De-Mystifying German Riesling Tasting.

17 participants who were eager to learn. $40 Cdn , sit down style, ably lead by wine store owner with help from myself! I have 4 of the wines sampled so I was keen to find out how the wines were coming along.

First Flight.

2014 Emrich-Schonleber Riesling Trocken (Nahe) was first wine poured. More minerality here than following 3 wines, not a lot of length right now but will evolve ($35). I should add that I am also a big fan of the "Mineral" bottling.
2009 August Eser Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Riesling Spatlese Trocken (Rheingau). Floral, apple, pear nose..very aromatic indeed. Delicate, hint of petrol, good finish with nice core of acidity, stylish, happy to have other Eser wines in my cellar. ($33).
2001 Querbach Library Release Edition Riesling (Rheingau). Quite evolved right now, drinks nicely, so-so acidity. Drink up if you have one stashed away....$28. This was a style that seemed to appeal to many present. I was wondering if this wine is indicative of the vintage I think David is so keen on?
2014 Georg Mosbacher Deidesheimer Riesling Kabinett Feinherb, Pfalz. A new name to me last year so happy to try.....so-so mid-palate, but good finish with appealing acidity. Have to wonder how this will age if at all? I was cleaning up so no real note here.

Second Flight.

2011 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Spatlese Nahe. Big selection in town, and many in the cellar! Best nose of these 4, some smoke, ripe peach, mineral tones, apricot. V light gold color, thought it quite a big wine, many liked, great with lemon meringue pie. $40.
2012 Dr. F Weins-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese, M-S-R. 2 in my cellar, zesty lime, papaya, peach, apple, crisp, needs time still. V lemony finish here, I was not too excited here. $29.
2013 Prinz Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Spatlese Rheingau. My WOTN. $40, can handle that!
Not so lemony as the Weins-Prum. Excellent finish, lovely balance, peach, delicate for a`Gau I thought.
Apple, pear, lots going on here. Buy.
1999 Karlsmuhle Lorenzhofer Gold Cap Riesling Auslese, Mosel. Still going well, hint of botyrtis. Citrus noted, peach, mineral. I would be happy to have one in my stash. $40.

Nice wines there, Bob. The Emrich-Schönleber Riesling trocken in both '14 and '15 is available on one of the German web sellers, which I am investigating, for <€10 (Canadian prices ). Your TN, however, reads less than really enthusiastic. The August Eser trocken sounds better but I haven't yet found his wines on the web.

I would still be interested in a light and airy real Kabinett, not downgraded Spätlese or Auslese, but it's impossible to be sure of getting one without specific recommendation.

2012s are almost all gone but there still seem to be a few 2011s around. I seem to recall some reservations about the latter vintage (low acidity IIRC). Can anyone here comment?

If you are looking for light and airy" kabinetts, then 2011 would probably be a better bet overall for you, as 2012 is a riper vintage in general (all sweeping generalizations, of course). 2011 fell between 2010 and 2012, which were highly touted vintages (less so for the high acid but also ripe 2010s), so it slips between the cracks a bit, but I think it will end up better than many people thought.

2011 was actually a much warmer vintage than 2012 and was harvested significantly earlier. It is more in-line with 2009 stylistically and the wines tend to be a little low on acidity. The overall numbers were that 2010 had at harvest roughly 75% Malic acid, and 25% tartaric, where 2011 was reversed. The wines of 2011 are certainly softer and more powerful than 2012. One of the great things about 2012 was that the grapes were able to achieve physiological ripeness all the while retaining acidity. Is it a ripe vintage? Relatively yes, but nowhere near 2011. Don't get me wrong: 2011 had some very good wines, but 2012 is a classic.

Cheers,
Bill

[David M. Bueker]

2011 is definitely not a year for Tim. 2014 is no great shakes, so I would advise passing and moving on to 2015.

Thanks for that advice, David. I seem to recall that you have written that Dönnhoff and the Pfalz are exceptions to the "no great shakes rule" for 2014; 2013 also for Dönnhoff.

If there are any 2012s left when I order (the week after next probably because of absences in the meantime), I'll go for them because of the little extra bottle age. Of course, sod's law means that I may find them in a closed phase .

[David M. Bueker]

Yes, Pfalz is very fine in 2014. Donnhoff is always good, though jury is still out on 2015, as I have not tasted enough.