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Stein

Ulrich “Ulli” Stein harvested his 2015 Rieslings from the second week in October until November 10. He reports that his musts differed considerably in total acidity according to site and date of picking, and that in aggregate, malic and tartaric acid were at parity. A tart, hard malic edge is in fact shared by much of this collection, and rendered a couple of offerings ungenerous and grating. On the whole, though, Stein’s 2015s tend toward his distinctively zingy and invigorating if slightly austere house style; the best display noteworthy transparency to mineral nuances. What’s more, experience suggests that in a year or two they will be more expressive. When Stein compared this year’s “two-star extra trocken” from the Palmberg-Terrassen to a spirited young horse not yet broken in, he added: “I like to let them run wild for a while and find their own way of settling down, rather than insisting that they be well-behaved too early. In trying to break them, you can erase their individuality. I’m not in the business of domesticating wine.” That last bit could well serve as his motto!

The most recent Stein reds I tasted once again reflected his tireless enthusiasm and experimentation, but I still find them as a group dried and coarsened by their stays in barrel, and that includes the first two vintages of “Red Light,” Stein’s under-12-percent-alcohol answer to the challenge: “Why there can’t be a Pinot Noir Kabinett counterpart to your bright, ultra-buoyant dry Riesling Kabinetts?” And speaking of experiments and challenges, Stein’s “four-star” 2011 St. Aldegunder Klosterkammer that spent nearly two years unapologetically oxidizing in used barrique has certainly proved interesting. But there is a slight dullness in its finish and the weight of 13.4 percent alcohol does not flatter it. The lithe 2014 successor, which was neither filtered nor sulfured, should prove far more intriguing and better balanced, but it had just been bottled when I last visited Stein in late September 2016, and given this wine’s controversial nature, I prefer to defer assessment until my next visit. A reminder about those stars: Stein’s use of between one and four of them to identify many wines reflects both must weights and personal preferences, but although these stars appear too prominently on the Stein labels and price list to omit from my descriptions of each wine, they are never required to disambiguate the identity of any Stein wine, and can safely be ignored. (For abundant details concerning this unusual estate, its formidable but today largely unfamiliar vineyards, and its colorful proprietor, consult the introduction to my coverage of the 2014s as well as the tasting notes in that report.)

From Mosel 2015: Rain in the Nick of Time (Jun 2017) by David Schildknecht

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2015 Rosé Pinot Noir trocken

Release Price: $23

Color: Rosé

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