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.

Jacobs Creek Steingarten Riesling 2011 Barossa, South Australia

Jacobs Creek Steingarten Riesling 2011 from the Barossa Valley in South Australia and the tanslation of Steingarten is 'garden full of stones'. The 2011 vintage was the 35th birthday of the wine brand Jacob’s Creek which is now part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio. This wine has a pale lemon green core and a water white rim - the aromas are low and of citrus, apricot and red apple - riper than some of the Rieslings from the Clare/Eden Valleys but on the mouth there is great fresh acidity and the alcohol is low ( 10.8%), flavours of lemon, lime and apricot are of moderate concentration with a smattering of minerality, but not as zesty or intense as others tasted of the same vintage and seemed tight and un-giving at this point in its development, the length was good but had an acidic finish - so again disappointing. I had heard good things about the Jacobs Creek Steingarten, maybe this just needs keeping (and it does have the right character for ageing up to 15-20 years) or maybe this was not the best vintage for it - I shall have to keep trying!!
Score : 84 but do visit a vertical tasting of the Steingarten Rieslings.
The Barossa Valley has a great winemaking and grape growing heritage dating back to 1842 when settlers from Silesia came with their  German influence, and is home to some of the oldest vines in the world. In some families, there have been six generations of grape growers and winemakers. German culinary traditions and Lutheranism are still important aspects of the local culture; Barossa Valley even has its own German dialect, "Barossa Deutsch."  
Johann Gramp, 28 year old,  is said to have planted one of the first vineyards in the area, near Jacob's Creek. The Aldenhoven brothers and Joseph Gilbert are also thought to be some of the first growers in the Barossa Valley. Around the same time, Dr. Christopher Penfold moved to the valley, bringing with him some vine cuttings from France. He planted them near his new house and became a grower as well as a physician. Several other vineyards were established in those early years, including Joseph Seppelt's Seppeltsfield and Auguste Fiedler's vineyard, now part of the Château Tanunda estate.
The Barossa Valley is about 35 miles northeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The North Para River runs through the middle of the region. The climate is ideal for full bodied red wines, fortified wines and robust white wines and is said to be Mediterranean, but some of the higher areas can be described as Continental.
The Barossa region produces a great variety of wine, with the main styles being Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  One important fact is that the Barossa Valley is Phyllowera free due to strict quarantine rules and working with local residents and visitors, South Australia even has an official board dedicated to these tasks, the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia, which works with growers and winemakers to prevent infestations and promote use of phylloxera- and nematode-resistant rootstocks. The first vines planted were of course Phylloxera free.
This Riesling is available from Halisham Cellars at a cost of £15.95 and the 2007 vintage from Tesco's at a similar cost..

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2011 Clare Valley, South Australia

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2011 made by Jeffrey Grosset in the Clare Valley in South Australia. He established his winery in 1981 in the historic township of Auburn, Clare Valley, 100 kilometres north of Adelaide. He is best known for his iconic Rieslings - Polish Hill and Springvale - and he has almost single-handedly been responsible for the renaissance of Clare Valley Riesling.

The Clare Valley is less than a two-hour drive from Adelaide and is considered one of the most picturesque wine regions in South Australia. James Halliday ( Wine Companion ) described the Clare Valley as one of Australia’s most beautiful wine-producing regions where Hills fold in on themselves, streamlets meander and lines of gumtrees are forever twisting through pockets of vineyards and around old stone houses.

Situated in the northern Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia’s Clare Valley was settled in the late 1830s, with the first vineyards planted and wines produced in the early 1840s. The same features that make the Clare Valley inherently beautiful are also the foundation of Clare’s famed vineyards. The climate features a warm to hot summer where cool afternoon breezes are the key and play a major role in slowing down the ripening process. The altitude and position within the Valley, as well as aspect, lead to considerable variations in individual site climate. The climate is moderately Continental, with cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days. The rainfall is winter-spring dominant, while relatively low humidity (and summer rainfall) means a low incidence of fungal disease. Hence some of Australia's finest Rieslings are grown in the Clare Valley, but the region also produces many other wine styles, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

Located at the base of Mount Horrocks, at an elevation of 460 metres, the Polish Hill vineyard is a hard rock site with shallow shale and a crust of clay marl over slate. These thin soils hamper the roots downward development, so the vines struggle. Relatively close-planted (by Australian standards), a modified ballerina. training system provides ideal exposure. The fruit is typically small, in berry and bunch size. Natural composting and hand-tending have been practiced since 1996. Careful vineyard management has helped keep the fruit quality high in this vintage.

