In the 18th century, Wehlen was more renowned for its wines and regained this status in the early 20th century. Brauneberg has always been considered a top site.
Clos Ste Hune is my choice though I thought it wasn’t a specific vineyard . . .
Right.
Although, as is evident from this thread, I’m willing to put a stake in the ground and compare very different Riesling growing regions (more on this next week when I have time to discuss this), in the Wachau the potential in Singerriedel is hard to argue. I credit Joe Dougherty for opening up Austria to me, and allowing me (and many others) to enjoy a very large number of Austrian wines over many years and gain some perspective on vineyards and their potential.
I do have a personal connection with and affection for Jamek’s Ried Klaus, the first Wachau wine I bought on a fairly regular basis on release.
My view also is that the impressive textural quality and aromatics of the Wachau benefit from ripe but less alcoholic vintages, which are becoming more and more difficult to achieve with climate change. Potential alcohol levels already tend to be high, and I generally don’t find Riesling at 14+% to be attractive.
And much of the Wachau’s top sites require irrigation because of a lack of water.
It’s a facinating question. If you believe in the primacy of site, then one must also take in historical belief. If one also includes the hand of man, then how specific producers can maximize potential also is important. I’m going to be wishy-washy and go with both. I’m going to nominate specific sites with specific producers. Trimbach’s Clos Ste. Hune, Egon Muller’s Scharzhofberger, Hirtzberger’s Singerreidel, JJ Prum’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr.
Prum and Schaefer get a lot of love for good reason. One reason I think that von Schubert/Max. Grunhaus (or Green Max as my German-loving friends always call it) gets less attention is that it was imported by Valckenburg and now by Loosen Brothers. Neither has had the marketing savvy or the strong distribution of Therry Theise, who brings in Schaefer and other Mosel producers like JJ Christoffel/Eymael. Particularly on the East Coast, Theise’s line-up dominated on store shelves for many years and thus in consumers’ minds. (That’s changed somewhat in recent years as cooler stores like Chambers and Crush bring in more German wines from smaller importers.)
Another factor, I think, is that the Ruwer is cooler than the Middle Mosel, so the Green Max wines, and Karthauserhof’s, tend to have higher acid levels. That may not appeal to some palates.
I had the good fortune to taste for many years with some older guys who had deep cellars of older Germans, so I’ve had a lot of great Green Max wines over several decades. The last really mature one I had was the '94 Herrenberg Spatlese. It was off-the-charts great – ethereal. I’m sitting on a bunch of 2002 QbA, which I tasted at the winery in 2003. Dr. von Schubert said that would be good for 20 years at least, and so far his prediction has proved good.
Here’s a picture of him from that visit:
John, What vineyard is shown?
That’s Abtsberg.
According to the 1986 edition of Hugh Johnson’s Atlas of German wines, Abtsberg is on a 60% slope, while Herrenberg is 80% and Bruderberg is 100%.
Related to that, Dr. von Schubert explained that the grapes they leave out in hope of obtaining eiswein have to be at the bottom of the slopes. It’s too dangerous to send pickers out at 4 am higher up on icy, slate slopes that steep, he explained. (One would expect the temperatures to be lower at the bottom of the slopes, too.)
Jayson: I preferred to let John answer your question to him. But those percentages seem dubious. The Abtsberg is pretty steep towards the top.
The photo is taken by the gate to the weingut, looking at the eastern end of Abtsberg, where the vineyard bends around a bit toward the Mosel, so perhaps it doesn’t show the steepest parts. Also, part of Herrenberg is above Abtsberg, as you can see from the map below.
The most fascinating thing to me on that visit was to see how the Max. Grunhaus vineyards and Karthauserhofberg, across the Ruwer in Eitelsbach, lie with identical exposures on what was, I’m sure, once the same geological ridge. Over the eons the Ruwer River must have carved its way through and separated the two slopes that are now famous vineyards. You can see that clearly on the map.
For those who don’t know the area, you can also see how close these properties to the mouth the Ruwer, where it joins the Mosel. The outskirts of Trier begin where the legend is on the map.
The problem for me is that I really don’t like Hirtzberger’s Singerriedel. Haven’t seen any other producer’s version here, so can’t really judge the vineyard based on anything but the one.
I hear you, but this doesn’t seem to stop people from chasing Saar wines. I think distribution is the main culprit.
![[smileyvault-ban.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/426cc97ad8dd530c8304b0918ca75ff841d4d950.gif "[smileyvault-ban.gif]")
Other Egon Muller, what are people chasing in the Saar?
John, I love the maps in that atlas, which I have on my bookshelf, but I question those percentages. In Post #8, I point out that there’s a large section of Herrenberg atop the hillside. The upper half of Abtsberg, however, is the steepest part of the slope.
The Ayler Kupp and Ockfener Bockstein were divided by the Saar River eons ago.
Peter Lauer and, more recently, Hofgut Falkenstein, come to mind. At least in the sense they’re getting a lot of press/hype. It could just be that the Saar is quite a bit bigger than the Ruwer. Other than Grunhaus and Karthauserhof, there’s not much in the Ruwer.
And one should add that the Karthäuserhof has had issues over the last few years.
On the Saar, there is also Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken, Dr. Wagner, Schloss Saarstein, von Hövel, Van Volxem, and von Othegraven, among others. (Caveat emptor, I work in the vineyards and cellar at Hofgut Falkenstein.)
I know it’s a popular, even revered wine; but for my tastes it is too rich and ripe, missing the cut and minerality that I expect in great Austrian Riesling. Same way I feel about Keller’s wines from Germany.
Simply your personal problem … ![[shrug.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/48636ebda2a440a43ad8d24c83be20ac20c53420.gif "shrug"){kind=small}
Hirtzberger is the top-producer there … Domaine Wachau is usually very good … and I know Hofstätter makes also one (but I cannot remember if I´ve ever tasted it more than once - it was ok …)