Cellar Favorite: 1949 Weingut Dr. von Basserman-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling TBA
germany: Mosel, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
This German Trockenbeerenauslese appeared at the end of a La Mission Haut-Brion dinner a few months ago, and to be honest, though it was love at first sip, at the time I did not truly appreciate its rarity.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #9
Germany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
I rue the fact that I have not or rather cannot keep up with German Riesling. Anyone who doesn’t like German Riesling either doesn’t like wine or is no longer alive.
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Saar Riesling 2018: Beating the Heat
Germany: Saar, featured
, Jul 2020
The precocious 2018 vintage with its hot, dry summer, held the potential for wines short on acidity and high in alcohol. Fortunately, adept growers worked successfully to avoid that outcome, and estate owners nearly everywhere saw a combination of generous ripeness with unexpectedly abundant yields. This report focuses on the Saar, whose hills and side valleys are known for being cooler and breezier, and for birthing Rieslings correspondingly more acid-retentive and buoyant.
Germany 2018: The Nahe – Leading by a Nose
Germany, featured
, Jun 2020
There is a lot to like from 2018 in Germany: both multiple attractive features and a lot of wines to exemplify them. And then there are the exceptions, including the vintage’s genuinely exciting Rieslings, of which, yet again, many are found on the Nahe.
Multifarious 2017 Mosels: Graach to Grünhaus
germany: Mosel, featured
, Apr 2020
Local weather conditions and harvest decisions go a long way toward explaining why quite a few Mosel growers struggled to achieve excellence in 2017 and a minority of those scored memorable successes. Continuing upstream, I offer my second of two reports on the 2017 vintage Mosel Rieslings, here including those from estates based along the Ruwer.
Multifarious 2017 Mosels, Part 1: Winningen to Wehlen
germany: Mosel, featured
, Jan 2020
Along the Mosel, local weather conditions, vine genetics and snap picking decisions counted in 2017 for almost as much as site, viticultural regimen or talent. Superb wines are numerous, but still the exceptions.
The Saar’s Deliciously Diverse 2017s
Germany: Saar, featured
, Oct 2019
In 2017, the better Saar Rieslings benefited from their region’s generally cooler, breezier conditions vis-à-vis the Mosel proper, to achieve mouthwatering ripeness while avoiding unwelcome botrytis.
Cellar Favorite: 1975 Egon Müller Riesling Scharzhofberger Trockenbeerenauslese
germany: Mosel, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2019
Though the bottle is still on the other side of the room on its way to the dining table, I instantly register that it is a) exceedingly rare and extraordinarily expensive and b) already open for serving. The thought that goes through my head is: “Is that really what I think it is?”
Rheingau & Mittelrhein Riesling: Rising to 2017’s Challenges
Germany, featured
, Aug 2019
With more than their share of stormy weather, both literally and figuratively, the Rheingau and Mittelrhein yielded significantly varying quality in 2017, with some exciting successes.
Rheinhessen 2017: Perseverance Rewarded
Germany, featured
, Jul 2019
Rheinhessen Riesling vines that escaped devastation by late April frost and a savage August 25 hailstorm were still exposed to punishing May-July drought. But growers soldiered on and, with help from subsequent meteorological breaks, were rewarded with impressive results.