WTN: White Weekend

2004 Nigl Grüner Veltliner Privat
Lovely lovely. Much nicer than the 04 GV Alte Reben I opened a few weeks ago and also shows much more poise than the last bottle of this from a few months ago. But that was in a restaurant and this bottle was from home. So now I have time to pay attention to the firm rich oily texture (am tempted to talk about hazelnut oil with orange zest flavoring and white chocolate for body in the middle), the peppery mineral underpinning and then all the delicate florals dancing on top. Not quite mind-blowing and not incredibly complex but great suave texture and very expansive flavor-wise in the mouth, so this gets all of my respect tonight. Bravo.

2001 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Spätlese
Typical Grünhaus flavor profile with verdant cucumbers, herbs, flowers, and some earthy spices. All of that is fine. There is also the brisk refreshingness underneath. But for the most part this is dominated by the overlay of round slightly dullish fruit on top, which is still a bit too round and dull for me to get very excited. Not bad now, but I am guessing/hoping that this will all become more harmonious with time.

2003 J.J. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese
Speaks too much of the vintage for me. There are some lacy Prüm elements to the body and a bit of sulfur kick, but for the most part the fruit flavors are showing too ripe for the structure. I enjoyed drinking it for a bit because of the sugar and minerals, but I did not finish the bottle. Maybe it will all come together in the 22nd century?

2003 J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese
This starts out worse than the Graacher. Which is to say it shows even sweeter and with more burnished sugar. With air it redeems itself and shows more compact and poised structure than the GH, if one were feeling fanciful one might even say it hinted towards the “integrated” and “regal” elements it can attain so marvelously in other vintages. But for the most part, here too the fruit flavors are showing too ripe for the structure. I enjoyed drinking it for a bit because of the sugar and minerals, but I did not finish the bottle. Maybe it will all come together in the 22nd century?

The Nigl sounds delightful, Rahsaan.

While I would be hopeful for the Maximin to continue developing, I seriously doubt the Graacher and Wehlener (and good description delineating the differences between those two vineyards in Prum's hands, btw) of 2003 will get any better, or come together in any more harmony. Function of the vintage.

Manfred does an amazing job with consistency of site---but even he can't impose balance when balance is not naturally there.

Looking back, one of the most profound days of my wine life consisted in part of sitting in Manfred's house as he pulled out a series of Graachs and Wehlens, different years and different designations, all blind, and tasted us on them with him demanding descriptions and declarations in his very Germanic way. Not only was that day fun, it confirmed in me the confidence and certainty of mind and palate for this business I was in.

And of course, his genius at what he does.

I seriously doubt the Graacher and Wehlener (and good description delineating the differences between those two vineyards in Prum's hands, btw) of 2003 will get any better, or come together in any more harmony. Function of the vintage.

Manfred does an amazing job with consistency of site---but even he can't impose balance when balance is not naturally there..

Yes, I can see that. I definitely haven't tasted a wide range of 2003s but I bought a few of them last year thinking that people like Prüm might be able to get something good out of the vintage. I was spoiled initially by some surprisingly-refreshing Willi Schaefer 03s, but last week's Haart PG and these two Prüms have made me a lot more skeptical. This is still only a few scattershot examples but at least it shows that vintages do mark the wine!

Sounds great that you were able to do such a tasting with Manfred. Must have been great. And didn't he pull out older ripe vintages that may have been analagous to 03 (i.e. 59)? Do you not buy the argument that 03 could potentially be along those lines?

He did indeed pull out some older vintages from his library, but the '59 you reference was, I believe, a BA from the Doktor Thanisch cellars (and consumed in the cellar, after brushing the mold off, while standing next to the little trickling stream inside the cellar!).

The storied '59 Prum was from a different occasion.

And no, I don't buy the comparison at all, at all with 2003 and 1959 (or other like vintages). Of course, I've seen the '59s only in their mature forms, and thus far the '03s in their natal forms (especially for Prum); but I think I'm on firm ground here.

I believe that, while there have certainly been 'heat wave' vintages in the past, 2003 was a particularly vivid example of all that heat can do to unbalance and distort a grape like Riesling. I don't believe the components will ever come together in these wines---mind you, I'm not saying some of them won't be good, and perfectly drinkable, but I think few will ever show the finesse and the superb balance of fruit and acidity of which Riesling is capable.

