Flight #1 Mosel / Saar Dry:
2018 Keller Schubertslay Alte Reben - This is from 120 year ungrafted vines aged in wood and stainless according to Mosel Fine Wines. This vineyard is famous because a well known Swedish mathematician and scientist lives amongst the grapes. The first time I had this wine I declared it one of the greatest dry wines I have ever had. This has closed in on itself. KP recommended that I open it 24 hours in advance, I had the restaurant do this so I did not get to try it upon opening. it is a stunning wine that sparkles in the glass. It is full of dry extract, concentrated, mouth puckering salinity, beautiful expansive texture with a melange of citric / grapefruit / lemon flavors. Overall it felt coiled up and did not quite explode to its full capacity. Only have a few bottles of this and I think I will wait another 5 years to open one, unless I see it on a restaurant list.
2016 Julian and Nadine Haart - From the same parcel as the Keller. It was definitely similar to the Keller. I thought it was a small step down but others liked it more than the Keller. It is definitely a stunning wine that seemed to be more open despite opening the Keller the day before. It is was also very concentrated and had an enormous amount of energy but in a polished / focused manner rather than in an intense way. An overall stunning wine and just a joy to drink David Schildknecht reported that this took a long-time to ferment to dryness and had extended aging.
2010 Lauer Schonfels - This was fascinating. We started the evening with 2020 Lauer Schonfels as a welcome wine. The 2020 is all about laser focused minerality and its bone dry. The wine was a golden color and seemed to have a much higher amount of RS than the 2020 and it in a really great place where it has turned very savory and has a lot of tertiary flavors. It paired extremely well with a very savory summer squash dish. The Lauer family purchased this extreme plot in 2006 and we talked at length about how 2010 was a breakout vintage for Florian.
Overall the first flight was a wonderful success!
Flight #2 2012 Keller
On to the next flight. I honestly did not spend a lot time thinking about the order of the dry flights. Once the evening was upon us and after the menu was printed I wondered if this flight should have been later in the lineup of dry winesâŠ.
2012 Keller Morstein GG - This was the most quiet of the group and probably suffered in comparison. It was elegant and very easy to drink but lacked a little complexity and depth at this moment. Focused minerality with a refreshingly cool profile.
2012 Keller Abtserde GG - Overall this was absolutely stunning and just a joy to drink. Abtserde is my favorite of the higher-end Keller GGs to open for those new to dry German wine because it always and I mean always delivers. This was no exception. The energy and tension in the wine simply enlives the senses.
Highly recommend watching this:
2012 Keller G-Max - WELL! WELL! WELL! My first concert was Elvis Presley, I was 6 years old, I still remember when they turned the arena lights off and the band started to play and announced ladies and gentleman ELVIS is in the building and he was ushered to the stage with his outrageous sequined jump suit. The energy and excitement from 20,000 screaming fans was electric and I still remember it 50 years later. Well ladies and gentlemen G-Max has entered the building! This is a stunning G-Max and one of my best ever and definitely the best 2012. Hat tip to John Gilman who nailed the potential in this wine with his 100 point rating. The aromatics were soaring. The initial texture expanded over every single taste bud I have had. The finish just goes on and on and on. Cerebral. Emotional. Soulful. A perfect wine in every sense.
Flyer from the actual show that I recently found on EBAY!
Flight #3 Nahe
2013 Emrich-Schönleber A.de.L Auction Magnum - This is from a section within the Fruhlingsplatzchen - I had very, very high hopes for this wine given the performance of a stunning bottle in 2021. It was an overall great wine but it did not hit the heights as my prior bottle. It showed the acid and tension of 13 but with more focused depth. And it really benefit from air and time in the glass. A beautiful wine and one of my personal favorite dry German wines.
2013 Schafer-Fröhlich Felseneck GG - A very nice showing for this wine. Patchouli like aromatics. Grapefruit type notes. Minerality. Opulent with a similar focused depth to the Emrich. Similar to the A.de.L this is consistently one of my favorite GGs.
2013 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle GG - Very cool to taste this along side the Nahe superstars. This was so different. Much more flamboyant, exotic ripe fruit flavors. Seems like it might have a tad of RS but it could just be the acid in the other two wines made this show a bit sweeter than it really is? Curious if the soils are different in Hermannshohle than the other two wines. According to the Skurnik site the soil is Argillaceous slate with limestone veins and volcanic elements.
Flight # 4 - The Rheingau
I was concerned as to how this flight would be received after the the heavyweights that came before it. Well no need to worry this was a stunning flight and the surprise of the night.
