2017 Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier Frauenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Rheinhessen (5/3/2023)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 7 –
NOSE: petrol; Topps bubblegum; light grain/malt note; green grapes dominate the fruit.
BODY: medium maize color; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; light apple cider; dry; light petrol; medium concentration of fruit; steely mineral behind the fruit; 12.5% alc. is hidden; not high-pitched or deeply-pitched, but rather right in the middle; quite impressive — I like this a lot, and it’s also different than my usual, which I appreciate. Day 7: still drinking well, now with lots of fruit (more than Day 1). Seems there’s lots of material here, and it will continue along a favorable ageing path. Excellent!
50, 5, 12, 18, 9 = (94 pts.)
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Thanks for the note. Battenfeld Spanier had been really impressive lately. Can’t wait to see how these wines get on with more age
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This was my first bottle from them, and certainly won’t be my last! Like you, Rodrigo, I see a bright future ahead. 
A while back I organised a riesling dinner and the 19 Battenfeld Spanier Frauenberg was poured blind next to 17 Keller Kirchspiel. While it was easy to pick out the Kirschpiel as Keller, I preferred the Battenfeld Spanier to the Keller, which I think says something. Really high-quality GGs
Uhhhhh, yyyeeeahhhhh … that’s not for nothing!
Great notes thanks Brian. Recently tasted this alongisde a '17 Olberg from the sister winery Kuhling-Gillot. The Battenfeld wines have for me always been just slightly ahead of the KG wines
I’ve tended to view the quality level of both domaines as the same. They both have the same winemaker as you may know. HO has been making the Kuhling-Gillot wines since 04 and his own domaine since 91. I think at this point his familiarity with the sites of both estates is up there.
Winemaking wise, the rieslings are pretty much all made in the same manner. I think the differences in the wines come down to people’s stylistic preferences. It’s really a red slate vs. limestone soils comparison.
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Ha!! Well, I’m only one wine into my BS experience, and a mere four into KG, so I don’t have any personal opinion - yet - as to which one is better, if either, imo. I will say this, however: The 2017 KG Pettenthal took my breath away, and is clearly the best of the 5 I’ve had from these two so far. After trying both the '17 and '19 Olberg, I’ve come to the conclusion that site just doesn’t express Riesling in a manner I truly enjoy (I can appreciate it in some regards, but at the end of the day, it’s really not an expression I’d seek out).
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