Tag Archives: white wine

Jun 05 2013
18 Comments
2010, Germany, Mosel

2010 Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese Grauschiefer

2010 Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese Grauschiefer

2010 Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese Grauschiefer

The second and final German wine we tried after our Finger Lakes Tasting was this Spätlese by Kurt Hain. Regular readers should by now be familiar with this winery, despite the fact that the wines are practically impossible to find in the US. At one point, Gernot Hain, the winemaker and current owner, told me that he saw no need to export because he was able to sell all his wines in Germany…

Let me give you some background (cobbled together from earlier posts):

The winery is located in Piesport, home of the Goldtröpfchen (literally “Gold droplets”). People in the United States mostly know the ubiquitous Piesporter Michelsberg, a cheap and sweet wine. That, unfortunately, is the least appealing vineyard in Piesport. Unlike the other Piesport vineyards Goldtröpfchen, Domherr and Falkenberg, it is not located on the Northern side of the Mosel, where it would get full sun exposure all day, but on the South bank of the river, in flat terrain that used to be farmland and was not used for growing wines until a couple of decades ago. The Goldtröpfchen, in contrast, features steep vineyards and some of the best wineries all have holdings there. Another thing one should know is that the Goldtröpfchen used to be much smaller and was extended significantly under the German Wine Act of 1971 (as happened to most well known vineyard sites in Germany).

Steep vineyards in the Goldtröpfchen

Steep vineyards in the Goldtröpfchen

The winery Kurt Hain has been one of my favorite wineries in the Mosel village of Piesport. Gernot Hain, the winemaker (follow the link for a photo and his philosophy), has been making high quality wines for quite a bit now, and they rarely fail to impress me. They have a balance and sophistication about them that just draws you in. There is someone who knows exactly what he is doing…and he is doing it remarkably well. Whenever I want to really impress friends that are not very familiar with German wines, I pull out one of his bottles. They hardly ever fail to make their point.

Hanging out with Gernot Hain

Hanging out with Gernot Hain

2010 was what many people called the crazy vintage along the Mosel: Lots of acidity and lots of sugar led to levels of each that were puzzling to many winemakers. It wasn’t easy to make great wines in that vintage but those who succeeded made wines that are to die for. They have all the beauty of ripe grapes, but then take you away with their rather racy acidity. It is unclear how they will age, but they are still drinking phenomenally right now!

But to the wine, one of two of Kurt Hain Spätlesen from the Goldtröpfchen. Gernot selects the grapes from different holdings in the vineyard that have different soil types, namely grey and red slate (Grauschiefer and Rotschiefer). He used to give them numbers to distinguish but as of late has started just putting Grauschiefer or Rotschiefer on the label which helps a lot (I am numerically illiterate). This wine was a Grauschiefer, so grey slate soils. In the glass, it had a great, light yellow color. In the nose, there was a combination of citrus and honey, with underlying white peach aroma. Just as gorgeous as a Mosel Riesling can be. On the palate, it was a classic, exciting 2010: light to medium-bodied, sweet. But boy was the sweetness carried by wonderful acidity that kept it fresh and enticing. The acidity never dominated the wine, just gave it structure. Stunning in its balance and fruit. Very long, lingering finish. Just an excellent piece of work.

I tried a 2007 vintage of this wine last year, the review is here.

The best thing, though, was the reaction by The Drunken Cyclist, whose Twitter post I am sharing here:

You’re welcome! :)

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May 30 2013
8 Comments
2011, Germany, Mosel

2011 von Hövel Scharzhofberg Riesling Kabinett

2011 von Hoevel Scharzhofberg Riesling Kabinett

2011 von Hövel Scharzhofberg Riesling Kabinett

After the Finger Lakes Virtual Tasting last Saturday, we opened another bottle from my beloved Scharzhofberg. For those unfamiliar with the vineyard, let me use the explanation I gave in my review of the Bischöfliche Weingüter Scharzhofberger:

The Scharzhofberg is a vineyard along the Saar, a tributary to the Mosel. The Saar meets the Mosel just south of Trier, in the town of Konz. It springs in France and then flows into Germany. It is a mere 246 km (152 miles) long, but only the final parts in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate are used for growing wine, mostly Riesling. The Saar is known to produce more mineralic, somewhat tarter Rieslings than the middle Mosel. The micro climate tends to be cooler than at the Mosel, so the grapes usually ripen later and can reach acidity levels without the higher sugar levels you can find on the Mosel, which gives them a distinct character. Most of the vineyards belonged to the church, but in the course of the secularization in the 19th century, many private investors bought plots and began wine making. Rich families began to settle later in the 19th century which led to the term “Saarbarone” (baronets of the Saar, a term derived from “Ruhrbarone” which was used for the industrialists in the Ruhr area that made a fortune when the industrial revolution took off). A lot of the estates on the Saar are very grandiose, unlike most Mosel estates.

