TN: 2019 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb "Meyer Nepal" #11

As promised I popped one of these this weekend. Here are my notes

Popped and poured. Drank by itself without an accompanying meal.

Color- Straw yellow, very light

Nose- Not a ton here to start. After it opened up I would say this is one of the more pleasant noses on a Riesling I have ever encountered. It’s a very light scent of citrus, minerality, green apple with a very faint floral aspect. Honestly I can say without hyperbole this is one of the most pleasing noses I have ever experienced. It isn’t an overly powerful nose. Just very refreshing and fine.

Palate- This was very closed to start which is to be expected from a pop and pour of a young wine. It opened up a bit over an hour or two. I was anticipating more sweetness, but the sweetness was very mild and offsets the acidity very well. The wine is light and stimulating. I have never had a great grasp on the tasting note of “crystalline”. I would call this crystalline. It was extremely easy to drink and very well integrated already. While it was easy to drink it also came with a bristly acidity on the palate (in a good way). I know those are somewhat contradictory, but it felt like a supremely drinkable Riesling with a good zest that holds onto your palate. The wine really makes you think which is always enticing. It definitely has some “kick” to it in its young age. It coats the tongue with a kind of cling of flavor. It’s actually really hard to describe the wine because it is so effortless but still maintains a clinging backbone of acidy and flavor that coats the palate. The tasting notes were very green apple/citrus to me at this stage. I didn’t get a lot of pineapple, custard style notes like some other producers of Riesling. Much more green apple, citrus, lemon peal, lime, mineral, and stone notes. The finish was medium+ which felt perfect for this style of wine.

Overall- With a bit of air and time the sweetness and aromas definitely opened up a bit, but this still definitely needs time in the bottle for my personal preference. I will taste over the week and see how the wine evolves. This is one of the first times in my young wine tasting journey that I could actually taste the elements of a very well made wine that just needs more time to come together. This is definitely a wine that can be drunk right now and enjoyed. However, I think in 5+ years this will be nearly heavenly. My brother said it is possibly his favorite wine he has tasted thus far so this is definitely very enjoyable right now. The acidity is present and will give backbone to this wine over time. I wouldn’t call this an acid monster, but there is plenty of acid to this wine to evolve and maintain a strong backbone. All in all it just tasted and felt like a supremely made bottle of wine with every single aspect of an excellent bottle of Riesling well integrated. Everything just “fits”. The RS goes very well with the acidity, the texture is there, and the flavors are on point and pleasing. It just lacks that wow factor to me on night one of tasting. This could definitely change over the week and will likely change with time in the bottle. In my opinion this is an excellent bottle of wine that just needs more time sleeping in my Eurocave for my personal preference. I cannot wait to try one of these again over the next couple of years. Any wine like this that truly makes you think and feels “different” from other wines you have had holds a special place in the cellar. To me this is an excellent wine with room to grow.

Rating- For those who are into the ratings I would call this wine a 92 with room to improve.


I know many of the members have also tasted this wine so let me know if you had a similar experience or different. Thanks for reading!

Excellent and informative note. Thank you.

Glad to see you check in on this. Cheers

Is your brother a wine person too?

Love the detail on this. “I will taste over the week and see how the wine evoloves.” You have more restraint than I do there. Rieslings rarely make it beyond day 3 for me despite my better intentions.

You are right Rich. With my brother involved there is no chance it makes past tonight. We have very little left as it is. I will likely open another “for science”

He is a wine person too. Not near as much as myself, but he enjoys very similar wines to the ones I enjoy. We are twins, but our palates are a little different. I like bolder reds a bit more than he does. He prefers mostly Riesling, Pinot, and certain Chardonnays (Aubert mostly).

One thing we both agree on is Riesling .

I buy all the wine and he helps me drink it. Come to think of it, he has a pretty good deal.

I’ll be curious what you say about Day 2 or 3 if your bottle or the next does last that long. This wine didn’t hit that “wow” factor my first go-round either, which was a multi-day affair, despite how much I liked it. So I have another one on tap for the coming weeks. By contrast, Nos. 8, 12, and 14 were clearly wow wines.

I expect to try the No. 3 and 4 Herrenberg Feinherbs during the spring or summer, which should be an interesting comparison.

That’s interesting that you felt similar Jason. I was a little worried I missed something. I did just get these from NC so I probably should have let them rest a bit. For the price it’s still worth every penny, but I didn’t knock my socks off just yet. I do have a little left for tomorrow.

I definitely need to try some of the others you have mentioned. I have the #8, but not the others. I will have to try and find some of the 14 and 12 when I talk my wife into next months wine purchases .

I agree with a lot of this, it’s great, especially the texture, but seems a bit too young for me (and I usually love young Riesling) and I was actually expecting more acidity. Still great, but for me, it didn’t live up to the hype. I’ve had some on day 1 and 3 and still have some left for later.

Thanks for the terrific tasting note and all your comments. We like elegant wines that have hints of flavors. It’s all about delicacy and subtlety. We also want a pale-green tint, good (ripe) acidity, and a lean structure. The wines should taste like a mountain stream and go down well. In general, the Euchariusberg wines (i.e., from the prime Großschock sector) tend to have a little more verve than either the Niedermenniger Herrenberg or Sonnenberg wines.

Thanks for the note. I bought a case, but it is still in Durham. I plan to open a bottle, but that is more about curiosity than with the expectation of pleasure. Sounds as if with the right food though, it will be enjoyable now. Oysters perhaps?

That is a much elegant and extremely accurate way to put it Lars. I would have to agree 100%. The delicacy and subtlety of the wine is definitely the strength. That’s what I was not so successfully trying to say when I said it really keeps your attention and makes you think. It’s not a straight forward acid bomb, sweet wine, etc. The wine feels like a very unique and delicious wine. For me it was very good and for my brother it was otherworldly even in it’s young age.

I agree here as well. I think this wine would be an excellent pairing for a lot of foods. It’s not too much on its own and would enhance the meal. I personally think it needs a little time, but this would be a wine that the entire room would likely enjoy with a meal. I will out myself as a non-foody here because I am not a fan of oysters. I hope I don’t lose too much credibility.

I opened my first bottle of this from my case last night and had similar reactions to most above. Good, very pleasant drinking, but nothing to make my eyebrows go up. Proper sweetness level for feinherb, which I appreciated, since I don’t like much RS. I think I was expecting a bit more, even though it is young.

It doesn’t really open until day 2 or 3 at this point IME. But I am still not sure what prompted the adulation that put this above other 2019 wines in the cellar (or in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) at MFW.

I’ll wait a few years before trying another. No such thing as day 2 or 3 wine in our house.