Riesling... Point me in the right direction

[Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r]

An amazing wine, and the end of an era.

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

Still can’t believe how old the brothers are and still actively involved in the winemaking.

I have not had a Merkelbach wine before, but may need to seek some 2019s out.

[Howard_Cooper]

Thanks to all of you who have responded. Lots of incredibly valuable information here. It may simply be the case that aged/high-end German Riesling is not for me due to its propensity to exhibit petrol notes. Nonetheless, I’m determined to give the varietal a shot (once Dry January is over) if for no other reason than for educational purposes.

Here are my takeaways and some follow up questions.

• Lower the price point and search for New World examples in Oregon, Australia, South Africa. What about Napa Valley (i.e., Smith Madrone)?
• Austrian riesling seems like a good candidate
• Thanks to those who recommended Trimbach, but I think I’ll be passing over Alsace altogether (for now). I’ve had a couple in recent months and both had overwhelming petrol.
• For the sake of trying new things, I’ll give the 2005 Schaefer Spatlese Auction, or something like it, a shot (thanks Tom for the recommendation). 375ml bottlings may be my friend if I continue down this road…
• Will also try out the Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett Riesling Nahe. Thanks Robert, Charlie and Max!
• Keller dry rieslings were on my radar, and I think is worth a splurge. Price can be easily offset by other budget bottles.
• I will search out GG, Kabinett, and Spatlese Trocken wines from cooler regions. Should I also target cooler, more recent vintages? Vintage reports indicate 2010, 2012-2014 were on the cooler side

I would start with the classic regions of German, Alsace and Austria and go new world in your second group.

You might think about having a younger and older wine from the same producer to see how Riesling ages.

If you want dry wines from cooler regions, I would go with warmer vintages. Cooler vintages tend to have less body and more acidity. Fine for wines with residual sugar. Drier wines might taste too thin. I have not had a dry wine from 2010 but it is hard to imagine it being good given the acidity levels. 2010, by contrast, is a fabulous vintage for Auslesen and GKA because the acidity levels keep the wine from being cloying.

[Claus_Jeppesen]

I miss mentioning of Breuer and Koehler Ruprecht.
Kallstadter Saumagen Spätlese or Auslese Trocken (including R and RR) are all a must-try
Breuer also. Making the best dry Riesling to age in your cellar

[David_Bu3ker]

I miss mentioning of Breuer and Koehler Ruprecht.
Kallstadter Saumagen Spätlese or Auslese Trocken (including R and RR) are all a must-try
Breuer also. Making the best dry Riesling to age in your cellar

Great wines, but very difficult to source.

[DougS]

I love Breuer Schlossberg, but I often find petrol there.

[Jon_H]

Thanks again to all for the replies. On the petrol topic - a hint of it is not a big deal, but I certainly prefer that it’s not the primary aroma. Who knows, maybe it will be an acquired taste (???).

I’m now waiting on delivery for almost a case. More bottles than I planned on, but it will be fun to explore and this wine isn’t going bad anytime soon. I may add a few bottles from Dee Vine Wines, but there’s no rush. Will report back!

Here’s what I’ve ordered:

2018 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Weingut Keller Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling RR (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling von der Fels (Germany, Rheinhessen)

2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)
2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)

2016 Smith-Madrone Riesling (USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District)

Wines considering from Dee Vine:
2017 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Mineral, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Monzingen Frühlingsplätzchen, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Halenberg, Riesling Grosses Gewächs
2005 WILLI SCHAEFER Graach Domprobst, Riesling Spätlese Auction

[Robert_Dentice]

Thanks again to all for the replies. On the petrol topic - a hint of it is not a big deal, but I certainly prefer that it’s not the primary aroma. Who knows, maybe it will be an acquired taste (???).

I’m now waiting on delivery for almost a case. More bottles than I planned on, but it will be fun to explore and this wine isn’t going bad anytime soon. I may add a few bottles from Dee Vine Wines, but there’s no rush. Will report back!

Here’s what I’ve ordered:

2018 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Weingut Keller Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling RR (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling von der Fels (Germany, Rheinhessen)

2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)
2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)

2016 Smith-Madrone Riesling (USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District)

Wines considering from Dee Vine:
2017 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Mineral, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Monzingen Frühlingsplätzchen, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Halenberg, Riesling Grosses Gewächs
2005 WILLI SCHAEFER Graach Domprobst, Riesling Spätlese Auction

BOOM! Nice work.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Terrific! I’d pull the trigger on the Emrich-Schonleber wines. Among the best dry wines in Germany and still well priced compared to some.

[Sean_Corbett]

I second what David said above about exploring the Selbach-Oster lineup. I decided to go deep into riesling last month and Selbach has been very enjoyable and instructive (and affordably priced).

A very interesting, textural, great value dry riesling I recommend is Von Winning Deidesheimer Paradiesgarten Riesling trocken. It was $33 in Canada so that probably means you can find it for $7 USD or something.

Also echo what Marcus said about dipping into Canadian riesling with Synchromesh (be warned, it is off-dry). And another Canadian riesling producer to put on your radar is Scout, but they sell out almost faster than Synchro these days.

[Jon_H]

Terrific! I’d pull the trigger on the Emrich-Schonleber wines. Among the best dry wines in Germany and still well priced compared to some.

Buy more wine? Twist my arm…

[Andrew_Bair]

An amazing wine, and the end of an era.

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

Appreciate the inside info - although we knew that this would eventually happen, I didn’t know that this was THE year. The Merkelbach brothers have always been such a great source of high quality and extremely reasonably-priced Middle Mosel Rieslings, and they will definitely be missed.

[Andrew_Bair]

Thanks again to all for the replies. On the petrol topic - a hint of it is not a big deal, but I certainly prefer that it’s not the primary aroma. Who knows, maybe it will be an acquired taste (???).

I’m now waiting on delivery for almost a case. More bottles than I planned on, but it will be fun to explore and this wine isn’t going bad anytime soon. I may add a few bottles from Dee Vine Wines, but there’s no rush. Will report back!

Here’s what I’ve ordered:

2018 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett (Germany, Nahe)
2018 Weingut Keller Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling RR (Germany, Rheinhessen)
2018 Weingut Keller Riesling von der Fels (Germany, Rheinhessen)

2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)
2017 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)

2016 Smith-Madrone Riesling (USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District)

Wines considering from Dee Vine:
2017 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Mineral, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Monzingen Frühlingsplätzchen, Riesling Trocken
2014 EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER Halenberg, Riesling Grosses Gewächs
2005 WILLI SCHAEFER Graach Domprobst, Riesling Spätlese Auction

Great choices, and do go forward with those purchases from DVW!

Hoping you got a reasonable price on the Keller Kirchspiel - this has always been a benchmark Riesling for me, but the price has escalated significantly in the past couple of years.

[Howard_Cooper]

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

Still can’t believe how old the brothers are and still actively involved in the winemaking.

I have not had a Merkelbach wine before, but may need to seek some 2019s out.

The first time I saw a Terry Theise catalog was around 1990. I thought they looked really old then.

[Jon_H]

Great choices, and do go forward with those purchases from DVW!

Hoping you got a reasonable price on the Keller Kirchspiel - this has always been a benchmark Riesling for me, but the price has escalated significantly in the past couple of years.

I wouldn’t call it a good price (>$200), but from what I can tell it’s not easy to find these wines at all. Idea is to save it for a special occasion or wait for it to appreciate.

[David_Bu3ker]

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

Appreciate the inside info - although we knew that this would eventually happen, I didn’t know that this was THE year. The Merkelbach brothers have always been such a great source of high quality and extremely reasonably-priced Middle Mosel Rieslings, and they will definitely be missed.

from what I have been told the torch is properly passed

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Preference for dryness might also pose a problem for Adam Frisch. The dryness of a Grosset, for instance, is not as common a style in Europe.

FIFY

[Jayson_Cohen]

An amazing wine, and the end of an era.

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

They are retired from what I’ve heard. I understand Johannes Selbach oversaw the 2020s. I don’t know the details.

[Howard_Cooper]

What happened? Did the winemaker retire?

I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.

They are retired from what I’ve heard. I understand Johannes Selbach oversaw the 2020s. I don’t know the details.

Merkelbach - Skurnik Wines & Spirits

[Jayson_Cohen]

Merkelbach - Skurnik Wines & Spirits

[David_Bu3ker]

OK. I thought 2019 was their swan song. Apparently it was indeed 2018.