Max Gerstl’s trade tasting on the 28th of May, and to which I went with fellow Riesling lover Fredrik from Sweden.
Same as every year, I ended up meeting too many people, some of whom I had not seen all year, thus did not manage to taste through all the portfolios (nor all the wines at those booths I did go to), omissions including among other Christmann, Christoffel, Diel and Grans-Fassian.
Still have not tasted enough wines, will not jump to conclusions, but fellow Riesling lover Nick’s observation struck me as quite apt: “A bit like 2005, with higher acids.” That remark alone explains the difference between (most) of the successful and the less successful wines on show that day – lighter (less concentrated) wines can be a problem. Apart from that, no/few complaints.
Notes ordered alphabetically by producer, not the order in which Fredrik and I tasted the wines.
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett Oberhäuser Leistenberg 2009
A little residual yeast. Sweet and round Kabinett. Touch of blackcurrant superripeness. Soft bread dough spice. Medium-plus minerality and depth. Quite long. Ripe and round acidity and finish. Rating: 88+
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Norheimer Kirschheck 2009
Petrolly-rubbery, a bit medicinal and smoky. Relatively concentrated. Fairly sweet. Perhaps not quite as clean and pure as some? Rating: 87(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle 2009
Blackcurrant top note. Good concentration, but almost sweeter than that. Some viscosity. Medium-plus richness and length. Could use some time in the cellar. Very expensive (same price as Weil’s Kiedricher Gräfenberg Spätlese), greater intensity and terroir expression would not hurt. Rating: 89+/90?
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Oberhäuser Brücke 2009
Ever so faintly volatile? But quite concentrated. Showing good depth and complexity. Finesseful. Quite spicy. Soft tobacco. Nice body for a GKA. Long. Rating: 91+/92(+?)
Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Alte Reben Herrenberg 2009
Some SO2 that gives this a rubbery-medicinal touch, but clean and very minerally, if not the most noble in terms of terroir expression. Medium body, with some alcohol showing. Medium length. Rating: 87+/88?
Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Kabinett Herrenberg 2009
A bit light and short especially given the typically high acidity of the vintage. Medium minerality at best. Rating: 83+/84(+?)
Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Spätlese Grünhäuser Abtsberg 2009
Also relatively light in concentration, but riper, rounder and smoother, acids included. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Auslese Grünhäuser Abtsberg 2007
Rubbery botrytis, still a touch reductive, quite ripe and already a bit petrolly fruit, medium concentration, medium-short on the finish. Rating consistent with the one at the arrivage tasting. Rating: 87+/88
Maximin Grünhaus Riesling “Jungfernwein” Auslese Grünhäuser Bruderberg 2009
The “virginal” Auslese being from these 5-year-old vines’ first fruit. Prettier and quite “unique” nose (yes, there is something to be said in favour of those tiny berries). Medium-plus concentration. A bit tighter and more minerally. Fairly long. An interesting and attractive little wine that appears to be retaining a little SO2, thus should be left alone for a little while longer. Rating: 89
Fritz Haag Riesling Brauneberger Kabinett 2009
Medium-plus minerality, faintly flinty. Greater cut than many, without being denser. Grassy herbs. Medium-plus length. Quite warming with alcohol for the Prädikat level. Rating: 85+/86(+?)
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Medium minerality. Soft balm mint. Good sweetness, almost old-style Auslese-like. A bit tannic. Rating: 87(+?)
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese #10 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Denser, more viscosity, old-vinier, sweeter of course. A bit hollow beyond the mid-palate, not too serious. A bit longer if really still a bit short. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #12 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Nicely gluey, faint vanilla and blackcurrant cough drop to the botrytis, quite clean and pure. Not too concentrated again, but quite sweet. Integrated and ripe, just faintly steely acidity. Rating: 88+/89?
Willi Haag Riesling QbA 2009
Quite high-acid, tough steely. Medium concentration and weight. Slightly noticeable alcohol, but also sweetness. Soft steely herbs. Some flintiness to the minerality. Rating: 83(+?)
