Germany: Ten Years After - 2004 Riesling Spätlese

Each year I host a tasting that is now popularly known in Germany by its English name of “Ten Years After.” This past summer, the 2004 Riesling Spätleses that had received the highest scores in my annual guide a decade earlier were up to bat. Having all been stored at their respective wineries and submitted by the producers themselves, they were—theoretically, at least—in pristine condition. The object of the event was to see how the vintage had developed and to discern which wines had stood the test of time. Among the 39 wines that I had short-listed for this year’s event, only the 2004 Traiser Bastei Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule from Dr. Peter Crusius on the Nahe was missing. 

Two thousand four was dismissed ten years ago by many in the trade before they had seen, much less tasted, the full scope of the vintage. After the cool, wet summer there were, it is true, very few winemakers, not even Helmut Dönnhoff from the Nahe, who in late August had high hopes for the year. But those who took the necessary risks were, in the end, able to make wines of incredible personality. Fifty years ago such a vintage would have probably turned out to be at best mediocre, but a new generation of winemakers has taken vineyard management, the notion of late harvesting and the sheer will to make the finest wines possible to a height once unimaginable. Canopy management, crop thinning, the use of wild yeasts and, in particular, a willingness to take risks enabled them to make great Rieslings even under other difficult conditions.

Difficult, however, is perhaps too strong a word to describe 2004, for the unexpected Indian summer from the latter part of September until well into November is what often makes great vintages, albeit only for those who have low yields and harvest late. A large majority of the 2004 Rieslings were brought in far too early, and overcropped at that, because the estate owners were averse to taking risks or saw little hope that conditions would improve sufficiently to allow them to make much more of their grapes.

There were, as Oliver Haag from Fritz Haag in Brauneberg points out, few auslese, beerenauslese or trockenbeerenauslese wines of any note produced, but there were many excellent kabinetts and spätleses. When all was said and done, must weights for the finest 2004 Riesling Spätleses were very similar to those of the highly touted 2003 vintage. The difference was merely that the 2004s ripened during the autumn, and the 2003s during the late summer. Two thousand four was thus much less regular, but the best wines were pure, crisp and unblemished. For my own personal palate, they are more attractive, livelier and certainly more classically refreshing in style than those of the previous vintage.

As there was not much botrytis, winemakers were often ill-advised to wait too long for higher must weights that never materialized. There even came a point when the additional ripeness tarnished the allure of the fruit. Johannes Selbach told me that “as the autumn wore on, the berries turned brown and lost their clean fruit and bright acidity.” This is certainly why I have always preferred the lighter, more ethereal, but pure spätleses to many gold capsule ausleses in 2004. It also explains why most of the later-harvested auction wines, with the notable exception of the one from Schloss Lieser, did not shine in our “Ten Years After” tasting.

While a number of the 38 Rieslings that we opened had matured marvelously, I was nonetheless a little disappointed that many others appeared to have lost their youthful charm without gaining in stature. Yes, the three superb interpretations of the vintage from Joh. Jos. Prüm, Hermann Dönnhoff and Schloss Lieser are beyond reproach, but a number of others appeared soft, plump and prematurely past their prime. Like aging ball players, they had lost muscle, put on weight, and were no longer able to dance across the palate.

In particular, the majority of the 11 Rieslings from the Rheingau were not up to my expectations. Only the two from Leitz, above all the Berg Schlossberg, still shone in perfect form. The Rieslings from Nahe, on the other hand, were all first-class, exactly as they had been in their youth, with both Dönnhoff and Emrich-Schönleber finishing among my top ten.

Although I scored many of the wines lower than I had at release, there were a number that had improved with age, including those of Zilliken, Fritz Haag and Willi Schaefer. That said, the three medalists stood heads and shoulders above all of the other spätleses in a class of their own.

View of Weingut Joh. Jos. Prüm from across the Moselle

2004 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule (Nahe): Pale gold. Ripe apple, lime and forest floor scents mingle with a hint of spicy botrytis. Rich, unctuous tropical fruit flavors pervade the palate. Finishes with creamy depth, smoky spices and a touch of caramel. An auslese in its richness and depth; Helmut Dönnhoff labeled it as spätlese with the nickname Halbmond (or half moon). While it’s still a serious Riesling, I prefer the two more refreshingly classical interpretations above, from the Hermannshöhle and Kirschheck sites. 91.

2004 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese (Nahe): Enticing aromas of papaya, sweet herbs and spearmint. Intense but refined cherry fruit rises from the mid-palate, accompanied by brilliant acidity. The riveting finish is complex, spicy and animated, dancing across the palate. An elegant spätlese in its youth, this Riesling has slowly emerged as one of the finest of the vintage. 95.

2004 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese (Nahe): Subtle, nuanced aromas of honeysuckle, pear, pineapple and lime. Pure and polished on the palate, delivering a velvety peach flavor and refined minerality. Finishes delicate and long. I slightly underrated this wine at release; it has matured nicely. 92.