Lars Carlberg is tweeting that Gunther Steinmetz has passed.
I will be opening a 1990 Kestener Paulinsberg spatlese in his honor.
This is true, and very sad. I’m glad I got to at least see him shuffle by while I visited their home in August.
By the way, I had that 1990 KP two weeks ago and it was delicious. I went back and bought the rest of the stock from the store.
Here’s a nice remembrance by Lyle Fass:
Whoa. Did not know, but I just finished a bottle of the lovely 1990 KP yesterday. I had taken two to the Charleston offline and had a bit left (and still plenty good).
A bit of symbolic convergence happened too. The bottle was on my counter, and when I went back to replenish my glass, the label had fallen off.
Yes, Alan. The eponymous founder of Weingut Günther Steinmetz passed away last Sunday. His funeral was on Wednesday. When I first discovered the property back in 2005, the Steinmetzes had a treasure trove of back-vintage Mosel Rieslings. Günther Steinmetz made wines in a time-honored fashion. He simply crushed and pressed the grapes and fermented with ambient yeasts in old wooden casks. His youngest son, Stefan, took over in 2000.
I’ve been quite impressed by Günther Steinmetz’s wines, especially the recent vintages of Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett feinherb, not to mention the dry Gutsriesling liter and the off-dry Riesling from the underrated site of Geierslay.
Scott, I’m glad you got to see Günther Steinmetz on your recent visit here.
Thanks Lars - do you think Stefan has carried on in his father’s methods or is there a shift in styles from one generation to the next?
You’re welcome, Alan. There’s a little of both. In fact, Stefan is making better wines today. I’ve a thorough profile of Günter Steinmetz on my site.