German wines galore

Went to a great wine tasting last night at a local wine group SWIGS, and Michael was introducing and hosting a group of wines he had acquired with, as it turns out, some difficulty.
German wine in the 1970's and 80's was what every one drank, but with the rise in popularity of New World wines which exhibit the grape variety prominently on the label, and the trend of drinking drier wines and maybe also the lack of understanding of German Wine quality and sweetness levels has led to a drop in its popularity, this was not helped by scandals similar to the current horsemeat debacle. Today the industry has had a little bit of a rethink as far as sweetness levels produced by its growers, trends have influenced the style of wine available here and in Germany itself, though a remarkable lack in variety can be seen available on the British marketplace today.
Michael had acquired 5 Riesling wines, 4 saying only Riesling and one with 55% Silvaner (Sylvaner in Alsace ). And considering 4 were basically the 'same wine' they varied incredibly in style and quality....... and price.

To start with I want to say that in the past sweet wines have been an expectation from German wine producers, but these wines were from the drier end of the spectrum, only 1 would have been termed 'halbtrocken' which is half dry, the others all were dry or bone dry.

Wachenheimer Gerumpel Riesling 2011 from the Pfalz region, Gerumpel estate near Wachenheim.
This was a single estate wine with the highest alcohol level of the evening at 13%, it was dry with a wonderful peaches aroma which followed through to the palate, mineral was the underlying theme here, stones and slate aromas and tastes, fresh zesty acidity and zippy from first to last, great length and breadth, a lovely wine which I scored 91, and can be found at the Wine Society at around £17.


Domdechant Werner Hochheimer Riesling 2008 (the oldest wine had in the evening) was off dry and again slatey in flavour and smell, wet stone minerality and fresh acidity enhancing the tropical juicy fruits found on the palate, mouth coating and with some residual sugar which again made the fruit more attractive. This wine was a VDP estate, a group formed in 1910 to promote and sell wine together. The estate is in the Rheingau, the area in Germany that produces a higher percentage of Riesling than any other of the areas and tends to be a more delicate wine, generally. The Rheingau soils often include channels of red slate which imparts a tropical fruit element to the wine via the grapes grown on this soil. This wine was from Laithwaites and came in at a price of £12.49. I scored this wine 87 and liked it a lot.

Wiltinger Riesling Trocken 2011 was from the Mosels Braunfels vineyards near Wiltinger on the Saar tributary in the Mosel region. Once more the minerality exhibited in this wine is obvious along with an orange peel edge on the palate especially on the finish which was noticeably dry, great acidity emphasised the freshness of this wine which has a clean earthy quality. Quality is what this wine is about, through and through with Riesling being a star here. Score : 85 and costs £10.50.

Saarburger Kabinett 2009 is from the Rausch vineyard on the Saar tributary in the Mosel region of Germany and the sweet tropical fruits and wet stone aromas are enticing with the acidity keeping the Riesling incredibly fresh even after 3-4 years in bottle. I scored this wine 88 and it costs £12.95, seems a good one to buy still with lots of life in it.

The last wine of the night was an 'own label' from the Wine Society, one of their basic Exhibition wines and had a minority share of Riesling with 55% Silvaner. It comes from the village of Rupertsberg in the Mittelhaardt, it was also the cheapest wine of the night coming in at £6.25. Generally the concenses of opinion was that it was not the favourite, there was a hard bitter, pithy flavour left after the fresh acidic start and the peach aromas did not follow successfully through to the palate, but it was refreshing and at this bargain price who were we to quibble I scored it 81, but needless to say I would be happy to drink it at anytime and at the price will probably buy it at some point.

Langmeil Live Wire Riesling 2011 Eden Valley Australia

Langmeil Live Wire Riesling 2011 from South Australia's Eden Valley is a low alcohol ( 8.5% )Riesling in the Mosel style - off-dry with some residual sugar. Langmeil is a vineyard/winery with history, in 1843 a German settler, Christian Auricht  established a winery and this was in operation here from 1932 to 1988. The property was bought in 1996 by the local Lindner and Bitter families, and they set about meticulously restoring both its buildings and its reputation. Amazingly, the 1843 vines are still alive and producing; they are believed to be the oldest Shiraz vines in the world, the riesling are not so old - they vary between 12 and 42 years.

The cool area of the Eden Valley is the Barossa’s Garden of Eden famous for its Riesling wines, it has a cool climate, ancient soils and later ripening so producing distinctive  wines, displaying wonderful aromatics, elegance, complexity and finesse.

