Dry German versus Dry Aussies

AlanK off the forum put this tasting together, fascinating topic and his contacts at the Golden Bauhinia came up with a great dinner menu and polished service that fascilitated the tasting.


HONG KONG WINES SOCIETY TASTING
Classic Dry Rieslings – Germany Vs. Australia
Golden Bauhinia Restaurant, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, April 12th 2012 7:30 pm



Piesporter Goldtroepfchen, Wehlen Sonnenuhr, GraacherHimmelreich, Scharzhofberger etc

We are of course all familiar with the great vineyards for off-dry Rieslings, but what do you know about the great vineyards for dry Rieslings?

We feel that this is a good opportunity to provide a first class snapshot of what is currently happening in the world of top quality dry Rieslings. Needless to say all these wines are very rare and only exist because one of our potential members, Alan Kwok, has made this a particular area of interest.

In this tasting, we will have a look at the single vineyard wines from two outstanding producing regions – Germany and Western Australia. We will be looking at wines from Frankland Estate (Great Southern, Western Australia), and some of the best Grosses Gewaechs (GG) Rieslings (aka Single Vineyard, Great Growth Rieslings) from Germany.

Frankland Estateis now recognized as one of the greatest New World sources of Riesling wines. Developments at Frankland Estate in recent years symbolize Australia’s continuous movement towards more elegant, food friendly Rieslings with a clear “sense of place”.

The new German VDP classification of Grosses Gewaechs epitomizes the German movement towards single vineyard wines which are more and more powerful, probably only made possible with the help of global warming! There are seven classic GG wines in the tasting below all from classic vintages in the 2000’s.

The tasting will be followed by a delightful dinner at the Golden Bauhinia, the celebrated Cantonese restaurant in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Tasting Wines:
Australia

Frankland Estate (Great Southern, Western Australia):


1999 Isolation Ridge Riesling
2008 Isolation Ridge Riesling
2010 Poison Hill Riesling
2010 Netley Road riesling
2010 Isolation Ridge Riesling

Germany

Weingut Schafer Froehlich (Nahe, Germany):


2007 Felsenberg GG Riesling
2008 Felseneck GG Riesling (NOTE: Gault Millau’s top dry riesling of the 2008 year)
2009 Felseneck GG Riesling

Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl (Pfalz, Germany)
2007 Forster Jesuitengarten GG Riesling

Herzog von Wuettemberg (Wuerttemberg, Germany)
2009 Maulbronner Eilfingerberg GG Riesling

Weingut Graf Adelmann (Wuerttemberg, Germany)
2005 Suessmund GG Riesling

Weingut Keller (Rheinhassen, Germany)
2010 Westhofener Kirchspiel GG Riesling

Dinner Wines:


The highly rated 2007 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger (Mosel, Germany) – see notes below
And some classic Burgundies and Italian wines to go with the dinner menu!!

2007 Joseph Roty Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Fontenys
1999 Domaine Jacque Cacheaux Echezeaux
2005 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore

Menu:
龍皇金縷衣
Deep-fried Prawn Coated with Mashed Squid
and Shredded Pastry
燒汁松茸法邊豆炒黑豚肉
Sautéed Black Pork,String Beans and Matsutake Mushroom
with Teriyaki Sauce
紅炆枝竹鮑魚龍躉球
Braised Giant Garoupa Fillet, Abalone and Bean Curd Stick
豉汁雙葱爆牛柳條
Pan-fried Beef Fillet with Shallot and Onion in Black Bean Sauce
碧綠八寶扒大鴨
Braised Duck with Chestnut, Barley, Mushroom and Salty Egg Yolk
台式肉操麵
Noodleswith Minced Pork Served with Superior Broth
中外滙粹
Mango Pudding Accompanied by Pineapple and Shredded Coconut Pastry

Background Information:

Frankland Estate


Frankland Estate, located on Frankland River, is widely acknowledged as one of the top Riesling producers in Australia. This is the coolest and most isolated (273 km from Margaret River) in Western Australia.

Interestingly, Frankland Estate is one of the few wineries in Australia with a “zero acid addition” policy, resulting in balanced wines with a typical natural finish which one can easily picked in a blind tasting of Australian wines.


