Trade tasting in Bad Ragaz on June 5, 2009. A high-acid vintage of mostly light wines in which one needs to choose with care. Little wonder the overall most concentrated and intensely flavoured portfolios (Kühn and especially Vollenweider) were our favourites (not necessarily the sweetest – I believe in structure and balance, not compensation). Suffice to say my teeth and gums never ached more the following day or two – one reason why I did not manage to taste the majority of the wines on show (the other being that I am extremely slow sometimes, especially when wines are being poured that I like – and the German Riesling release tasting is a perennial favourite of mine).
Notes ordered alphabetically by portfolio, not in the order in which we tasted the wines.
Christmann Riesling Grosses Gewächs Idig 2008
Tight minerality and acids, nicely firm wine. Quite long. Rating: 88(+?)
Schlossgut Diel Riesling Eiswein 2008
Creamy, faintly rubbery, but quite clean. Fairly long. Rating: ~90?
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling QbA 2008
Quite complex herbs, not too steely medium weight, fair enough length. Rating: 84(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett Oberhäuser Leistenberg 2008
Slightly darker minerality, stone dustier. Nice quite full fruit. Longer. Rating: 86+
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube 2008
Lightly grapefruity. High-acid. Interesting porphyr soil notes. Quite long. Rating: 86+
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle 2008
Lightly tannic, quite high-acid as well, nobler mineral dust, longer. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Eiswein Oberhäuser Brücke 2008
Picked on the 30th of December. A little botrytis white glue, virtually no medicinality. Clean vanilla. Nice minerality. Lively acids, not too bright (almost surprisingly so in the context of the vintage). Long. Rating: 93(+?)
Fritz Haag Riesling Kabinett trocken Brauneberger Juffer 2008
Fairly firm, an emphasis on mineral dust, a bit more roundness and volume than most dry wines on show, but still a bit tough. Rating: 84
Fritz Haag Riesling Kabinett Brauneberger Juffer 2008
Yeasty, a bit rubbery. Nicely firm, fairly complex, nice herbs, longer. Rating: 86+?
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer 2008
Good freshness, soft botrytis kiss, relatively light on entry, medium length, best on the lingering aftertaste. Rating: 86+
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
Bit fruitier, spicier, more complex, livelier, rounder, longer, and/but less bright. Rating: 86+/87?
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
Quite botrytised, quite clean, but not a crystalline expression of Mosel Auslese, with a flavour profile more reminiscent of apple cider. Rating: 87+/88
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
No heavy-weight either, but cleaner, riper and more viscous, with nice mid-palate spice and complexity, prettily ripe and round acidity, and good length. Rating: ~90
Willi Haag Riesling QbA 2008
Nick and his friends remarked on how riper, rounder and peachier the Mosel wines were compared to the Saar wines – almost surprisingly true one might add for wines like this, which is really a bit light in concentration and high in alcohol. Rating: 85+/86?
Willi Haag Riesling Kabinett 2008
Clean, lively apple, peach fruit and mineral dust (almost a vanilla stoniness). Fine QPR. Rating: 86+/87?
Willi Haag Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
Ripe fruit and acidity, a bit botrytised, darker minerality, medium weight and concentration, tiny bitter note, medium length. Rating: 87
Keller Rieslaner Beerenauslese Monsheimer Silberberg 2008
A touch of stale asparagus on the nose, but fresher vanilla and apple candy, bright and high-acid. Quite long on the finish. Rating: ~90
Keller Rieslaner Trockenbeerenauslese Gold Capsule Monsheimer Silberberg 2008
Faint sulphur, honeyed, buttery-oily and viscous, a bit bready with botrytis. Strong dried Amalfi lemon fruit and acidity, but merely soft bitter note. Longer. Probably best to drink this in its fruity-intense youth. Rating: 93-
Keller Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Gold Capsule Westhofen Kirchspiel 2008
Relatively clean, but faintly rubbery, ever so faintly mushroomy-medicinal nose. Some white glue to the botrytis. Bright lemon rind, quite intense. Rating: 92+/93(+?)
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Spätlese Oestrich Lehnchen 2008
Medium-dark minerality and fruit, fairly fresh. Rating: 86+
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Auslese Oestrich Lehnchen 2008
Relatively clean if slightly medicinal botrytis, some vanilla, medium viscosity. Rating: 88(+?)
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Beerenauslese Oestrich Lehnchen 2008
High-acid, rather bright, if not faintly spiky. A bit darker and breadier botrytis. Viscous. Needs time to come together. Rating: 90(+?)
Peter-Jakob Kühn Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Oestrich Lehnchen 2008
Hugely high-acid yet viscous. A bit bready but exceptionally clean and pure. Firm fruit. Honeyed dried lemon and pineapple. Long and viscous on the finish. Drank a well-filled glass at the end of the tasting. Yum! Rating: 93+/94(+?)
