^ if you find the lambertskirch kabi from ‘19 definitely grab it.
A
Same here. Prior to 2019 the Lauer wines just never hit the right spot for me. I pre-ordered a mixed case of 2020.
Is that Fass 87 or a different wine?
Different. Lambertskirch is Fass 14. I’m not familiar with the 87.
A
N.87 is a special edition wine for 2020
I got three offers on the Lauers but haven’t seen Lambertskirch offered.
What makes it special?
I think it’s a blended village level kabi
This is the first time I’ve ever seen this wine; very simply it is a product of the vintage, one of the best for Kabinett in a long time… as Florian said, making this wine wasn’t the plan, but there it was. Thus, from an estate where I normally have to allocate out paltry amounts of the Kupp Kabinett - this year I get to allocate out paltry amounts of this village-level Kabinett as well! Florian says it is a bit more nervous and linear than the Kupp bottling. This will have a screwcap.-Vom Boden
As I understand it, it’s a village level kabinett that originally wasn’t intended to yield a kabinett, but vintage conditions allowed it to be made in that style. Seems like a one off for the 2020 vintage
Wish there could’ve been a 2020 of the 270 E-S-W! I’m hiding my remaining 2019 bottles deep in the cellar.
I received and read through the latest issue of Mosel Fine Wines early this morning.
From the notes I get the feeling it is another vintage I may like very much at a few addresses- but the lack of Auslese and above wines at some estates and early reports of what is going to auction in November suggest a very unique and challenging vintage unlike any in quite some time. The auction wines were not tasted, but reference was made to many of them in the notes by estate and I find it very interesting what is coming and what is not coming to auction. While that varies every year to some degree depending on the estate, the 2020 offerings as a whole appear to be about as far outside the normal pattern as I have ever seen.
I look forward to actually tasting a few of the wines, but color me intrigued and wary when it comes to making major up front commitments. I am happy the auctions are in November as that boosts my chances of trying a few of the commercial release wines before making major spending decisions bidding from afar.
Tom - what do you mean by ‘outside the normal pattern?’ I haven’t been watching this segment long enough to have a sense of that myself. I did find interesting that many of the wines were compared to the ‘great wines of the 90s’ - especially since the weather and conditions were so different from anything in that decade.
My takeaway from MFW is that I’m comfortable buying my regulars (Prum, Schaefer, MF Richter, Falkenstein, etc.), and will look to keep trying new things (Loewen especially). Also intriguing that Selbach-Oster is taking over Merkelbach (a change that seems to have been in progress for some time). These are both estates I like, will try to pick up a few ‘20s to see how they are progressing.
The above quote captures my impression. While buying an large amount (for me) of 2019s, I am playing it cautious with the 2020 subscriptions and pre-releases. So far, only a few magnums from Robert Weil, and some wines from the cooler vineyards in the Pfalz. The 2020 Gutsweins and Ortsweins are already available and easy to come by where I live so i can slowly form a more broad judgement over the summer. But, again, the above quote echoes what alot of people are saying in Germany right now about 2020.
Might be time to start backfilling more Prum, pricing has definitely gone up this vintage…
It’s interesting that a fair number of prices I am seeing are up over the tariff inflated 2019 prices. It’s more than a little annoying.
1 Like
Agreed
2 Likes
Hello! Long time forum reader here, I have not posted before, but I had to post to this thread as I see that most people will overreact for MFW “low” points / heterogenous vintage warning.
2020 is very fine vintage for Mosel rieslings. I have not tasted a lot of high-end dry stuff yet but I would say most of the producers I have tried so far have succeed very well and there are some producers like Dr. Hermann & Steinmetz whose kabi collection is probably best they have ever produced (as stated also in MFW), Schaefer kabinetts esp. Himmelreich are best I have drank in a long time, Richter’s fuder #4 also the best I do recall picked with very low oechsle levels, etc. Along with many new comers that have made great wines like Klosterhof brothers (from Brauneberg), Bollig, Stefan Müller, Kilburg and so on. There are some producer which had problems with low acidity so you might want to see the specs before and rethink of buying strategy. And yeah as for Falkenstein; Dry 2020 Falkensteins are very puristic stuff (very close to 2017) and will need a lot of time to open. But (!) when they do…Boom! I’m not an critic but for me “Auf dem Hölzchen” with 91pt is probably the most underscored wines in MFW history. It’s really ridicilously good dry kabinett.
Is 2020 it better than 2019? If you like your wines light, fresh & with low alcohol - might be. Time will tell. As for dry wines outside of Mosel: I don’t think 2019 will be easy to top…ever.
3 Likes
I tried to find places to buy some German Rieslings pre-arrival (hopefully at a discount) and never really found any stores (especially east coast because the shipping from the west coast can kill any discounts) that had the producers I prefer in reasonable variety. If I may ask, where do you “lock in” yours? Do they have case discounts? (Anyone can chime in of course.) I ask because I’ve been looking forward to trying Falkenstein (“regular” kabinetts and spatlese, maybe feinherbs, not trockens/GG’s) but always seem to be late to the party. There can be a one-off offering but no variety.
My other usually preferred producers are A.J. Adam, Selbach-Oster and Max. Ferd. Richter. (Yeah I’m a value guy. It’s one of the reasons my preferred regions are Mosel, Barolo and California Zins).
Now some stray thoughts on the MFW 57, if you’ll bear with me:
I love MFW. Wines get scored by two palates which is useful (enough to avoid extreme mistakes but not so many that it’s a committee). And they put more work into those notes and tastings than anyone else in basically any region, except maybe Livingstone in the Rhone. I am in awe of these people. They demystify a great region with the worst marketing and labeling of any product anywhere (only the ever-expanding Mercedes Benz fleet diversity gets even close to being as head-scratching, maybe it’s a German thing). And the fact that they share it for free, when they have so little competition, is just an insane service to the community. Relying on MFW has never steered me wrong. I would have never tried A.J. Adam wines without their recommendation.
That’s all good news for me because Richter and A.J. Adam both seem to have had amazing scoring on this round. They didn’t include Selbach-Oster in this one but it’s a Middel Mosel producer which seems to be the vintage sweet-spot according to MFW. If pricing remains close to usual (one of my usual vendors cited the Euro exchange rate to me as the source of the 10%+ price hikes we’re seeing this year in 2020 Bordeaux futures and 2020 German Rieslings but it’s a bit suspect because the tariff’s end should smooth that and the rate isn’t that much higher), that Richter Elisenberg Spatlese seems like an eye-opening value. The Dr. Hermann Kabinett -6- is also apparently a best-ever sort of thing with likely amazing QPR.
I can’t seem to find the A.J. Adam Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Kabinett anywhere in the US. 2019’s either. That’s sad because I enjoy their Dhroner Hoffberg Kabinett as a go-to daily drinker and the Piesporter seems even better (if likely pricier).
Has anyone tried those?
AJ Adam’s Goldtropfchen doesn’t come in much into the US. One of the few ways to get it is through the Skurnik DI sale. They don’t come in much aside from that. Crush had a few 2018 Goldtröpfchen Kabis and 2016 GGs a while back though, not sure if they still have them
1 Like
You should first taste the wines. We feel the 2020s are even finer than the '19s. Mutter Anna is not for everyone, and I don’t think Kugel Peter or Meyer Nepal is less good than a Kabinett or Spätlese from Willi Schaefer or Egon Müller.
2 Likes