There are three single vineyard Rieslings here: Isolation Ridge, Poison Hill, and Netley Road, all located within 25 kilometers of each others.


Isolation Ridgeis the main vineyard and the flagship wine here, where organic viticulture was practiced from 2005. This vineyard sits high on an ironstone ridge with ancient duplex soils of gravel and loam over a clay sub-soil. The first vines were planted in 1988.


Poison Hillis named because Heartleaf Clover is found on the slopes of its hill. This clover is poisonous to all but indigenous animals and posed a threat to the sheep of early settlers! The vineyard has predominantly clay soils and this is reflected in exotically perfumed wines with a silky texture and gentle earthy flavours. Needless to say the wines are anything but poisonous!


Netley Roadwas planted in 1966 and is one of the oldest vineyards in the Great Southern area. Fruits used to go to a mass produced wine from the Constellation wines but the Frankland estate term took over a part of this vineyard a couple of years ago and bottled this single vineyard wine. Ironstone ridge runs north to south and vines are facing the east of this ridge, allowing them to capture the early morning sun. Tasters have found that this is typically the most intense/zesty of the three Frankland single vineyard Rieslings.


Grosses Gewaechs Rieslings

The classification of Grosses Gewaechs (or Ersters Gewaechs in Rheingau) was introduced by the VDP in 1996 (and in typical German fashion, only agreed by all VDP members in 2006) to designate top-level dry wines from the best vineyard sites, even sometimes individual parcels within a vineyard appellation.

Apart from being dry (max residual sugar level 9 g/l), the wines must meet the following criteria:

  1. Choice of grape variety is restricted.
  2. Maximum yield: 50 hl/ha.
  3. Minimum must weight: equivalent to Spätlese.
  4. Selective harvesting by hand.
  5. Wines are produced according to traditional methods.


    In many ways, the concept of Grosses Gewaechs it is a controversial classification, as it raises the question if Riesling fermented to <9 g/l residual sugar is really the best representation of the terroir at the designated vineyard sites.

We have therefore selected the 2007 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger as our dinner wine – this is a winery which decided not to bottle their Riesling as Grosses Gewaechs (<9 g/l residual sugar ) nor Kabinett (30-60 g/l residual sugar), but as the second tier “Lagenweine”, because they believe this is the best expression of Scharzhofberger’s terroir.

Although Alan served the wines blind, the first five were the Australians, followed by the seven dry Germans. This was easy to pick.

2010 Frankland Estate Poison Hill- Austere on the nose and then the aromatics and light kero came up. Very young obviously, on the palate it’s already full and rich, infused with talc and spice, the finish is long and zesty.

91pts

8th for Me and 11th for the Group.

**2010 Frankland Estate Netley Road-**Very typically dry Australian riesling on the nose with shy citrus and steely minerality. Into the fray comes smoke and fresh plastic-kero nuances. Lighter and more elegant than Poison Hill, there’s a supple richness to the plate, high and dry with acidity.

92pts

3rd for me and 10th for the Group.

2010 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge- Deeply scented, loaded with floral aromatics. Very lively and zesty on the plate- yes, the notes say PH is the most zesty and intense of the Frankland Estate rieslings but it didn’t show in 2010. Very long wine, the finish has a persistent citrus tang.

93pts +

2nd for Me and 9th for the Group.

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge 2008- Just showing some development on the nose- honeycomb and light kero notes. Some earth scents too, amongst the fresher lime & citrus. Butter/cream like texture and richness, some developed notes show up in the mouth, again long and the richness on the front palate carries through aided by some phenolic grip.

93pts +

WOTN for Me and 7th for the Group.

Folks aren’t getting dry Australian riesling!!!

**Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge 1999-**Dirty and developed nose, however, it’s alluring! OK there are better bottles and this confused me blind, and it is probably a good advert for stelvin considering there were no problems above and this the only cork sealed Frankland Estate. Rich, buttery and the oxidation shows as botrytis like.

89pts

6th for Me and 7th for the Group


2005 Graf Adelmann Suessmund GG- Explose ripe passionfruit; settles quickly and once again tonight, I picked up some earthiness. Medium bodied and beautifully balanced as the wine melts away…

93pts

4th for me and WOTN for the Group who liked its unhindered definition and completeness.

