2015 is a higher end acid vintage. If you want more you are an outlier.
Robert, perhaps tone it down a bit unless you wish to re-title the thread “Down to Earth Wines 2016 German offer.”
Robert, if you haven’t done so, perhaps try some 2015 dry German Rieslings and you will get the acid, loud and clear. I have bottles of Geil and Muller in front of me right now and they have enough acid to satisfy any lover of it.
Looking back at my notes, Constantine picked the Juffer Fass 4 at 78 oechsle in both '15 and '16.
His other '16 Kabinetts were picked at 83 oechsle.
They all have between 8-9g/L acidity.
Analytically, almost identical to the '15s.
I didn’t find them to be “bigger” at all.
I didn’t taste the '15 WS Kab last year, fwiw.
As tremendous as the '15 Veldenzer Elisenberg Kab is, the '16 may be even better…
Ditto the Mullheimer Sonnenlay Alte Reben feinherb '16, with a tremendous '15 effort in comparison.
Those are low must weights for today’s Kabinetts. I wonder why Constantin told me that he felt his 2016 Kabinetts were bigger than 2015.
That does sound odd. After all the wines I tried on Tuesday, I certainly did not find 2016 “bigger” anywhere.
Yes, I found it odd that Constantin Richter told me this at Mythos Mosel last Sunday. Oechsle levels of 83 and 78 degrees are low. But perhaps that’s just his impression of the 2016 Kabinetts at Max Ferd. Richter. I’ve yet to taste the wines.
On Friday evening, I asked Konstantin Weiser what he thought of the vintage. He feels the wines are much lighter. Weiser-Künstler produced two 2016 Kabinetts, both from Wolfer Sonnenlay. I tasted the Kabinett trocken. It has only 9.5 percent alcohol—for a nearly bone-dry wine!
Somewhat lower acidity giving the impression of bigger wines?
Around 2 weeks ago I tasted the complete 2016 GGs from Battenfeld-Spanier and Kühling-Gillot. According to the winemaker HO, the best Roter Hang-vintage ever for him.
2016 is even better than 2015. You don´t believe it, I understand…as 2015 was such great, for example in case of 2015 Pettenthal GG. But 2016 shows a touch more precision, clarity, complexity than 2015. I tasted it with Felix Eschenauer/medienagenten and even he was stunned by the quality of 2016. And he is really not the enthusiastic guy like me.
Cheers,
Martin
Here is what Terry These said about the 2015s in his 2017 catalog: "A very famous grower asked me, over dinner, near the end of the evening when all of us were loose and unguarded, what I “really” thought of 2015. I replied that I liked the vintage for … My interlocutor knew me well, though, and knew there was a “but” hovering in the vicinity. “And?” he asked. Well, I replied, there are a lot of sweet wines with too much acidity. Including, I added, yours. At this point he rose from his seat and stretched out his hand in a high-five gesture, saying “Yes, exactly! And you’re the first person to say so.” So, I really do like the good ‘15s, and there are plenty of them, and if you’re a taster/drinker who relishes a jabbing acid attack then you’ll lick your lips over the exact wines I furrow my brow about. As a young wine lover I relished high acidity—I don’t really know why—but over time I grew suspicious of any single component that shrieked out from the whole. Hans Selbach (Johannes’ father and a wise man of wine) said “It’s better if the whole chorus sings than if one voice screams,” and it is that exactly.
I have enjoyed pretty much every 2015 German wine that I have had, particularly the dry ones which are my preference, but the acid definitely pushes the limits.
If the vintages were the other way around and 2016 style preceded 2015, then would Terry have said “I love your 2016 wines BUT they just lack a bit of acidity. Look at the refreshing acidity in the 2015s. They look like complete wines.”
Sanjay,
Firstly, let me say that I don’t sell Terry’s wines.
Second, I thought something similar initially, not having tasted anything 2016, perhaps skeptical with Terry’s talking up the '16s finesse vs the raw power of some of the '15s, as he is going to have a harder time selling the '16s…
But having now tasted, I can see very much where he is coming from, that sometimes in a more zen fashion, the overall harmony of the '16s in their sheer charm and gentler power are more his cup of tea, which fits what I understand to be his preferences.
For pradikat wines, I personally will buy Kabinetts with even more gusto than in '15, Spats roughly the same if a smidge less…dry will be producer by producer…
David, I think you’re onto something with the guess that ever so slightly less acidity may make the '16 wines seem “bigger”. It really is wild to sense the subtle differences that 0-.5 g/l acidity makes in wines, always a fun game to play: guess the r/s and acidity…
Best one I’ve ever seen was John Cleese in Fawlty Towers – but that’s not from 2016
The Prüm '16s are shaping up to be very very good, in exactly the pure and filigree finessed way that are hallmarks of the Mosel vintage. I tasted through the full range yesterday with Katharina for a few hours. Especially after airing a bit (the vast majority aren’t bottled yet, so they are cask samples at this point), the poise, site specific personalities, and sense of shimmering purity of the vintage are swoon worthy, and perhaps more “classic” than the '15s in the sense that they are more on dancing delicacy and charm than raw power.
Whereas I am always taken by the quality of the Sonnenuhr and Himmelreich, the Badstube wines were of more captivating quality than any vintage that I have had the pleasure to taste.
Fwiw, as in 2015, there is a Bernkastel Lay GKA once again.
Katharina mentioned that yesterday’s tête-à-tête tasting was the best that they have yet shown, an encouraging sign as we approach July bottling for the vast majority of the range; I will be able to offer mags.
I am certain that fans of Prüm will be thrilled with the vintage.
I am also certain that no matter how good the '16s may be, consumers will likely snooze through it with the “vintage of a lifetime” 2015 hangover, a silly but recurring phenomenon.
Prum made great wines. Surprise surprise! 
I am not expert like you guys on Riesling - more of a regular Joe in this category of wine (though do drink lots of it) - but the Willi Kab did not come across that way. I more recently just had a Donnhoff and a Lauer that did, both wonderful.
Especially since 2015 was not a “vintage of a lifetime.” The overall level of Quality for 90% of German Riesling vintages since 1988 makes “vintage of a lifetime” or “vintage of the century” pronouncements hollow and meaningless. It’s pretty much reached a point where one can throw darts and hit an excellent vintage. Sure stylistic preferences come into play, but that’s always the case regardless of vintage quality.
Trust Willi, always.
I really liked J.J. Prüm’s 2015 Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett. It should be noted that J.J. Prüm ferments and matures its wines in stainless-steel tanks instead of wooden casks. The term “cask samples” can be a little misleading.
I always trust my Willi.