The Saar boasts many prime vineyards that you might have heard of: Kanzemer Altenberg, Ockfener Bockstein, Ayler Kupp and also, the most prominent among them, the Scharzhofberg. Technically belonging to the village of Wiltingen, the vineyard is so prominent that the wineries do not have to list the village name on their labels. They proudly just use “Scharzhofberger”. The vineyard stretches over 28 hectares (around 70 acres) in steep slopes (30 to 60 degrees) facing south, the soil consisting of slate and rocky soil with high amounts of iron and clay. Only Riesling is grown here by a few producers that read like the who is who: Egon Müller-Scharzhof, van Volxem, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Bischöfliche Weingüter, Vereinigte Hospitien, Johannes Peters, Weingut Resch and also the winery that produced this wine: von Hövel. The wines from this vineyard are prized and it is easily the most famous vineyard of the Saar.

Weingut von Hövel has been owned by the von Hövel family since 1803 (just in time for secularization). It is a member of the prestigious German association of quality winemakers, VDP, and owns a total of 11 hectares (27 acres) in the Saar valley which are planted with Riesling only. Its annual production is around 60,000 bottles. Since 2010 Max von Kunow has been the owner of the estate. Besides holdings in the legendary Scharzhofberg, the winery exclusively owns the vineyards Kanzember Hörecker and Oberemmeler Hütte.

But on to the wine: In the glass, we found a very pale, light yellow color. The nose showed floral and herbal aromas, with some overlying fruit (apple maybe?). But all in all it was a rather restrained nose, clean and focused. On the palate, the wine was light-bodied and luckily a typical Kabinett style sweet wine. When I say Kabinett style I mostly refer to its lightness and how refreshing and clear it was, despite it being a sweet wine. I just really like that combination of lightness and sweetness. However, I always struggle with describing these wines from vineyards that are especially dear to me. There was something that made me think it reflected the terroir quite well. I believe I would recognize a Scharzhofberger in a blind tasting (don’t dare me, though). I do believe the wine could have used a bit more acidity, but then again it was a 2011 where a lot of the grapes suffered from low acidity levels. The finish was very nice, with decent length.

In my view, this is a very good wine for someone interested in trying a Scharzhofberger without breaking the bank and at the same time finding out what all the fuss is about the Kabinett wines. This von Hövel also showcased the 2011 vintage nicely, which is already where drinkable and accessible for the wine drinker.

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Mar 28 2013
15 Comments
1987, Germany, Mosel

1987 Karl Erbes Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese

1987 Karl Erbes Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese

1987 Karl Erbes Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese

As I mentioned before, one of the things that have become a tradition at Nina’s birthday parties is that we open a bottle of 1987 Riesling, this time a Karl Erbes Erdener Treppchen Spätlese. We’re not sure for how much longer we can continue this, but for now we still have a few bottles…

Some of you might remember that one of my early posts on this blog was about the 1987 Vereinigte Hospitien Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese which we had for her birthday last year (see the post here – in an aside, I am just realizing that that post only garnered one like, from my good old blogging buddy Julian at Vinoinlove. Thanks, Julian!!). Back then I explained, that 1987 is considered a weaker year along the Mosel, so it is always a bit of a surprise when the wines held up.

Trying the 1987 Karl Erbes Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese was particularly interesting because the wine has pretty much exactly the same properties that the Hospitien wine had: Both from the same vineyard (albeit probably different areas within the vineyard), both 100% Riesling and both at Spätlese level, the medium category in the German wines with distinction level, which means they had comparable levels of ripeness in the grapes as measured in degree Oechsle.

The Treppchen borders the Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Prälat vineyards, in the photo it begins on the far right hand side.

Three grand cru vineyards (from left to right): Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat and Erdener Treppchen

Three grand cru vineyards (from left to right): Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat and Erdener Treppchen

The wine had 7.5% ABV and was made by Stefan Erbes’ father Karl Erbes. One of the many wonderful things about this winery is that they retain a significant number of older vintages at the winery which are for sale. So if you ever make it there, make sure to ask for their older wines, too. They are also quite affordable still. You can find out more about the winery in my post here.

But now to the wine: The cork was in perfect condition and I decanted it for about 30 minutes. It poured in a light golden color, with some visible signs of ageing. The initial nose was very unappealing, strong musty aromas, some hints of leather, hardly any other aromas detectable. At that point, I was worried it might be flawed from that nose. On the palate, it was surprisingly fresh. The mustiness was not detectable when I tasted the wine. It was very delicate, and had contracted quite a bit, making it rather thin. It showed a good acidity structure with just a hint of sweetness. There really were no noticeable fruit aromas, I got more petrolly, aged Riesling flavors. A finish of medium length.

All in all, this was a bit weird. The nose was definitely not nice and it did not improve when I retasted a day later. The wine tasted still decently, but I thought the Hospitien wine we had last year had held up better. But another year of bottle age can also make a lot of a difference, so it is virtually impossible to compare the wines if you don’t try them on the same day. That said, this wine is most likely on its way out.

But hey, it held up for 26 years! And remember, this was “just” a Spätlese, not an Auslese or Beerenauslese. And it was from a vintage that is considered a rather weak vintage…so, absolutely nothing to complain about. The bottle cost us around $16 at the winery, if I remember correctly.

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