Willi Haag Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Sweet and a bit oily-juicy apple, faint vanilla. Medium-plus concentration only. Medium length. Rating: 87(+?)
Willi Haag Riesling Auslese Brauneberger Juffer 2009
Firmer, more minerally – more intense if perhaps more noble minerality. Tighter at the core. Quite flavourful acidity. Longer but not too long. Herbs, grass, lime and apple aftertaste. Rating: 89+?
Keller Riesling trocken “von der Fels” 2009
Tight, quite stony-minerally, medium-light concentration, high-acid. Some alcohol sticking out. Rating: 83+
Keller Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule Westhofen Kirchspiel 2009
Sweet and fairly rich up-front, but a bit hollow at the core, and rather short on the finish. Retains some CO2 (not bothering at all). Rating: 84(+?)
Keller Riesling Auslese Westhofen Kirchspiel 2009
Sweeter and a bit exotic and botrytised, lovely bitter note from noticeably higher extract, reasonably concentrated, a bit longer. Rating: 87+
Keller Riesling Auslese*** Gold Capsule Westhofen Kirchspiel 2009
The Three Star is quite sweet and a bit oily with faintly May-buttery botrytis, yet high-acid, with a lemon rind bitter note. Again, while this is certainly sweet, we found it slightly hollow at the core. Rating: 88(+?)
Keller Rieslaner Auslese Monsheim Silberberg 2009
Oilier, clean and quite rich, but monolithical. “Sweet and viscous, but trivial”, Fredrik said. Rating: 88+/89?
Keller Beerenauslese “Pius” 2009
An impressively inexpensive blend of Riesling, Rieslaner and Scheurebe of good density, some minerality, quite exotic/tropical fruit and acids. Medium-plus length. Not too complex, let alone showing much depth, but nice as an entry level BA. Rating: 88+/~89?
Keller Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Gold Capsule Westhofen Kirchspiel 2009
White gluey botrytis (but Fredrik wondered whether 100% clean), hugely fat and sweet, a virtual confectionary solid in the mouth, at the same time (very!) high-acid. Dried-fruity, roasted pineapple and banana. Medium core and depth, ultimately not the density (and intensity) of the greatest vintages of this bottling. Medium-plus length. No doubt a sugar bomb, Fredrik found this “virtually devoid of minerality, albeit not trivial or wholly devoid of complexity”. Rating: 90+/91(+?)
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Auslese Oestrich Lehnchen 2009
Closed on the nose at present, but quite flavourful and balanced on the palate, GKA-like sweetness, viscosity and depth. Rating: 91+/92?
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Beerenauslese Oestrich Lehnchen 2009
A baffling and unique, if very attractive wine. Côte-Rôtie like bacon fat and roasted herbs, violety too (interestingly, someone standing next to me called it Viognier-like). Oily and lightly viscous sultanas. Lightly tannic. Strong acidity that could be more flavourful. Quite long. Admittedly a bit weird, but fascinating. Rating: 92(+?)
Schloss Lieser Riesling Kabinett Brauneberger Juffer 2009
Yeasty. A little SO2. Some minerality, and quite sweet and round fruit nobility underneath. A little smooth blackcurrant. Not easy to judge, but seems a nice QPR buy. Rating: 86(+?)
Schloss Lieser Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Same yeast and sulfur stinkiness more integrated. Sweeter and a bit longer, more fruit and ripeness, nicer minerality or terroir expression, but no more depth overall. Rating: 87+
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Smooth light blackcurrant cough drop sweetness. Blurry with absorbed yeast and SO2. Medium minerality and depth. Medium acidity. Rating: 87+
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2009
Nobler terroir expression and fruit. Juicy, a touch more serious. Faint mocha to the botrytis. Touch of tobacco. Soft vanilla slate. Medium length. Just barely more complexity, intensity, depth and length than the standard Auslese. Rating: 88+
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule Niederberg Helden 2009
Vanilla-tinged slate as usual with wines from this site. Botrytis. Soft tobacco leaf, tarragon. Cleaner and nobler. Longer and more finesseful. Structured, balanced, smooth and early-harmonious. Rating: 90+/91?
Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2009
Lower alcohol style than most. Site-typical middleweight. Firm fruit, spring flowers and herbs. Nicely firm acidity. Pretty Kabinett. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Spätlese Erdener Treppchen 2009
Barrel sample as yet unfiltered. Yeasty. Nice herbs. Less depth or terroir. Firm acidity. Rating: 87(+?)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese Ürziger Würzgarten 2009
Barrel sample as yet unfiltered. Terroir typicity (a favourite site of mine). Pretty fruit. Not yet too complex, but some primary some grassy-spicy herbs. Nice, well-integrated acidity. Rating: 89(+?)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Erdener Prälat 2009
Barrel sample as yet unfiltered. Nobly fruity and minerally. Soft botrytis. Pretty underlying subtlety. Quite clean and pure, not too sweet. Faint white pepper. Could be longer on the finish. Rating: 90+?
Egon Müller Scharzhof Riesling QbA 2009
Pretty, clean and pure, high-acid pear lemonade flavoured. May be underrating this, also seemed quite fairly priced. Rating: 86+/87
Egon Müller Scharzhof Riesling Kabinett Scharzhofberg 2009
Very minerally, good density, high-acid, nobler fruit and acids, longer, and indeed, worth consideration despite its shocking price tag! Rating: 90+/91
Egon Müller Scharzhof Riesling Spätlese Scharzhofberg 2009
Viscous and highly concentrated, very minerally and at the same time quite ripe with a touch of exotic tropicality, rather sweet for a Müller Spätlese, retains some lovely CO2, intense and long. An extraordinary wine that I may be rating all too conservatively, this should age incredibly well (thanks in great part to the great baby fat it sometimes lacks even in top vintages), and turn out to be one of the great vintages of this bottling. Very expensive, but when I came back here at the end of the tasting and poured myself another sample (from, no doubt, a different bottle), I again noticed what the difference is to all the other wines: depth and nobility of terroir expression, great concentration instead of up-front sweetness or anything resembling a “surface”, resulting in that (potential) dryness and firmness that eventually, is going to make this a mindblowing accompaniment to food. Imagine having the greatest sushi on earth and this in, say, twenty to thirty years from now. Heaven! Rating: 93+
Egon Müller Scharzhof Riesling Auslese Scharzhofberg 2009
Clean blackcurranty apple and botrytis, faint vanilla stoniness to the slate, surreal white peach, even more exotic than the Spätlese, nicely sweet (even if the sheer nobility of the terroir expression here makes it near-impossible to notice the more trivial aspects), backed by lively acidity. “Better than the 2005”, was Fredrik’s verdict. Is this even better than the Spätlese? Impossible to tell (but it is an Auslese, which many will prefer). Will it age even better than the Spätlese? Not unlikely. But is it worth almost 300 Swiss Francs? To be quite honest, I would buy it if I could. In a world of face-lifted wines, a mere handful is still being made that I would want to take with me to the proverbial desert island. Rating: 93+/94(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2008
Touch medicinal and ridiculously light compared to the average 2009 (not all of which are all that concentrated either). Relatively clean. Pretty if faint terroir expression. A bit stony. Faint surface oiliness. Light and short on the finish. Rating: ~83(+??)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2008
Medium concentration at best. More peppery and earthy. Sweet, quite typical terroir expression. Petrolly minerality. Medium length. Faintly rubbery-medicinal touch. Rating: 85+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Graacher Himmelreich 2008
A bit light. Faintly yeasty. A touch reductive. Some complexity. Some fresh, and semi-dried herbs. Mineral dust. Some animality, wet wool. Firm acidity, a bit steely. Medium length. Rating: 86+
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2008
Sweeter. Greater surface density. Faint vanilla to relatively clean botrytis. Terroir typical soft herbs and spring flowers. Medium weight and concentrated at best. Rating: 87+
Serriger Schloss Saarstein Riesling Auslese 2009
108° Oechsle, 100% botrytis-free. Slightly rubbery-medicinal and weird, SO2 tinged, medium concentration and weight but quite sweet and not too high-acid, medium complexity and length at best. Rating: 87(+?)