Schloss Lieser Riesling Spätlese trocken 2008
Analytically speaking not bone-dry, but tastes rather dry and certainly a bit fruitless and not too ripe. Dark minerality. Has that indescribable smell that seems to point to cultured yeasts – someone called the element “stinky”. Rating: 83+/84(+?)
Schloss Lieser Riesling QbA feinherb 2008
Not a bad wine, but the acids and bitter note make this a bit green and tough. Rating: 83+/84(+?)
Schloss Lieser Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
Somewhat more exotic on the nose, riper, creamier perhaps. Herbs and bakery/bread dough spice, still a bit yeasty. Rating: 86+
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Niederberg Helden 2008
Not bad, if a bit light and loose. Medium length. Not the density and intensity, let alone the freshness and precision of a top vintage. Rating: 87
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr 2008
Quite high-acid but still milder. Nobler, more precise minerality. Longer. Rating: 89+/90?
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Niederberg Helden 2008
Very botrytised, ripe, fairly long, golden sultanas. Could be more crystalline and refreshing, but is sweet and juicy. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Grosses Gewächs Ürziger Würzgarten 2008
Barrel sample ready to be bottled. Dry, firm, good body. Minerality and strong herbs (basil among other). Rating: ~88
Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Erdener Treppchen 2008
Barrel sample ready to be bottled. Quite expressive, fruity, some golden sultanas, fairly bright acidity, not too round. Medium length. Rating: 85+/86
Dr. Loosen Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2008
Barrel sample ready to be bottled. Sweeter, more evenly ripe (sufficiently ripe, that is, not especially so) yet more citrusy, rounder, longer. Rating: 87
Dr. Loosen Riesling Spätlese Ürziger Würzgarten 2008
Barrel sample ready to be bottled. Not just (much!) riper, but more precise, with some good ÜWG expression and typicity, and yet, a bit greener underneath. Rating: 87(+?)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese Erdener Prälat 2008
Barrel sample ready to be bottled. Medium-plus sweetness, showing some of the noble terroir expression one expects here, but not too fresh, lively or precise in this vintage. Rating: 87+/88
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2007
Medium-dark minerality. A bit reticent, but tasty. Rating: 83+/84?
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese feinherb Bernkasteler Badstube 2007
Interesting, not too dry medium weight, stony, a bit alcoholic. Rating: 86(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich 2007
Slightly darker minerality. Relatively fresh. Good body. Long. Rating: 85
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2007
Softer, fruitier, showing the typical WS spring flowers and herbs and a touch of grapefruit. Longer. Rating: 87
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmelreich 2007
Spicy bred dough-like herbs, good sweetness. Medium-plus length. Rating: 88
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spätlese Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2007
More herbs and precision, not sweeter, but more concentrated and higher-acid. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese #22/08 Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2007
Very pretty, terroir-expressive, complex, a bit creamy, with a tiny vanilla (botrytis) top note, quite long. Rating: 89+/90(+?)
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2007
Relatively dark herbs, vanilla (botrytis), rich and flavourful, round and oily, long. Rating: 90+/91(+?)
Schloss Saarstein Riesling Spätlese trocken Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2008
Quite high-acid but not too dry, fairly fruity for a dry 2008. Rating: 88+/87?
Schloss Saarstein Riesling Kabinett Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2008
A bit rubbery but fruity, firm acidity, medium length. Rating: 87
Schloss Saarstein Riesling Spätlese Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2008
Sweeter, showing nobler minerality and greater subtlety to the peachy pineapple, longer, too, but really high-acid, razor-sharp. Rating: 88+
Schloss Saarstein Riesling Auslese Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2008
Quite clean, a bit rubbery botrytis, a touch of flintstone to the minerality, minor viscosity that cannot fully cover up the fractionally spikier acidity. But fairly long on the finish. Rating: 88
Willi Schaefer Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich 2008
Attractive minerality albeit of only medium intensity, interesting if faintly green fruit, tannic. Rating: 86+/87?
Willi Schaefer Riesling Auslese Graacher Domprobst 2008
Soft herbs and bakery spice, more balanced, and bit longer, but not easy to easy to interpret – hopefully holding back a little something. Rating: 87+
Von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Kabinett trocken Abtsberg 2008
Steely, tough acidity. Medium-light and -short. Fairly clean but already a bit tired. Rating: 83+?
Von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Superior trocken Abtsberg 2008
More complex medium weight, some herbs, less tough, rounder and longer. Rating: 84+/~85?