I'll be the iconoclast ( ) here, but I do believe there were a number of places/producers that created some amazing Rieslings in 03 in the Mosel with great balance and depth - but from what I've tasted, Prum wasn't among them.
I had his 03 Zeltinger and Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlesen a couple of years back and found them dull, sugary and boring and the 03 Bernkasteler Badstube Auslese some months ago was quite strange and like sugar water (although that may have been an iffy bottle, given that I got it from less-than-ideal provenance).

That said I would certainly not write off the vintage - especially after an 03 AJ Adam Dhronhofberger Tholey Auslese last week that was among the most stunning Auslese I've tried (regardless of vintage).
I have had a number of really good 03 Spatlese/Auslese and some stunning ones (a number from Schaefer, Selbach-Oster's Badstube which was superb, a shockingly bright and refreshing Kabinett from Catoir, and some masterpieces from Schlossgut Diel and Donnhoff). Certainly there are a lot of poor and boring wines out there - but there are a good number of wines out there that aren't soft and distorted and I think the best of those will make for some phenomenal drinking over the years.

(PS: Rahsaan, was the Nigl from the huge closeout at Marty's in Newton?)

(PS: Rahsaan, was the Nigl from the huge closeout at Marty's in Newton?)

No. This was another Age of Riesling bottle.

Is this the same closeout you were telling me about before or is this a new sale?

Same closeout. I saw lot of Nigl Privats (from 03 through 06) and some Hiedler, but loaded up mostly on the Schlossgut Diels and the Catoirs. That said after reading your note on the 04 Privat, I felt a tinge of regret at not grabbing any of those.

Salil, while I wouldn't go as far as "amazing" I would certainly agree that there are some pretty good, and pretty drinkable right now, Rieslings that came out of Germany in 2003. How could there not be? In even the worst vintages there are decent enough wines.

I fondly recall the vintage of 1973 in Bordeaux---fondly because in the midst of mind-numbing mediocrity I managed to snag some Chateau Latour at bargain basement prices that once again reinforced the assertion that Latour has a penchant for producing lovely wines in 'off vintages'. These were lovely---though not by any means profound when compared to other Latours---and provided many bottles of drinking pleasure.

Likewise, I'll expect to come across (and indeed already have) some lovely 2003 German Rieslings. But it's not the rule.

It's an endlessly arguable subject anyway. You can find examples of lovely wines, and I can find examples of mediocre and unbalanced wines. Let's just say it was a highly problematic vintage that stressed the abilities of the vineyard, the grape, and the winemaker to produce something of value in each category.

You're just more positive than I for the long term results.

Salil, while I wouldn't go as far as "amazing" I would certainly agree that there are some pretty good, and pretty drinkable right now, Rieslings that came out of Germany in 2003. How could there not be? In even the worst vintages there are decent enough wines.

(snip)

You're just more positive than I for the long term results.

Hoke,
I'm not that generally positive, actually - there is a lot of boring crap in '03 as well or wines that are simple and tasty, with no harm in drinking now but no point (that I see at least) in holding onto.

But I do believe that there are some seriously stunning, profound wines that were also made that year that would hold their own with far more acclaimed vintages. There are very few examples in that range I've been lucky enough to find and drink already - but those examples have been some of the most memorable and thrilling Rieslings I've had, well beyond being very good. The '03 Schlossgut Diel Pittermannchen Spatlese is one of those (unfortunately I polished off all my bottles within a month of opening my first one) - and a wine I'd hold up against (or prefer to) any of Diel's phenomenally good 05 or 06 Spatlesen. Similarly the 03 Donnhoff Hermannshohle Auslese was a grand wine - and at a tasting/dinner focused around Hermannshohle, it was holding its own with the 01, 05 and 07 over a couple of flights. The few wines I've had like that are the reason I'm still optimistic about some of the top producers that vintage and willing to gamble with a few bottles here and there - as wines like the Diel and the aforementioned AJ Adam have been singular experiences.

[David M. Bueker]

I remain on the fence regarding I2003. Even among individual producers it is a terribly mixed bag. I had a lovely Willi Schaefer not long ago, but then it was followed up by a less than enjoyable bottle of a different Schaefer Riesling. Some of the auslesen were amazing on release, and I know several very knowledgable Riesling experts who have high hopes. I am just hoping, especially considering that I have a bunch of 2003s, especially at the auslese level (not to mention a fair stash of spatlese).

I am just hoping, especially considering that I have a bunch of 2003s, especially at the auslese level (not to mention a fair stash of spatlese).

Auslese level should be particularly well-suited to the 2003 ripeness and more likely than spatlese and kabinett to be balanced?