Tasting Impressions - 2006 Vintage Terry Theise German Portfolio

[David M. Bueker]

This was not another vintage of the century, but Terry said he would uphold his principles and indeed he did. There were some stunning wines yesterday. The amazing thing was that I expected to taste all big boned, monster wines, and instead tasted any number of elegant, classic German Rieslings. Sure there were some monsters (go to Meulenhof for bargain Beerenauslese labelled as spatlese, etc.), but through careful sorting and winemaking and Terry's selection we have an excellent crop of wines to loook for. Quantities are small, so be quick, just not as quick as me.

Value winery of the Vintage: Gysler (Rheinhessen) - Alexander Gysler made gorgeous 2006s, from his liter bottling of Silvaner Halbtrocken, all the way through the two best QPR wines of the day, his Weinheimer Riesling Kabinett and his Weinheimer Mandelberg Riesling. Don't miss the riot crazy 2005 Huxelrebe TBA either.

Runner-Up: Reuscher: Haart (Mosel) - A liter bottle that you could drink every day all summer, and two Piesporter Goldtropfchens that have fantastic balance. The value here is scary.

Always performing at a stellar level winery of the vintage: Donnhoff (Nahe) - Yawn. Helmut does it again. 2006 is not my favorite Donnhoff vintage, but so the heck what. It's still outstanding wines, and now there are some new ones. The Kreuznacher Krotepfuhl Spatlese is so different, but as always the quality is impeccable. The Norheimer Kirschheck Spatlese stole my heart it was so pretty. Norheimer Dellchen Auslese is also a standout & unusually big boned for a Donnhoff auslese IMO.

Believe the Hype Award: Kerpen (Mosel) - His Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett is one of the three best kabinetts I tasted all day, and those three were so far and above anybody else that it's impossible to measure the gap. The Bird Label Spatlese* and Auslese* from Wehlener Sonnenuhr are both must buys (says the guy with ZERO space in the cellar.)

Auslese of the Vintage: 2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese* - No it's not the biggest, but it's the best balanced to my taste and I know (yes know) it will age gracefully on that balance into a stunning beauty. Honorable mention goes to the Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Auslese** and any wine on the Meulenhof table.

Don't Overlook this Winery Award: Weingart (Mittelrhein): I tasted 4 wines (one was a 2005 so while it was great it doesn't count) & all were outstanding. The Bopparder Hamm Ohlenberg Spatlese Trocken was my dry wine of the day, the Schloss Fursterburg Kabinett was my kabinett of the day, and the Bopparder Hamm Feurlay Spatlese is another must buy for the guy with no cellar space.

Wines of the Day that have not already been mentioned:

2006 Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Spatlese (top spatlese)
2005 Strub Niersteiner Orbel Riesling Kabinett (QPR!)
2006 Mathern Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese (QPR!)
2006 Leitz Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spatlese
2006 Muller-Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Muskateller Trocken


More thoughts later. Please note that no Willi Schaefer wines were shown, so no notes there.

Kreuznacher Krotepfuhl

Interesting. How much does this increase the amount of "Donnhoff" wine available? (I assume he didn't reduce his other holdings while acquiring this)

And it's further South in the Pfalz?

Very helpful as always, David. Thanks.
What did you find that was surprisingly disappointing?

David, thanks for the great analysis and recommendations. I found it very helpful and an interesting read.

-Michael

P.S. Sorry you are out of cellar space. Feel free to go do some shopping for me! I need more German wines in my cellar.

Sounds like some of the Rheinhessen folk had a pretty good year. Thanks for the heads-up.

[David M. Bueker]

Kreuznacher Krotepfuhl

Interesting. How much does this increase the amount of "Donnhoff" wine available? (I assume he didn't reduce his other holdings while acquiring this)

And it's further South in the Pfalz?

It's in the Nahe & it increases his overall holdings. The 2006 vintage however reduced his output significantly.

[David M. Bueker]

Very helpful as always, David. Thanks.
What did you find that was surprisingly disappointing?

Disappointing? I thought the Austrians and Champagnes should have been better, but the Germans were surprisingly good.

Many kabinetts were somewhat forced, but there were a few that were gorgeous.

Thanks for the pointers! Will write some of these down for my local pusher.

[David M. Bueker]

Some additional impressions on specific wines:

Karlsmuhle Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Spatlese - fine depth and balance
Karlsmuhle Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Auslese - long finish, balanced, very pretty auslese
Carl Loewen Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spatlese - tastes just off-dry, with lots of stony depth
Carl Loewen Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Auselse - just perfect balance
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken - precise fruit and lots of mineral depth, finishes totally dry
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese* - phenolic grip and intensity
Selbach-Oster Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese* - pure fruit and honey with an intense but deceivingly subtle finish
J.J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese - youthfully intense, but lots of sweet fruit and spice
J.J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslesed* - a fruit and cream parfait with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg
Meulenhof Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese - bright, minerally but disarmingly deep, intense fruit
Jakoby-Mathy Riesling 'Balance' - delicious, barely off-dry sipper that will also stand up as a compelling table wine for a great price
Jakoby-Mathy Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spatlese - rose-tinged fruit and just a delightfully pretty wine
Hoffmann-Simon Kowericher Laurentiuslay Riesling Spatlese - a basket of ripe peaches in a bottle with explosive mouth presence and great length
Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Quartzit - drier than prior vintages, also bright the way the 2002 was bright - delicious
Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Spatlese 'Eisendell' - rich, but balanced and bright, tastes like it's infused with mineral salts
Diel Dorsheimer Pittermanchen Riesling Kabinett - smells of spring flowers (peony) and invites sniff after sniff and sip after sip
Strub Niersteiner Bruckchen Riesling Kabinett - chalky apples and yellow fruits, very fine balance, great value again
Leitz Riesling Dragonstone - drier than the last 4 years and thus more 'winey' reminds me of the 2001.
Spreitzer Winkeler Jesuitengarten Riesling Spatlese - raspberries, peaches with great acidity
Kurt Darting Portugeiser Rose - chalky strawberry juice, like Cerdon de Bugey without bubbles
Kurt Darting Durkheimer Spielberg Scheurebe Spatlese - well balanced blend of tropical fruit and green grass, best Scheurebe of the day for me
Kurt Darting Durkheimer Nonnengarten Rieslaner Spatlese - fresh papaya infusion with mango, long finish

And a couple of bonus Austrians that rocked my world:

Salomon Gruner Veltliner Hochterrassen - rich, fresh green pea and lime zest, delicious wine that is great QPR!
Salomon Gruner Veltliner Lindberg "Reserve" - rich but easy to drink, my favorite Gruner Veltliner of the day
Salomon Riesling Kogl "Reserve" - outstanding depth and length of fruit
Brundlmayer Riesling Steinmassel - fruity but also stony to the core
Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein - minerals, limes and great intensity (my favorite Austrian wine of the day)
Hiedler Gruner Veltliner "November" - smoky, deep and great fruit balance

And that's all I have time for tonight. One final note is that I can count on two fingers the wines I found "wanting." They were both oddball wines, so no big deal. Overall the level of quality was very good. You won't buy anything less than a very good, solid wine out of Terry's 2006 vintage offering from what I tasted.

[James Roscoe]

As we discussed on chat, this must have killed the palate! Thank you for even the brief notes!


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