Von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus Riesling QbA Bruderberg 2008
Citrusy, tasty little QPR wine, touch of lemon zest, again a bit longer. Rating: 86
Von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Kabinett Abtsberg 2008
Nice expression, riper acidity but lots of it, fairly long. Rating: 86+
Von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Auslese Abtsberg 2008
Coffee top note, bright acidity, nice bitter note, longer. Pretty enough, if a bit lean. Rating: ~87(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling trocken Kiedrich Klosterberg 2008
Relatively exotic but dry and a bit alcoholic. Medium-plus length. Rating: 87
Robert Weil Riesling trocken Kiedrich Turmberg 2008
Just as dry, higher-acid and more closed, but firm, fuller, rounder, more minerally and intense. Rating: 87+/88(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese Kiedrich Turmberg 2008
First bottle TCA-tainted – I am always surprised one has to tell vintners that. Auslese-like, nicely creamy, albeit not too sweet. Not the most intense and expressive vintage, but quite flavourful, good finesse. Rating: 90+
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2008
No more precise than the Turmberg but more floral and complex. Higher-acid, but with a more intense blackcurrant top note (greater ripeness). Rating: 90+/91(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling Auslese Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2008
Nicely noble botrytis. Creamy yet high-acid, but with good subtlety. Quite long on the finish. Rating: 91(+?)
Robert Weil Riesling Beerenauslese Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2008
Relatively clean if a bit gluey botrytis honey. Viscous. Nice lemon rind bitter note. Quite high-acid, but only medium density for Weil BA. Still a lovely wine, but there have been Weil Auslesen in the past that were as good as this. So open it could be enjoyed now. Rating: 92+/93(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Kabinett #1 Wolfer Goldgrube 2008
Rather bright as well, but this simply offers more volume and intensity than most 2008s. Pretty mineral dust. Nice little bitter note. Fairly long on the finish. Rating: 87+/88
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Spätlese #3 Wolfer Goldgrube 2008
Concentration, density, volume and depth that prompted my companions to exclaim “like a Gold Capsule Auslese elsewhere” (they were exaggerating a bit, visibly due to a certain amount of desperation). A bit razor-sharp next to the Gold Capsule version, but an impressive wine, probably the QPR buy of the tasting. Rating: ~90
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule #5 Wolfer Goldgrube 2008
Riper, more “golden” fruit, complex, minerally, very long. What a pretty (and complete) 2008! Not inexpensive for Spätlese, though. Rating: 90+/91(+?)
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Auslese #7 Kröver Steffensberg 2008
Early botrytis before the rain, “there is nothing thicker than this in 2008” (by which Daniel means higher in sugar readings). Lovely clean botrytis (the cleanest of the tasting, we quickly agreed) with a soft vanilla touch. Pineapple. Sweet, rich and long. When I remarked on the relative blurriness of soil notes, Daniel informed me these are “no ungrafted vines”. Rating: 88+
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Spätlese trocken Enkircher Ellergrub 2008
From 60- to 100-years-old ungrafted vines. Rubbery-dry fruit, stone dust, slightly alcoholic, but firm wine. Rating: 84+?
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Kabinett Enkircher Ellergrub 2008
Also a bit rubbery, but very minerally, a nice wine, quite firm, and longer. Rating: 86+/87
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Spätlese Enkircher Zeppwingert 2008
Just fractionally fruitier than the Kabinett, more mouthfilling subtlety and finesse (thanks to the sugar), but may seemed less concentrated and dense. Rating: 86(+?)
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Spätlese Enkircher Ellergrub 2008
Quite high-acid, fruitier, more exotic perhaps, certainly a bit spicier, but not denser or longer. Rating: 86(+?)
Weiser-Künstler Riesling Auslese Enkircher Zeppwingert 2008
Yeastier, riper, but a bit loose, neither cleaner nor more crystalline. Rating: 85+/86?
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Riesling Butterfly 2008
A so-called feinherb (off-dry) with 17 g/l residual sugar at 11% alcohol. Fairly dry. Quite ripe acidity, touch cidery fruit, some alcohol surfacing. Medium-short on the finish. Rating: 85+/86?
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Riesling Kabinett Saarburger Rausch 2008
Touch of lime blossom/linden flower, creamy, but a bit light on the mid-palate, and medium-short on the finish. Rating: 85+/86
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Riesling Spätlese Saarburger Rausch 2008
More attractively floral nose with a clean vanilla botrytis kiss, again creamy, quite harmonious, a bit longer. Rating: 86+
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Riesling Auslese Saarburger Rausch 2005
From a half bottle the Zillikens miraculously pulled out from under the table (more likely, out of a wine cooler). Already (surprisingly) petrolly with minerality and botrytised golden apple. Thick, sweet, hugely long, but not too weighty. The contrast in vintage quality is such that I wondered why the Zillikens would pour even samples of it – I mean, were they not there to promote their 2008s just like everyone else? Rating: 91+
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti