2016 Riesling Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett

Robert Eymael and Hans-Leo Christoffel enjoyed normal yields thanks to farming one of the few sectors of the Mosel to have been largely spared peronospora. Due to advanced ripeness as much as any sense of caution, picking began relatively early, as it so often has in recent years at this address: beginning on October 4, it was finished by month’s end. Not that there was any pressure from botrytis, noted Eymael, who characterized the crop as “totally healthy.” In keeping with those circumstances, only a single Auslese was bottled, although the two Spätlese, while botrytis-free, display Auslese-like concentration, glycerol-richness and sheer ripeness. This year’s wines boast what I would also term “healthy” acidities, namely in the 8-9 gram range. Also typical for this address, though, the Kabinetts issue from musts already in the upper 80s Oechsle.

Ahead of the 2016 vintage, Chinese investors bought Eymael’s family estate, the Mönchhof, along with the nowadays 10-acre Weingut Joh. Jos. Christoffel. “I remain the managing director, the team on the ground is the same, so nothing has really changed,” explained Eymael, but “I now have the job over the next five years of finding a successor, which isn’t so simple because it has to be somebody who knows how to market wine and run a business but also how to hands-on run a cellar.” Because of the change in ownership, this estate has lost its membership in the VDP and would have to reapply for membership after a lapse of 36 months, a decision Eymael hopes can by then be left to his successor. (One of Carl von Schubert’s sons, Joachim, was briefly added to the Mönchhof-Christoffel team, but had departed by the time I visited in early August 2017 to taste the latest collections. For a great deal of background about Hans-Leo Christoffel’s family estate and his collaboration with Robert Eymael, consult the introduction to my report on the Christoffel 2014s.)