Dr. Hermann’s whole collection is outstanding! With Christian running it now it has became one of the best kabinett producers in Middle Mosel and I think the style is now found. These are slim with low alcohol and usually fermented just to 40 - 50g sugar levels. I don’t know what’s available in your market but my favorite in 2020 is probably Wehlener Sonnenuhr kabinett. It’s not as polished as -6- so beware it has a good amount of sponti (fuder 6 also has some) but damn there is a beautiful wine under it and costs something like 12 eur from a cellar door. Still one of the most underrated producers and I recommend to buy all you can!
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That is very useful. Thank you!
Really appreciate the sponti heads up so I don’t buy many Wehlener Sonnenuhr before tasting it.
Absolutely I’m looking forward to tasting, though sadly it will be later in the fall before they arrive. I would say we tend to prefer rounder, more balanced Rieslings and even drifting into less acidity and more fruit as opposed to many who seek razor sharp acidity. Aside from the scores, it sounds like 2020 is less of this profile and likely to be less to my personal taste.
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Based on skimming MFW, comments from here and elsewhere and on the mostly entry-level 2020 wines I have tried this is going to be a really hard vintage to categorize easily across the board.
I love Stirn. I have a bad habit of ordering too wide and not deep in riesling, but Lauer I’ve fixed that problem and just go deep on Stirn every year. It helps that it’s usually the sweetest of the near-dry grand crush, which works better for me given the normal Lauer profile.
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How do you find the Falkenstein wines?
Haven’t tried one yet. Just started buying in 2019 and only was able to get singles for the most part. I do have a case of Mutter Anna I picked up later and need to get one from my storage locker to try soon.
Dry, off-dry, or fruity? If the latter, I suspect you will enjoy the Euchariusberg Kabis, Spatlese, and Auslese more than the Feinherbs or Trockens from the other vineyards. But just a guess.
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I should correct a bit of what I wrote there. In g/l acidity is down on 19 in most wines, but MFW said that pH is lower than usual hence the higher perception of acidity.
Having tried about 25 wines so far, I am not as excited as I was about the 19s. Von der Fels was the only one I’d have gone back for, if only any were still available.
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How much is the 2020 Von Der Fels going for in the EU? Wouldn’t surprise me if it surpasses $50 on the low end in the U.S.
And there’s wonderful Cru Chablis from Louis Michel available for much less than $50.
Superstar winemakers are fun, but their wines become vinous Bitcoin.
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As a wine in itself, I think Von Der Fels could certainly command a higher price for its quality, independent of superstar status of the producer. But I do have my limits.
Yeah, I won’t pay $50 for Von der Fels.
Certainly it could, but there are alternatives. If it becomes a symbol rather than a wine then it’s very easy to walk away. I had been tempted to order some this year, but I see no reason to pay inflated pricing.
Not sure I agree. What non-superstar, non-GG dry Riesling of comparable quality sells for more?
Thanks. Honestly, we like the entire range of Pradikats as well as GG and trocken. There’s balance to be had at all levels.
I have 1 bottle of each Forster #5 and Kugel Peter from 2019, so I haven’t tried one yet. I did pick up some 2020 Kugel Peter which is the only Euchariusberg I’ve been offered so far. I will try that one this fall.
Depends what you call superstar I guess. Weiser-Kunstler has several dry wines, none which are GG, that cost more.
How much time do you have?
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Ha! Fair, I mean, $50 isn’t crazy, it’s just more than I’m willing to pay for it. But I’m biased in that while I like dry Riesling, I usually don’t value it quite as highly as the market does.