Willi Schaefer Gutsriesling QbA 2009
Nice medium-plus tightness and intensity and minerally depth, steely and lively, but ripe and flavourful, quite complex, high-acid. Impressive QbA. Rating: 87(+?)
Willi Schaefer Riesling Kabinett Graacher Domprobst 2009
Impressive intensity here also. Touch yeasty. Softly tannic. Faintly medicinal aspect but also some cough blackcurrant ripeness. High-acid but balanced, not too sweet. Pretty mineral dust. Soft bread dough spice. Rating: 88(+?)
Willi Schaefer Riesling Spätlese Nr. 5 Graacher Domprobst 2009
Faintly tannic. Riper herbs, blackcurrant, white currants. Not hyper-concentrated, but lively and balanced, as well as quite noble and serious. Pretty mineral dust. Nice acidity. Medium-plus length. Pretty subtlety on the aftertaste. Rating: 89(+?)
Willi Schaefer Riesling Auslese Nr. 9 Graacher Himmelreich 2009
Referred to as “Gold Capsule” in the flyer – obviously, all of Schaefer’s wines carry one, but as Willi Schäfer himself explained, it makes sense to call it that. Typical small berry wine. Sweet, complex, nicely firm and tight at the core. More old-styled, more tannic than most (possibly an understatement). Finesseful. Very long. Hinting at great depth – no doubt a wine of great depth. Terrific! Rating: 91(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Mosel Riesling trocken 2009
Bone-dry and ever so slightly alcoholic, medium-smoky minerality, slightly tough acidity, lightly palate-staining, quite long on the finish. Rating: 85(+/-?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Kabinett #1 Wolfer Goldgrube 2009
Deep and darkly, lightly flinty minerality. Thick yet high-acid. Good body, seemingly (not really, we were told) a bit higher in alcohol than the more primary up-front style some others favour. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Spätlese #2 Wolfer Goldgrube 2009
There is a Gold Capsule Spätlese in this vintage as well, as so often Daniel’s sentimental favourite (too bad we could not sample it). Richer and rounder than the Kabinett, with riper, more “cidery” acidity, and longer on the finish. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Auslese #9 Kröver Steffensberg 2009
Oily-viscous and lightly grassy-herbaceous (in a nice, refreshing way) pineapple. Ripe but firm lemon rind bitterness tinged acidity. Fairly long on the finish. Each and every 2009 in this portfolio has body and none comes across as overly sweet – and they are all at the upper end of the scale, no doubt about it. Rating: ~90(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #6 Wolfer Goldgrube 2009
140° Oechsle, particularly thick for the Prädikat since there is no Long Gold Capsule anymore (“too complicated”, Daniel explained). Oily-buttery yet firm, almost BA-like, deep minerality, nice body, great concentration and extract, flavourful acidity and bitter note (“due to the high dry extract”), very long, with a caramel note on the finish. A bit monolithical at present, but promising in terms of potential. Really a best buy in this category, and one of our favourite wines of the tasting. Rating: 93+/94?
