Let's Talk Rheingau

[Eric Ifune]

Opened a 1993 Weil Spatlese just for this thread. Lovely, mature wine.

[R. Frankel]

As I’ve had only a smattering of Weil and Leitz, this discussion sent me to look at David Schildknecht’s last Vinous report on the region (2017 vintage, published in Aug 2019). His top producers overlap entirely with the names discussed in this thread. Surprisingly missing were the dozens of smaller producers that typically fill these kinds of articles. Instead only 13 Rheingau producers were covered at all. Perhaps that’s what is meant by an underperforming region, one missing the vitality and energy of lots of up and comers making names for themselves.

[James Wright]

...im Herzen bin ich Pfälzer

[Andrew Bair]

Similar to Eric, this thread inspired me to open up a 2011 PJK Amphore over the weekend. Amazing wine - very much the German answer to Gravner IMHO.

Although I'm sure it can last another 20+ years, my best experience with the PJK dry Rieslings has been at 7-12 years old.

[BenjaminL]

Slightly off topic but I was gifted the book The Wines of Germany by Anne Krebiehl and it has broken the mold. Highly recommended if you need any more enthusiasm for Rheingau or German wines as a whole. Free review on Jancis website here.

[Nathan V.]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

[K N Haque]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

They are still around. I haven't had them for years, but Sommselect has the 2017 Hahn Kabinett right now.

[David K o l i n]

Showing well, but also showing it’s age. Strange melon element on the nose. Decent weight, some persistence but could use more acid/nerve

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Lots of mid-90s “great estates of the Rheingau” wines have been around. Almost all are decent, but a pale shadow of what they should be.

[SOvery]

Corvers-Kauter are excellent: reds, sweet, dry. Particularly dry. When C-K's viticultural efforts in the Von Simmern holdings kick in Marcobrunn and Baiken could be special.
Lots of good reds from Assmannshausen, particluarly Rudesheim Bishops'. As it get hotter, the spatburgunder seems to be thriving.
A 2020 Leitz Kabi this week was quite promising. Not as complex as the 19s, but had its own simple charm.

[Nathan V.]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

They are still around. I haven't had them for years, but Sommselect has the 2017 Hahn Kabinett right now.

Right, it's not that I can't use wine-searcher it's that they were represented in the states by Thiese/Skurnik for decades and were widely available and now they only appear at one store I've never heard of, although no one lists the Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Kabinett now:

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/toni ... /1/usa/-/n

I was wondering if anyone had any intel on why that is and whether the wines are still as good and if folks in Europe have better access.

[K N Haque]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

They are still around. I haven't had them for years, but Sommselect has the 2017 Hahn Kabinett right now.

Right, it's not that I can't use wine-searcher it's that they were represented in the states by Thiese/Skurnik for decades and were widely available and now they only appear at one store I've never heard of, although no one lists the Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Kabinett now:

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/toni ... /1/usa/-/n

I was wondering if anyone had any intel on why that is and whether the wines are still as good and if folks in Europe have better access.

Well, yes, I can use wine-searcher, too, but SommSelect doesn't show up in W-S results, which is why I pointed it out. How was I supposed to infer what you meant by your question? (I assumed you meant both current quality, to which I can't speak, and availability, which I addressed). By the way, SommSelect is a favorite online retailer among quite a few Berserkers, which, again, is why I posted the availability info here.

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

From my memory and tastings, the wines got pretty inconsistent in the late 1990s. I bought a fair bit when I was first getting heavily into German Riesling, but that dropped to near zero by 2004 or so. They fell out of the Theise portfolio around 2010

[Nathan V.]

Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.

From my memory and tastings, the wines got pretty inconsistent in the late 1990s. I bought a fair bit when I was first getting heavily into German Riesling, but that dropped to near zero by 2004 or so. They fell out of the Theise portfolio around 2010

Thanks, David. Too bad to hear that quality has suffered. The Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett from 1988 to 1994 were a consistent joy and have a special place in my vinous heart.

[Nathan V.]

They are still around. I haven't had them for years, but Sommselect has the 2017 Hahn Kabinett right now.

Right, it's not that I can't use wine-searcher it's that they were represented in the states by Thiese/Skurnik for decades and were widely available and now they only appear at one store I've never heard of, although no one lists the Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Kabinett now:

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/toni ... /1/usa/-/n

I was wondering if anyone had any intel on why that is and whether the wines are still as good and if folks in Europe have better access.

Well, yes, I can use wine-searcher, too, but SommSelect doesn't show up in W-S results, which is why I pointed it out. How was I supposed to infer what you meant by your question? (I assumed you meant both current quality, to which I can't speak, and availability, which I addressed). By the way, SommSelect is a favorite online retailer among quite a few Berserkers, which, again, is why I posted the availability info here.

Fair enough. I could have been more clear about what I meant.

I'm generally reluctant to purchase form online retailers where I don't know them personally or someone I know knows them personally and vouches. I also probably have an adverse reaction to anything with "somm" in the name.