All grapes were hand picked and vines hand pruned, shoot thinned and fruit thinned where necessary. Innoculated with neutral yeast  to help maintain focus on natural fruit characters and expression of terroir. Fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, with neutral yeast at relatively high temperatures (15 - 18°C). There was no skin contact, and only the free-run juice was used. Fermented to dryness <1g/L residual sugar. No fining was necessary.

This wine had a light, quite tight aroma, hovering minerality gave a hint at the quality. On the palate zesty acidity, dry flavours of lime, lemon and pink grapefruit, stunning texture and a fresh long clean finish, this wine was pointed and quite angular and needed time in bottle to knit together completely and produce the great wine it is to become. Available from Majestic Wine at a cost of £25.

Score : 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2011 Clare Valley South Australia

Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2011 from the Clare Valley in South Australia.

Mount Horrocks Wines is run by proprietor/winemaker Stephanie Toole who restricts production to approximately 4,500 cases per annum so as to achieve her aims of quality and single vineyard expression. She describes her wines as .essentially hand made food wines with an emphasis on structure as well as generous fruit flavours.. All grapes are 100% estate grown from three separate vineyard sites totalling nearly 10 hectares in the Clare Valley and the 26-year-old low yielding unirrigated Watervale vineyards are east facing, with a mixture of red loam, loamy/clay and marl soils.

The Clare Valley is less than a two-hour drive from Adelaide and is considered one of the most picturesque wine regions in South Australia.  James Halliday ( Wine Companion ) described the Clare Valley as one of Australia’s most beautiful wine-producing regions where Hills fold in on themselves, streamlets meander and lines of gumtrees are forever twisting through pockets of vineyards and around old stone houses.

Situated in the northern Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia’s Clare Valley was settled in the late 1830s, with the first vineyards planted and wines produced in the early 1840s. The same features that make the Clare Valley inherently beautiful are also the foundation of Clare’s famed vineyards. The climate features a warm to hot summer where cool afternoon breezes are the key and play a major role in slowing down the ripening process, but cooling afternoon breezes play a major role in slowing down the ripening process. altitude and position within the Valley, as well as aspect, lead to considerable variations in individual site climate. The climate is moderately Continental, with cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days. The rainfall is winter-spring dominant, while relatively low humidity (and summer rainfall) means a low incidence of fungal disease.  Hence some of Australia's finest Riesling is grown in the Clare Valley, and the region also produces many other wine styles, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  

This wines grapes were crushed and de-stemmed and the must fermented in stainless steel tanks at 14-16°C over a two to three week period. The juice was inoculated with a mixture of champagne yeasts plus other neutral yeasts and fermented to dryness. No malolactic fermentation occurred.

This wine has a low aroma of apples, peaches and more than a smattering of minerality, there is also a slightly tropical note that develops as it warms to room temperature. On the mouth, the dry wine is fresh with concentrated, elegant acidity, flavours of key limes, green apples and the texture is silky and slightly waxy in the mouth. The length is good with a true lime end - a lovely crafted wine with lots to offer. Available from Slurp at a cost of £15.95.

Score : 86

 

Larry Cherubino Ad Hoc Riesling 2009 Great Western, Australia

Larry Cherubino Ad Hoc Wallflower Riesling 2009 Great Western in the West of Australia, south of Margaret River, a cool climate area.. Larry Cherubino was named by James Halliday 2011 Wine Companion as Winery of the Year, he is careful about how he grows his grapes, canopy management, little intervention and watering selectively as well as picking at night to preserve the quality of the grapes, and he produces a range of wines from delicate whites to heavy hitting reds!Larry Cherubino
After picking the grapes are de stemmed and only the free run juice is used for this wine, natural yeasts are used and a long cool fermentation is allowed - this leads to a good flavour palate.

Great Southern is aptly named, as it is pounded by the Southern Ocean and is renowned for its dramatic cliffs, white sandy beaches and bays and is steeped in the history of early European settlement.  The region is vast and diverse, extending 150 kilometres north to south and 100 kilometres east to west. It ranges from the coastal, maritime subregions of Albany and Denmark to the inland, continental subregions of Mount Barker, Porongurup and Frankland River. In these circumstances it is indeed surprising that there is such a degree of coherence in the wine styles produced

Continental influence takes over as you move inland and temperature variability increase significantly, in general terms the climate of the more northern areas is slightly warmer on the higher sites. Though rainfall is greater and relative humidity increases in the south around Denmark, heat summation and sunshine hours do not change greatly, so careful site selection allows the production of virtually every wine style.