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Beerenauslese Gold Capsule #7 Wolfer Goldgrube 2009
Holds almost 300 g/l residual sugar! Daniel also has a TBA in his cellar that is still fermenting, and that may end up being marketed as “Essenz” if it does not “behave as it is supposed to”. Yellow-golden colour. Thick, oily-viscous and botrytised, with touches of coffee and roasted almond to a firmly dried-fruity core. Firm acidity and bitter note (lovely!). Fairly priced for what it is. Rating: 93+/94(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese 2009
Sweet and rich Gutswein, not too dense or long for Weil, but flavourful and subtle with glacier’s cachou and white currant, lime, cavaillon melon, pineapple, peach and a touch of quince. Maybe the best ever of this bottling, but not cheap. Rating: 89(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2009
112° Oechsle, resulting in close to 100 g/l residual sugar. Everything the Gutswein has to offer, but with greater, deeper and more precise terroir expression, as very concentrated, tighter, firmer, much more minerally, lightly honeyed and viscous, much longer. Second sample towards the end of the tasting seemed, albeit well-neigh identical, fractionally sweeter and smokier, with even stronger (in terms of quality, not quantity), even more flavourful acidity. Price went up a little, but the bottling is still one of the great German Riesling QPR buys (provided one looks beyond the “more money buys more sugar” horizon, and accepts this as one of the ultimate high-end off-dry Rieslings in terms of terroir expression – what it has been in almost every vintage in recent memory). Drink or hold. Rating: 93+
Robert Weil Riesling Auslese Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2009
Not “better” than the Spätlese, just what it says on the label: a higher Prädikat level – one does not pay extra for greater quality or greater/more precise terroir expression here, but a step up in sweetness and ageworthiness (assuming that with bottle age, sugar helps counter-balancing the acidity – it is really as simple as that, plus there is the additional potential “honeyedness” to the overall flavour profile thanks to the botrytis). A cleanly botrytised Auslese, sweeter and rounder, tiny little residual yeast that made the first sample a bit blurrier immediately after to cork was pulled (compared to another sample towards the end of the tasting that had aired longer). Lime and white apple blossom, ripe Granny Smith with a touch of blackcurrant superripeness. Long finish, but even more impressive on the aftertaste. I will admit that I prefer the potential harmony of an Auslese like this (with ample bottle age, that is), but if I wanted to pull a cork today, the extra money vis-à-vis the equally as successful Spätlese would seem ill-spent to me. Hold. Rating: 92+/93(++?)
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Kabinett Enkircher Ellergrub 2009
Faintly reductive, touch of animality. Touch tannic. Nicely ripe. Relatively tight. Minerally. Good depth. Faintly viscous. Fairly long. Nice QPR buy. Rating: 87(+?)
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Spätlese Enkircher Ellergrub 2009
Nicely tannic. And still a bit reductive. Sweet blackcurrant, juicy, sleek and precise, wrapped in pretty baby fat, noble mineral dust. Very long. One of the QPR standouts of the tasting. Rating: 89+/~90
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Auslese Enkircher Ellergrub 2009
100% botrytised berries I was told, not all of which shriveled. Less reductive. Faint violet and other flowers. Not too sweet. Smooth soft cough drop. Quite long. Sweeter but not “better” than the Spätlese. Rating: 89+/~90
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Beerenauslese Enkircher Ellergrub 2009
A comparatively old-style, dried-fruity BA. Clean botrytis house dust and candied brown bread. Creamy-rubbery but not too exotic ripeness. Fairly oily, intense, viscous tropical yellow fruit. Rating: 92+/93(+?)
Zilliken Riesling “Butterfly” 2009
“Sweet” with tropically ripe elderflower fruit and alcohol rather than sugar, an almost bone-dry “feinherb” (off-dry) Gutswein. Rating: 84+
Zilliken Riesling Kabinett Saarburger Rausch 2009
Very sweet and ripe at 73 g/l residual sugar. Some CO2 left (helps). Soft stone dust. Cidery-ripe acidity. Rating: 86+/87(+?)
Zilliken Riesling Spätlese Saarburger Rausch 2009
Very sweet at 87 g/l residual sugar, Auslese-like in fact, rounder and smoother. Higher extract? Round acids. Quite long. Rating: 89+?
Zilliken Riesling Auslese Saarburger Rausch 2009
Not all that much sweeter at 97 g/l residual sugar, but a bit honeyed with botrytis for a Saar Auslese, oilier fruit, if backed by steelier acidity. Longer. Rating: 90+
Zilliken Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Saarburger Rausch 2007
Rubbery white glue to the botrytis (I remember that at release, Hanno Zilliken told me it was “80% of the fruit botrytised, rest shrivelled on the vines”), relatively oily and quite complex baked pineapple fruit, backed by medium acidity, fairly long on the finish. Rating consistent (or find it even fractionally more convincing) with the one from the 2007 arrivage tasting, one of most people’s favourite wines back then, I remember. 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