And in aged Spatlese and in aged Auslese.
Great thread…I actually like my Kabinett on the (very) young side and drink Spätlese and up with more bottle age! I just love the tension of young Kabinett!
Some of my favorites (disclaimer: this list includes some wineries that I import/ buy and sell in the Netherlands):
- Egon Müller (very expensive nowadays, especially the Alte Reben version. The 2019 has just seen a tremendous price hike once again)
- J.J. Prüm
- Julian Haart
- Keller
- P.J. Kühn
- Schäfer Fröhlich
- Schätzel
- Schloss Lieser
And then I did not even add great wineries that make very good Kabinett to, like:
- A.J. Adam
- Dönnhoff
- Fritz Haag
- Hofgut Falkenstein
- Maximin Grünhaus
- Peter Lauer
- Reinhold Haart
- Schlossgut Diel
- Willi Schaefer
I have always loved the wines from Maximin Grunhaus. Seems to be a bit under the radar these days, but what a great property.
There used to be a store in SF that had a lot of old rieslings. Never bought from there and I don’t remember the name (or whether they are still in business), but I heard about them. Does anyone know what store I am talking about and whether they are still in business?
Depending on what you consider old, Bassins in DC has a few (but more Spatlese with some age). https://bassins.com/wine_list.php?&country=Germany&sort_by=vintage&sort_order=asc Their German wine expert, Phil Bernstein, is very knowledgable and a good guy.
Follow up to my original post. . .
Recently I got the chance to get a case of the 2015 A.J. Adam Drohner Hofberg Riesling Kabinett. I am a big fan of this wine and have mentioned it in other posts. I have enjoyed several bottles of this as a young Kabinett and now I have a total of 14 to drink over a more prolonged period of time. I hope to see some of the changes that come with age. At age 70, I am still looking forward!
It was Dee Vine. Everything I ever bought from them was cooked.
Probably Dee Vee Wines. And it looks like they are still in business: https://www.dvw.com/
Thanks. That is the store I was thinking of. As I said, I never bought wine from them.
They were notorious for cooked wine, as David suggests, until they switched to temperature controlled storage. Maybe In the mid-to-late 2000s? Never bought from them but used to get the emails. I always thought they were ~20% over-priced compared to others.
Jim, I never tire of hearing those new to Riesling, particularly kabinett, enthused & ready for more.
For over 40 years I’ve been drinking the sheer joy they are, was Riesling that truly hooked me into the fine wine vocation all those years. Interestingly, it was a Rheingau auslese that first blew my mind as one the greatest Riesling expressions I’d ever tasted as a young man.
As for aging I find kabinett a very personal choice as when to drink - never let aging concerns dictate when other people think you should drink them. Personally, I adore them when young but also enjoy beyond 10-15+ years depending on vintage & producer/vineyard. Just managed to buy a case of 2015 JJ Prum WS kabinett - to say I’m ecstatic is the understatement of the year!
Anyway, experiment with them from the instant high of their youthful fruit, tingling acidity, subtle sweetness for balanced perfection, to complex spice, delicate glycerine & citrus oils, sometimes even petrol notes, that come with age. You cannot but help fall in love with kabinett!
This is such a joyous conundrum!
Thanks for sharing this list. It includes a lot of the producers I like, but has some that I need to try. I totally agree about Egon Muller. I just recently began to seriously try to increase my Riesling collection and some of the Mullers seem to have some very high price tags. It’s definitely warranted if people are still buying, but it makes it tough when there are other options that are “similar” at a lower price.
Which one of you just drove the price of that 2001 Fritz Haag Kabinett to $74 on KL?
Probably the same person who drove up the 3 bottles of 2001 JJP WS Spat to $500+ recently.
I opened my only 01 JJ Prum WS Kabinett last night. Barely off dry, loaded with lime flavor, long finishing with perfect acidity. Still yellow in color. The best Kabinett in my experience with at least a decade to go.