2015 J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Jean Baptist Auslese Trocken - I have had this wine several times and over the course of the first few years after release it went from stunning to shut down. This was open and absolutely a WOW wine. I was so happy that a HaJo wine showed so well. One of the dinner attendees is a big Becker fan but has not had many of the younger wines and have never even heard of this wine. He is now even more obsessed with the wines. It was an extremely complex, beautiful wine that just had everything in its proper place.
2009 Georg Breuer Berg Schlossberg - This wine showed beautifully and demonstrates its pure class. Had an interesting green, herbal element that was a tad funky in a good way. I got hip to these wines a little later than most other wines in my collection but have been making good progress backfilling.
1989 J.B. Becker Martinshaler Rödchen Auslese Trocken - I have also had this wine many times and it can sometimes show a bit heavy and clunky. HaJo has said this was his greatest wine up until the 2015. This was a super showing. It is a bit orange and has turned very savory and spicey. It is still big not over-the-top. This wine would be stunning on its own with the right food pairing. Yakatori comes to mind.
So HAPPY the legendary Hajoâs wines showed so well in this lineup!
Raj Interlude:
We took a break from the food for just a moment as a generous guest brought two additional bottles:
1988 von Schubert Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 67 - This is a legendary wine in a small circle of NYC Riesling fanatics. Would love to hear if it has the same reputation in Germany. It feels like it has the weight of a sweet wine but tastes dry. It again has the flavors of a sweet wine things like orange rind but the acidity and precision of a dry wine. An overall stunning wine with everything you would want from a German Riesling.
1966 KarthÀuserhof Spatlese - I did not get the exact designation and at this point my notes are starting to fade but my enjoyment. The wine was in an absolutely great place. Similar to the 81 Kabi above perfect clear color. It was also herbal with notes of tobacco and very savory. Ethereal wine.
Flight #5 Kabinett:
1981 von schubert Abtsberg Kabinett - Purchased direct from the domain several years ago at a Rieslingfeier charity auction. My last bottle was painfully corked. Both had just absolutely perfect colors. This was a perfect bottle of Kabinett. The nose, mouthfeel, texture, savory flavors were just glorious. I have really learned to judge older Kabinetts by their color. Earlier this year A 71 Lauer Ayler Kupp Kabinett and a few 72s that were all perfectly stored from release all with perfect clear colors proved this to me in a major way!
1990 von schubert Abtsberg Kabinett - Very nice example of an aged Kabinett. Much bigger than the 1981 and a bit one dimensional with the primary focus on sweetness. Obviously a riper vintage than 1981 but I could not help wonder where it will be in 10 more years.
1995 Egon Muller Scharzhofberg Alte Reben Auction Kabinett - I had very high hopes for this wine and it did show flashes of brilliance but did not ultimately match my lofty expectations. One very experienced professional taster (i.e., a top sommelier) felt that it might have had just a tiny amount of TCA. I will be at the Domain next week maybe I can convince them to open one for me just to compare and contrast : )
2013 Lauer Ayler Kupp Auction Kabinett - Last time I had this I served it next to the 2013 Egon Muller Auction Kabinett and believe it or not it was in a much, much better place than the Egon and actually shocked me so much that I went out and found another case. This was another wonderful bottle that had the energy and tension I love in 2013 with a judicious amount of sweetness. It would have probably been better with a slightly different food pairing.
Flight #6 Aged Auslese:
1959 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Auslese - I had very high hopes for this wine. The other bottles from this cellar that I bought direct from Germany have been excellent and a recent bottle that Mr. Muller brought to dinner direct from the domain was one of the greatest bottles I have ever had! This wine was very weird it was not dead. It tasted extremely savory and dry and actually had some effervescence. Could not quite figure it out, an overall disappointment.
1959 Immich-Batterieberg Batterieberg - This was purchased direct from the Domain at the same Rieslingfeier charity auction several years ago. Not exactly what it was. It was shockingly fresh and a stunning, savory, perfectly aged bottle of wine. If I had to guess I would say it was an Auslese.
1964 KarthÀuserhof Kronenberg Feinste Auslese - This was a very nice bottle of wine but was significantly sweeter than the two 1959s and probably paled in comparison for just that reason. I think on its own and/or with the right food pairing it would have been better
And the finaleâŠ
1971 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenhur TBA - The LEGEND. I have had this wine several times and it never disappoints. A grand fireworks finale in every way. Packed with a crazy array of flavors but enough acid and lift to make it easy to drink. I wished I would have save some for the next day or twoâŠ
As I prepare to leave for a 10 day trip to Germany tomorrow it was enlightening to think about this dinner and everything I love about wine, German wine and to acknowledge just how fortunate I am!
.