Prescript: Longer post than I intended, so I'll ask the one question I have upfront for anyone who might be able to answer it. Mehringer Blattenberg--where is it located?
Another visit to a producer while on a recent trip to the Mosel was a great experience at St. Urbans-Hof. My previous experience with this producer was pretty much nil. I had bought a bottle based on a retailer recommendation a few months ago, but found little about it that excited me. Comradely participants on this forum, however, piped up and urged me to seek out other opportunities to experience this well-reputed producer. So a visit seemed the best way to taste the line. I was very, very impressed.
My notes on overall facts about the producer were no so complete as I was scribbling down as much as I could about the wines. They produce only Riesling, 70 percent exported (mostly to the USA), and use only natural yeasts to ferment which our guide indicated gave the wines a more herbal or brimstone quality. St. Urbans-Hof has about 33 hectares of vines, split about equally between the Mosel and the Saar (had no idea previously they were a Saar producer, but proved serendipitous as it meant that on this trip we were able to try wines from producers of Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer wines--score!). The Qualitätsweine (formerly QbAs) are grown on vineyards surrounding the estate in Leiwen in the middle Mosel. Three Einzellagen in the Mosel: Piesporter Goldtröpfchen (the next big curve in the Mosel north of Leiwen), Leiwener Laurentiuslay (a beautiful slope across the Mosel from the estate) and Mehringer Blattenberg (I have no idea where this is, can anyone help me?). Three Einzellagen in the Saar: Ockfener Bockstein, Wiltinger Schlangengraben (pardon me, but that's one funny Einzellage name), and Schodener Saarfeilser Marienberg.
Now first off, there is that major difference between Mosel and Saar wines with Saar wines being described to me as being typically more racy, more acidic, and communicating more terroir. Differences among the vineyards and features of the wine they produce? Didn't catch as much information there as I would have wished. Piesporter Goldtröpfchen is probably the only Einzellage I would have recognized before my visit--heavy dark slate, lots of reflected heat, and perhaps richness? Leiwener Laurentiuslay also catches and reflects the heat with dark slate and the shape of the land, Urbans-Hof likes this for trying out drier-styled wines to communicate the terroir. Ockfener Bockstein--gravelly, well draining soil. Wiltinger Schlangengraben - red slate, which also seems to indicate a touch of spiciness to me when I've tasted it rotschiefer wines elsewhere, but that could be a subliminal color-suggestive thing. Schodener Saarfeilser Marienberg - recent acquisition for St. Urbans-Hof, formerly a riverbed, now very pebbly. They had a great display with soil samples from the sites and photos--seen this at a few German producers and I always comment how useful it is.
Vintage characterizations by our guide: 2004 - higher acid; 2005, more complex, more powerful, less acid; 2006; too much botrytis; 2007 - comparable to 2004, but with a dollop less acid.
Finally the wines:
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken (I'm pretty sure the Mosel would be the appellation for the first two wines, though it isn't clear from my notes) - smell intense nose, taste balanced and impressive, intensely tart but well-balanced, this would be good with food, a dry intense greenness that actually doesn't stick out until the finish, I like this wine, perhaps worth a shot at less than 7 euro (but who comes to the Mosel for trocken?)
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Riesling Qualitätswein - rotten egg nose, sulphur I take it, rich and suave, savory lemon, this is a fun-now wine, delicious and simple, would grab one on the way to a party for less than 7 euro, but don't feel the need to have it
The two wines above were bottled in January/February while the prädikat wines were bottled from March to May (I think--not sure when exactly the Kabinett below was bottled)
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Wiltinger Schlangengraben Saar Riesling Kabinett Feinherb - smell meon on the nose, tastes a bit flatter, melony, nice underlying zip, barely delicious--by which I mean it has a very bare presence, which I actually like a lot, this to me seems very Kabinetty, I like it a lot, at 8 euro it seems a no brainer--but of course, the problem I have with Kabinett I like is that they don't 'wow' me or bowl me over, which means I might pass them by
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Schodener Saarfeilser Marienberg Saar Riesling Spätlese Feinherb - smell spicier nose, focused, tastes a lot bigger in my mouth, still lots of zip, though, full delicious flavor, lime chicken, anyone?, savory, this was a real winner for 15 euro
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Leiwener Laurentiuslay Mosel Riesling Spätlese Erste Lage (12.5%) - more focused and precise on the nose, tastes like a resting beauty, super amazing delicious, mineral underlying, spicy, our guide indicated 2 years for this to open up, and 25 years to watch it grow, nice to have an experience like this, 36 euro
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Ockfeiner Bockstein Saar Riesling Kabinett (9%) - layered nose, bit heavier in the mouth, but not so bad, simple and sweet, but not cloying, some rocks, juicy and clean, this was simple but I really liked it, very approachable, less than 10 euro
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Ockfeiner Bockstein Saar Riesling Spätlese - stinky sulphur nose, tastes thicker and sweeter, bare amount of zip, too sweet and too simple for me, where did the Saarness go?, our guide told us sweetness fades and gets easier to match with food in the future, but I am surprised I got no acid out of it now, stage of development or what? 18 euro
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Mosel Riesling Spätlese - tropical, more exotic nose, hugely different on nose versus all previous wines, actually taste higher acid upfront, which surprised me, but it fades very quickly, much more earthy, more intensity, more tart, this one felt much more like in a stage of growth than the others, 18 euro
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Mosel Riesling Auslese - nose is a big step up, wow, wow, wow, this wine is lightness and deliciousness combined, elegant, poised, blew me completely away, I can't believe how amazing this wine is now, a dangerous wine to own as it is so lovely now, hard to imagine how I could ever let it be to see where it is going, 26 euro