**2007 Reichsrat von Buhl Forster Jesuitengarten GG-**Sweet, ripe and spirity nose of exotic fruit notes. Not unlike a Gewürztraminer. Gets better with custard apple undertones as more happens as the wine warms.Beautiful dry German, long on the finish with acidity carrying some warmth.

90pts ( may have warmed too much )

11th for Me and 11th for the Group.

**2007 Shafer Froelich Felsenberg GG-**Elderfolwer, limes, gooseberry. Lovely palate weight and texture which is gently infused with the complexity of aromatics.Very exotic! Perfect weight & balance.

92pts

6th for Me and 2nd for the Group

2008 Shafer Froelich Felseneck GG- Limes and bath salts. Well integrated, nose and palate similar, warm acidity.

92pts

9th for me and 4th for the Group

2009 Schafer Froelich Felseneck GG- Very lively with grated limes and lemon. Expansive on the palate but hollow.

88pts

12th for me and 5th for the Group


**2009 Herzog von Wuettemberg Maulbronner Eilfingerberg GC-**Again an earthiness before Old World sauvigon blanc type notes take the stage. Passionfruit & grass with minerals. Full and round and similar flavors to the bouquet. There’s that warm acid finish most of the Germans are showing.

91pts

10th for me and 12th for Group

**2010 Keller Westhofener Kirchspiegal GG-**Explosive but guided and defined. I enjoyed this to conclude our tasting. Very nice and oh so much upside with cellaring. Layered, chalky minerality and a buzz on a long finish.

92pts +

5th for Me and 8th for the Group



Dinner Wines-

**2007 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger-**The first Mosel of the night. Precious nose that takes a little coaxing. Then a lovely bouquet of bath salts and candied Turkish delight; quite traditional in some ways as a core of piercing sweet exotic notes come to the fore. Full and intense, long finish with sweet and spicy fruit notes.

93pts



Was famished and the prawn and mashed squid a good start to what was excellent food.

Two sublime Red Burgundies up next. Don’t see that often. There’s generally one poor showing with excuses from the Burg nerds.

2007 Joseph Roty Geverey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Fontenys- This was stunning! OK, it’s GC, but there’s a lovely softness to it. Starts deep and darkly perfumed, a hallow of blood orange and an abyss of concentration. Crushed rocks on the long finish must be the terroir.

What is this per bottle Alan?

95pts

**1999 Domaine Jacque Cacheaux Echezeaux-**Tanatalizing red berries, smokey bacon and a pleasant creaminess throughout its medium to full frame. Not so subtle but it will improve, the oak crafts a long and spicy run on the finish.

93pts +




The Italian killed me! A monster in a super ripe style with sarsparilla and sandalwwoed, choc-red cherry and masses of glycerol. Coconut oak on the palate and it was like chewing a box of matches.

I’ll try the Donnhoff again tonight!

My notes:
2010 Frankland Estate Poison Hill- Most expressive of the 3 2010 Frankland Estate Single vineyards, but still tight and light on the nose at this stage. Full of flavours in the mouth, long and elegant, with lingering acids on the finish. 4/5. 9th for me, 11th for the group.

2010 Frankland Estate Netley Road- Made from the oldest riesling vine in Great Southern (1966). I enjoyed this. Very deep flavours of lime and other citrus fruits. Almost creamy. Intense extracts and stones on the finish. I think part of the people in the tasting mistook its tightness and austerity with lightness.
I opened another bottle the next night and drank it over 3 days. It really drinks and develops well over time. 4+/5

3rd for me (WOTN of my wife), 10th for the group.
2010 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge- The tightest of the 3 2010s. High tone acidities and long long finish. Would have rated this higher if it was not served next to the 2008. 4/5

6th for me, 9th for the group.

2008 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge- Some developments here- fruits, honey, a sniff of petroleum as well. Again high toned acidities run through the palate to the long finish, similar with its 2010 sibling, but there is a sense of completeness over here. 4.5/5

2nd for me, 7th for the group.

1999 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge - Oxidized.