Wine making history dates back to when the first vines were planted on the estate in 1843 by a German settler, Christian Auricht and the Eden Valley is home to some of the world’s oldest Shiraz and Riesling vineyards (though other quality grapes are gorown). Traditional grape growing continues with a focus on sustainability and authenticity, with fifth and sixth generations of the original settlers continuing to apply their craft.
Altitude, aspect and slope are all important in determining mesoclimate in this hilly region. Altitudes range between 350 – 500m and the overall growing season temperatures are significantly lower than those of the Barossa Valley, and the final stages of ripening and harvesting take place in much cooler conditions.
To get back to this wine - it is pale straw with green tints - as expected, and on the nose it has fresh green apple aromas with a hint of citric skin, on the palate it is off dry with a slight spritz or tickle on the tongue, alot of wineries add Carbon Dioxide as they bottle to keep the wine fresh..... The acidity is soft - not as high as some I have tasted and the flavour palate included lemon/lime, apple and a cheese element. The length is good and has a sweet ripe apple finish, this was not what I expected at all, and it is not similar to other Eden Valley Riesling's I have ever tasted - but I did enjoy it, and the alcohol being so low has its dvantages - so see what you think - hopefully you will enjoy it too! The alcoholic fermentation was stopped when the wine had reached 8.5% and there was residual sugar in the wine - hence the off-dry taste! This is how alot of Mosel whites are made!
Available from All About Wine at £13.99.
Score : 88

Georg Breuer Estate 2008 Rheingau:Rudesheim Riesling Trauben

We bought this Georg Breuer Riesling 2008 Rheingau : Rudesheim  when we toured the area in 2010, we had stayed in Rudesheim for a night and the next morning we made our way to their tasting room in the town. In the courtyard at the side/back of the shop they have a sample of the stone and soil make up in the vineyards, these were taken when drilling was done in the region for a planned train route through the region. The 4 drilling cores are cleverly displayed also in their tasting room in the vaulted cellar have a vine removed including alot of the roots, both are shown here.
This wine had grapes that came from the Rheingau area in Germany and this wine is part of their 'Village' series and the Artist Michael Wolf designed the labels.
On opening the wine the other day, savoury aromas including stoney minerality hovers alongside gooseberry and a little green apple. The savoury minerality continues onto the palate with a cheesy tinge ( pleasant), the slate stoniness has a rounded quality and the expressive apple gooseberry flavours are complimented by the searing acidity, the body was fuller than expected and the alcohol felt well integrated (12%). The finish was long - ending with pithy citric spikes and then minerality was the tapering end. This was a well made wine from great terroir, the minerality was memorable, the acidity will ensure its longevity as this wine has still got some way to go - I look forward to trying it again in a few years!
90-92

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2007

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2007 Kaseler Riesling Trocken Mosel Qualitatswein is a wine we bought on our trip through the Mosel , we visited the 'cellar' where we were made so welcome and we tasted some beautiful wines, with lovely tropical fruits on nose and palate.
The winemaker, Wolfgang Mertes, showed us down into the actual cellar, harvest was due in the next few weeks and one could sense the anticipation in the air, they were anxious to get started!
This wine was a clean fresh fruity wine with apricots and soft fruits on nose and palate, a white flower perfume also was part of its makeup.
The finish was not as long as we had hoped and there was an absence of minerality, but it was a beautiful light bodied fresh and juicy wine, fruit providing the sweetness, balanced by the acidity so keeping the wine tingly!
A wine to enjoy.

Dr Wagner Saarburg 2007

Dr Wagner Saarburg 2007 ( Saarburger Kupp Riesling Spatlese) Trocken, a wine we first tasted while touring the German Mosel, it is a beautifuly crafted wine made in the Saar area of the Mosel taken  from 6 hectares of vineyards with 30 year old Riesling vines. The fermentation takes place in 1000 litre barrels and with no additional yeasts.
The pale lemon wine has prominent aromas of green fruits, apricots and definite minerality, a touch of herbal essence and lime skin. Tasting it echoes these characteristics with a fresh, clean mouth, minerality lies at every level and the layered flavours of lemon, apricot and green apple are kept fresh by the more than medium acidity, it is light bodied but is multi faceted and a wine with pedigree, great to drink now but could be kept for another 2-4 years.  Grape