Riesling:  Riesling vies with Cabernet Sauvignon as the most important wine from the region. The wines age superbly, seldom reaching the peak of their development in less than ten years. As well as being crisp and lean in youth, the wines still have intense flavour, typically in the citrus spectrum with an underlay of herbs.
This Riesling was a lovely medium pale straw, the aroma had lime skin, peaches and a little kerosene ( and at 3 years old - I was surprised....) along with a definate mineral edge, this came through again on the palate and the clean fresh zesty fruit had a pithy finish with great length, the alcohol was merely supportive of the delicate and carefully crafted wine, this is a wine that could age well in bottle - and is only part of the way through its journey - Enjoy! It can be found at Wine Direct at a cost of £14 per bottle if buying a case.
Score : 86

 

Frogmore Creek Riesling 2011 Tasmania

Frogmore Creek Riesling 2011 from southern Tasmania a cool region for wine production and is often considered to be marginal for ripening it has a long growing season. These slowly-ripened grapes develop pure fruit flavours, fresh natural acidity.
Tasmania is the most southerly point in the world involved with grape growing and wine making - and the thing that is most surprising is the many microclimates that exist on this island with its maritime climate. The west coast is wet, cold and has rainforest scenery with mountainous terrain, the east coast is very dry ( due to the rainshadow from the mountains) and the north coast also has a good climate for grapes, the soil is good for grape production - overall a great place for cool climate grapes! Pinot Noir is the most planted grape, with Chardonnay following in second place with half its weight per annum. The land is being snapped up by many Australian producers as well as international big producers - so watch this space.

The wine surplus much talked about in Australias mainland does not esist here - they can sell everything they produce ( the level of production is about 3% of the Australian production) and the quality is high, little gets exported .
The grapes for this wine come from 2 vineyards, 87% from the Frogmore Creek vineyard, in Penna, Southern Tasmania, and the remainder 13 % from the Meadowbank Vineyard, Cambridge in South Tasmania.

The grapes for this wine are crushed and de-juiced with only slight pressure then cold-settling overnight. Yeast added to allow it to ferment to full dryness.

This wine waspale lemon and had low aromas of apricot and green apple with a little minerality thrown into the mix. It was dry on the palate with lemon, pithy lime and some apple, great zesty acidity and the alcohol was in balance offering sufficient glycerol to produce a silkt texture in the mouth but not warm on the palate. The length was good with lime and lemon to finish. This was a wine you would recognise as Riesling and love it for its elegant character.

Score : 85

 

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

Riesling Kappelweg Vendange Tardive 2000 by Rolly Gassmann

Riesling Kappelweg Vendange Tardive 2000 by Rolly Gassmann is supplied by The Wine Society priced at £35, it is a late harvest wine ( denoted by the Vendange Tardive) and can only be one of Alsace's 'nobel grape varieties' by their wine laws, these are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat. The grapes are only harvested when they have fully ripened and more - and have started to dehydrate and shrivel on the vines so concentrating the flavours within the grape and so in the resultant wine. The grape has a high percentage of sugar and so the wine is often sweet as it cannot convert all the contained sugar to alcohol because the yeast cannot operate effectively at high sugar concentrations. This whole process is called 'passerillage' and was first introduced in France by the Alsace region and was first described as Vendange Tardive by Hugel in 1976. There is another higher sugar concentrated wine called Selecion de Grains Nobles and this has to have been infected by Botrytis ( the same nobel rot that affects grapes used to make Sauternes in Bordeaux and Trockenbeerenauslese in Germany ). The basic rule declares what minimium sugar level is needed in the grapes at harvest to reach these 2 levels of sweetness, it is higher for Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris than for Riesling and Muscat.
This wine has more colour than most rieslings due to its increased age and also the concentration of flavours and sugars it contains, the legs are slow to form and then fat - this tells me that the wine has increased viscosity, due to either alchol or sugar. On the nose we are treated to aromas of baked apples and pears, yeasty tertiary notes and a little mushroom, it also has a streak of minerality running around it.
On the mouth - Wow, silky texture, great acidity balancing the succulent sweetness backed up by baked stone fruits, sugary apple, all concentrated and honeyed. The length is good and clean, with a baked apple finish, and yes there is minerality, great structure and lots of clever fruit sugars, but the acidity, the freshness of this wine comes through - and it is at this point 12 years old - beautiful!

Alsace Riesling 2011 M&S Cave de Turkheim

Alsace Riesling 2011 made for  M&S by the Cave de Turkheim is a very well priced wine at £8.99, and on tasting it I was a little let down by its quality, it feels a little flat or lacking in concentration of flavours, it is dry with medium acidity, flavours of lemon, apple and a little minerality are apparent,  echoed from the aromas which again are not intense. The length is not long and has a dry finish.  Overall I feel deflated, this could have been a concentrated riesling with zing and polish, but maybe due to high yields or poor vineyard care or even lack of care in the making - this comes over as a generic wine with little to offer - what a shame. It is young - but will it gain in complexity - we will have to wait and see, maybe this could be its saviour.

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