Last for me, but 6th for the group and the highest rated out of the 5 Frankland Estate wines!!!
2005 Graf Adelmann Suessmund GG- I was really impressed by this during the first round. Nice mix of floral, tropical, and spices on the nose. This is rich and full in the mouth, with a regional spiciness on the mid palate. Very enjoyable. 4/5

5th for me and WOTN for the Group. This winery is in the Wuettemberg region and I will make an effort to visit the winery when I am going to Germany next.
2007 Reichsrat von Buhl Forster Jesuitengarten GG- Savoury, limes, and peaches on the nose. Opening up very nicely. Full of extracts on the finish. I like this because of its sense of completeness and the way it flows across the palate… 4.5/5

WOTN for Me and 3rd for the Group.
2007 Shaefer Froelich Felsenberg GG- Big wine from a big bottle. Uplifting nose with flowers, limes and ripe peaches. Long, with stunning minerals and acidities on the exotic finish. 4.5/5

4th for Me and 2nd for the Group
2008 Shaefer Froelich Felseneck GG- With more acidities than the wine above, Again floral, limes, and peaches. Not showing as well as it could. 4/5

8th for me and 4th for the Group
2009 Schafer Froelich Felseneck GG- Like many 09, the 2009 of the Felseneck was not showing well at all. It needs a big decant or many many years !? Rather muted on the palate at the moment. Pinch of salt on your tongue on the finish. 3+/5

10th for me, 5th for the Group.
2009 Herzog von Wuettemberg Maulbronner Eilfingerberg GG- Obviously not in the same class as the rest of the wines. Herzog means duke in German and Weingut Herzog von Wuettemberg has been in the hands of the Duke from Wuettemberg since 1677 and they have been making wines from this vineyard since 1872… time to have a new approach I think!! 2/5

11th for me, 12th for the Group.

2010 Keller Westhofener Kirchspiegal GG- Very typical Keller… Tight, full of lime extracts and minerals on the palate. Think of a glass of cold tea prepared by pouring icy water on a huge amount of tea leafs. Long future and didn’t show well in this tasting. 4/5

8th for Me and 8th for the Group

The Frankland Estate riesling is a bit of a hot tip IMO. Especially for those who like dry Australian rieslings. I know on a previous post, some forum members hunted some Frankland Esate Isolation Ridge rieslings from US retailers. I hoped they enjoyed them as much as I do!

It was a good tasting Jamie. And good for you for showing that the Australians can hold their own. Australian whites are under-appreciated. I want to do the tasting myself. Wish I was there.

BTW - you guys are really formal in white shirts and black suits! Holy crap - I’m sure I wouldn’t be allowed in! [cheers.gif] [cheers.gif]

Looks like a wonderful tasting! Additional thoughts on the Donnhoff? I’ve yet to try the 07 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg but enjoyed the Niederhauser Hermannshole immensely.

Thanks for the detailed notes on this fascinating comparison. I’ve never had any Frankland Estate or, in my memory, any Ries from W.A. at all. The notes make my mouth water. When I get over there (hopefully next year), it’s on the list!

I think I’ve had one Schafer Frohlich, the 2006 maybe. German Riesling is not my cup of tea and I remember that as not being my cup of tea.

Another happy note about a 2007 Burg. There seem to be more and more treasures being uncovered in that vintage. Thanks also for the happy note on the 99 Cacheux. I have a 2002 Vosne Aux Reas of his that I hope will be an enjoyable wine in a few years.

Slainte,

Mike

Jamie et al. – I see only the estate bottling available here in N.Y. Any idea how that compares to the single vineyards?

Hi John,

All three, “Isolation Ridge”, “Poison Hill”, “Netley Road” bottlings are single vineyard.
The most commonly seen “Estate Bottling” is the Isolation Ridge.
Their second label is called “Rocky Gully”.

The three has different soils, as can be seen below:
Poison Hill - white clay and quartz soil’s.
Isolation Ridge Riesling - ironstone gravel over loam over a clay sub-soil.
Netley Road – loam with ironstone gravel

Personally, I found the Poison Hill to be more Floral, most approachable out of the three, while being the oldest vineyard in the Great Southern region, the Netley Road bottling has more ripe limes in the flavour profile, greater inner intensity and richness to it.

Cheers,
Alan

Jamie, that is a great report. Thank you.