling Spätlese Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006
Somewhat bland as well, but sweeter as well as a fraction denser. Barely a step up in quality from the Kabinett, overrated this in May. Rating: 84+?
Christoph Tyrell Karthäuserhof Riesling Auslese Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006
Watery basil, fair enough sweetness, again liked this a fraction less than the Spätlese. This seems to have absorbed most of its (in May still offensive) sulphur. Rating: 83+/84(+?)
Christoph Tyrell Karthäuserhof Riesling Auslese #35 Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006
Sulphur, some botrytis brown bread, barely medium intensity. Barely different from last time. Rating: 84+/85(+?)
Van Volxem Saar Riesling (trocken) 2006
Tasty for the money, fruit and slate, quite complex apple. Nicely balanced, not too structured, as the whole portfolio. Rating: ~86
Van Volxem Riesling (trocken) Alte Reben 2006
More opulence and body, not yet too precise, but hints at greater finesse. A bit yeastier? Faint alcoholic warmth. Rating: 85+/86(+?)
Van Volxem Riesling (trocken) Wiltinger Braunfels 2006
Strong minerality, dried brown bread rind, spring herbs. A bit more viscosity and acidity, ripe and perhaps a fraction more flavourful, more cut. Intense. Has character. Rating: 86+
Van Volxem Riesling (feinherb) Scharzhofberger 2006
A bit more subtle and finesseful minerality, a tiny bit peachier/more apricoty. Emphasis on slate dust on the palate, tiny bitter note, nice body. Rating: 87+
Van Volxem Riesling (feinherb) Volz 2006
Lovely nose. A bit less tightly knit on the palate, if partly due to residual yeast, I thought. Lovely little sultana and faintly warming alcohol on the finish. Smooth, less intense but longer. Rating: 87+/88
Van Volxem Riesling (feinherb) Scharzhofberger Pergentsknopp 2006
More impeccable balance, more fruit complexity and depth, more integrated yet intense minerality, nice subtlety, a virtually unnoticeable bitter note, peachier/more apricoty on the mid-palate, more flavourful acids. No longer, though. Rating: 89+?
Van Volxem Riesling (feinherb) Alte Reben Gottesfuss 2006
Already a bit more aristocratic on the nose, but especially on the palate. Deep, a bit smoky, nicely medium-plus bodied, quite long, but lacks the fruit density and power of the top vintages. Rating: 89+/90?
Van Volxem Riesling (feinherb) Alte Reben Altenberg 2006
A bit subdued but fruitier/balm mintier on the nose. More palate-drenching fruit, pit fruit in addition to apple and springs herbs and a little mint. Faint viscosity, nice body, pretty minerality. Finesse notes of tobacco and graphite. Longest of all the Van Volxems poured that day, although again, not a wine of power. Very long aftertaste. Attractive smoky scent from the empty glass. Retasted this from a second bottle at the end of the tasting, which was identical in every regard. Not bad at all, Rainer and I still wished it would be a little more serious this year. Rating: 90+/91?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti