Terry Theise’s 2018 Germany Vintage Report

WINE TALK
21

Love Riesling. Prefer the versions that fall on the acidic side of what most would deem “well-balanced.” Also, I like acidic wine. :smiley:


Alan,
Your comment surprises me. How do you feel they are polar opposites? I feel they are quite similar, with '10 being a turbo-charged '15, if you will. My Riesling experience pales in comparison to many here, including many in this thread — that having been said, '10 may be my favorite Riesling vintage to date (keeping in mind I can only comment on vintages I have sufficient experience with).

22

Hmm, I can only say that 15 was FAR warmer and riper than 10 to my tastes. That’s true in both Germany and Austria. I have quite a few 10s, mostly from Austria, but virtually no 15s. 15 might in fact be “balanced” in the sense that there is enough acidity to save the wines, but the absolute ripeness levels were off the charts, beyond anything I’ve had since 2003.

23

Brian, see my post above. These are just my own impressions (and recollections, from tasting the 10 vintage on release). I quite liked a lot of 10s, but 15s are mostly beyond my threshold for ripeness.

24

I agree that Austrian 2015s I’ve tried are not to my taste (way too big for me), at least at Smaragd level - but would not group 2015 MSR with Austria in one swoop. For me the highlights of 2015 MSR are the cooler Saar and Ruwer valley wines, and producers in the Mosel who (typically) make highly structured wines IMO, like Schaefer, with strong acidity and good dry extract.

25

Alan,
I assume you were able to taste the '03s young (I did not taste them young). Do you feel that '15 is going to turn out like '03, or do you think '15 has enough extra acidity to make it meaningfully different? Asking because I strongly dislike '03, and will consider pumping the brakes on '15 if they’re going to evolve into something fat and flabby.

26

2015 is not even close to 2003 in terms of extreme warmth and richness over acidity.

I started tasting German vintages on release in 1996, and 2003 remains a singular year. That being said, the wines are starting to come around into form. 2015 has much higher acid than 2003. There have been a whole bunch of high ripeness years since 2003 (e.g. 2005, 2009, 2011), but none that were nearly so extreme.

27

For what it’s worth, here is what Mosel Fine Wines had to say about 2015 vis a vis 2010:

The combination of clean ripe fruit and high acidity makes for some comparisons with such great vintages as 2012, 2009, 1990 and 1975. This upfront fruitiness boosted by great acidity makes for parallels with some of the great vintages in the past. Many growers, including Hanno Zilliken (Geltz-Zilliken) or Rudi Hermann (Dr. Hermann), compare 2015 to their 1975, which had a similar “easy to understand” aromatic profile in their youth. Others, such as Egon Müller, compare it to their 1990 due to the combination of ripe but fresh fruits and zesty acidity. Others, such as Carl von Schubert, see parallels to 2009, but with deeper and zestier fruits. Some mention a beefed-up version of 2012 due to the clean fruits and zesty acidity. > However, almost no maker really sees any comparison with 2010, because the ripeness in 2010 came from botrytis and not from a hot summer> .

28

There were some 2015 GG’s that I drank like they had the cure in them during 2017 while I was buying them…I think it’s going to come down to site & producer. Out of the 3 cases I stashed for the vintage only 7 bottles are Auslese level sweet and everything else is dry. There are some that will need 10+ years to show their beauty…but I have faith in the few that I think will need time to show their brilliance. 2012 is the vintage I’m trying not to drink right now because they are so good and I want to see some with a little age. However, I’d had 7 or 8 bottles of the 2012 Dönnhoff Hermannshohle Riesling Großes Gewächs and to me it’s just plain brilliant. I did not buy 2010, 2011,2013, 2014, or 2016 heavily. I just bought a few from my favorite producers. We all have to balance our purchases and drink wines at our own pace…more power to others that see things differently. It makes it easier for me…and what wine geek doesn’t love that?

[thankyou.gif]

29

I too skipped 2010, 20121, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
Been drinking earlier stuff while waiting on 2012 and 2015.
Kirk, are you drinking 2015 before 2012, or am I reading more into your post than you said?

30

I have a bottle each of the 2015 Prager Achleiten and
Bodenstein Riesling Smaragds, if anyone could comment on these and drinking windows in context of the vintage.

31

Yes, 2003 was much fatter and flabbier. 2015 is just a very warm, rich vintage, though there is reasonable overall balance. My own tastes go more for leaner, crisper, more taut wines, so I tend to skirt vintages like 15. But I know others love the vintage, it’s all personal preference.

32

With the caveat that others will probably disagree with me: I think almost anything from 15 in both Germany and Austria (except perhaps the ultra-sweet wines of Germany) will drink just fine at almost any stage of their life. And I’m not really convinced they are wines to age a long time, I would err on drinking earlier rather than later. Again, my own view, which may not be consistent with others.

33

Thanks, Alan. [cheers.gif]

34

I haven’t tasted the 15 Austrians broadly but have had the Prager Achleiten Riesling twice; once in 2017 and once in 2018. It showed a lot of complexity and potential but it was also a bit awkward and seemed in need of some time. I’m not planning to try it again for a year or two and if I was going to open one now I’d want to give it some air and see how it comes together over the course of a few days.

35

David, why did you skip 2013 in favor of 2012? The 2013 wines I have had have been quite good.

36

Do you like 2008s.

Also, in my experience, it is sometimes possible to get around vintage characteristics based on the types and locations of the wines you buy. For example, many of my favorite 1989s were from the Saar and Ruwer. So, I bought a good bit of von Schubert and Zilliken in 2015. Piesport, to me, tends to be a warmer village, at least for the Mosel. So Reinhold Haart made great wines in 2010.

And, a lot depends on the types of German wines you like. I find that people who like drier German wines (trocken, GG, etc.) tend to dislike higher acid vintages like 1990 and 2010. But, people who like German wines with more traditional levels of residual sugar like higher acid vintages ( 2010 is esp. great for GKA).

So, I think some of the differences in this thread are people drinking different types of wine or wines from different locations.

37

I bought a fair amount (for me) of 2012 so my German Riesling quota was full when the 2013s came around. Probably a mistake in retrospect.

I see I typed that I skipped 2012 - typo - meant to say I skipped 2011 - fixed.

38

2012 is markedly better than 2013 IMO.

39

I don’t have a lot of electronic notes (pretty sure I went to Terry’s road show tasting, I did most years back then); but what I do have suggests that I did like the sweeter German wines that year, and not so much the dry Austrian wines, which were a bit lean and tart in some instances.

But, my experience is that somewhat leaner wines have a good chance to come around and develop into something interesting, even beautiful, but the really ripe, rich vintages just stay that way, gradually fade, and become less interesting. As I said, just my own opinion based on my own experience and tastes.

And of course I agree that in any vintage wines will vary by region, vineyard, and of course producer.

40

Agreed. We’ve loved the 2012’s we’ve had, at many different sweetness levels. For the GGs, which are our preference, there have been some spectacular showings already.

It has not been my experience that people who like drier styles prefer low-acid vintages. We certainly don’t, nor do a number of our close Riesling friends.