Up until this point I have only tasted a few entry-level 23s in the U.S. I am on the ground in Germany and have started at the top of the mountain with an extensive tasting at Keller on Friday and the VDP auction preview tonight in Wiesbaden.
And WOW! WOW! WOW! I love 2023. Please note you saw a similar excitement from me for 2021 but not 2022 so this is not just every year is the greatest.
This is a fantastic vintage for dry wines, Kabinett and light Spätlese. Again keep in mind I have only tasted top wines so far. Although I will say I also really like the the few entry level wines I have tried (e.g., Ulli Stein Blauschiefer and Weiser-Kunstler Feinherb).
The acidity is there but it is more polished and well rounded than 2021 which can be jarring for some. There is a spearmint, minty character in many of the wines that is just intoxicating. And the wines are heterogeneous and really express the vineyard. Most importantly they all just have a lot of energy and liveliness.
Off to the Mosel to taste more…
I intend to write up the Keller visit and overall impressions of the VDP Auction Preview but wanted to give some quick initial impressions.
Just bought a mixed case+ of ‘23 Falkenstein. 3 or 4 bottles each of
Mutter Anna #1 Kabinett trocken
Altenberg #7 Spatlese trocken
Ober Schafershaus #18 Spatlese trocken
Auf Dem Holzchen #21 Kabinett trocken
Sounds like I should let Mutter Anna rest awhile, but may very well sample a bottle of the others sooner rather than later, unless advised otherwise…
When Mosel Fine Wines tasted the 2023 lineup, the bottle of Mutter Anna was a little muted. We briefly considered opening a second bottle for the tasting, but decided not to. It should be fine to sample one from your mixed case sooner rather than later.
The only 2023 Falkenstein I was able to get from my usual source this year is the Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken “Egon Anna”.
Does anyone have a suggestion for another trocken 2023 Falkenstein that I should seek out in particular? I’d prefer one that provides some contrast with the Egon Anna, if possible.
Did you mean “Egon” or “Mutter Anna”? These are two separate Kabinett trocken wines. We thought we would have to pick and press these parcels together in order to have enough grapes for one cask after the severe frost this year. If that were the case, “Egon Anna” would be an accurate nickname.
Where do you live? More shipments are en route to the States.
Either Krettnacher Altenberg or Ober Schäfershaus Spätlese trocken would make a good contrast to Niedermenniger Herrenberg Kabinett trocken, whether Egon or Mutter Anna.
My pleasure, Brian. I just think that particular bottle was muted, but the wine might have been going through a dumb phase. The wine will profit from exposure to air, but I don’t think it’s necessary to decant it. You can open it and drink a few of glasses and put the cork back in and see how it evolves over a couple of days or weeks, which I have a hard time doing. I have to have discipline not to empty the bottle in one night.
On a side note, we recently bottled 2023 Rosé and, for the first time, 2023 Spätburgunder Sekt and also have an excellent 2023 Riesling Sekt, which we bottled ourselves. The last Riesling Sekt that we produced from our own base wine was in 2016, but we never did the tirage at Hofgut Falkenstein. (This is usually done by contractors who specialize in making sparkling wine.) The 2023 Riesling Sekt has already completed the second fermentation in bottle and will age a few years before disgorging.
If my memory serves me well, I believe that you were pouring the 2016 Riesling Sekt at Wein am See in July 2019. That was such a great wine & food event!
