We also had the 2017 Markus Heeb at that dinner. Definitely not a fan of the vintage, at this point.
Yes. It’s like they’re already over the hill. Not bad, just…not good.
I’ve not been a fan of Grunhaus in recent years since Max ‘took over’ around 2016. The style change extended beyond the label, I’ve made this comment a few times here. This doesn’t really apply to the very sweet wines.
I can’t really comment on how they have aged as I stopped buying them more or less.
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This showed really well tonight. Precise, lithe and delicious. Excellent match for the “tastes of summer” meal I prepared tonight.
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The Heeb was a Trocken and I really didn’t know what to make of it with all the spicy food. I definitely preferred the 2016 Heeb Kabi, but it also went better our dinner.
Who age wineries entry bottlings of Riesling? If you don’t, should you? That’s the questions that came to mind after I opened this bottle.
I have had 4-5 other bottles of this wine quite early on after release. Ok, nothing special but easy drinking. I somehow forgot this bottle and now a decade from the vintage I was quite surprised to find out how well it drank!
2015 Von Winning Win-Win Riesling Trocken
Holy moly - humble entry wine showing extremely well for what it is.
Lemon, pineapple, lime, stone fruits, salinity and a surprisingly long textural finish. Lovely acidity.
Back to the thought… there are a plenty of other producers I enjoy a lot more, should I have bought and aged a few of those as well?
Curious to hear other thoughts and experiences.
It’s no secret that Riesling is the best most affordable great variety out there but if you can buy bottles for Euro 7-12 that kick ass a decade later with no signs of getting tired and added (in this case textural) complexity…
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I think any well made Riesling can age for quite a while, regardless its status. I drank a 96 Ludes trocken last year that I got through @Robert_Dentice source material project and the wine was great - still had fruit and some acid left. I also remember a 2000 Prager riesling (their entry level) I tried maybe 3 years ago that was a real eye opener for me like this bottle seems to be for you - the wine was beautifully complex, acid so well integrated and tertiary characteristics coming through
I think producer matters most here
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Funny enough, I opened the 2017 Richter Juffer Kab yesterday, and - while a little shy with its aromatics - it was the from the same breed, quite sweet with green apples, sweet peach and starting to develop that seamlessness I love in matured sweet kabinett and spätlese. Not there yet and slowly developing, so 5-10 years should do it.
just realised: yours was fuder 4, mine was the regular bottling.
and to add on more data point: the 2015 version was actually a bit underwhelming few weeks ago (2 bottles, so no bottle variation…).
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Last night, popped a magnum of 2009 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese … it was good off the bat. Maybe a touch reticent. About half the bottle was left for today, and holy crap was it SINGING. Classic petrol nose, especially last night. Maybe lacking acidity overall, but the wine itself is just a joy. Pure Riesling expression in a way that, if you ask me, Prum does like no one else. A total joy to drink this. What a wonderful pour.
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1983 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese: This wine had a beautiful, shimmering balance with everything seamlessly blended and tucked into its proper place. Mellow, understated, but still fresh and barely tertiary, with mouthwatering acidity and the sweetness receded just so. Very clean with almost no botrytis. Really great stuff. Prum just always hits right.
2016 Julian Haart Piesporter Schubertslay Riesling Kabinett: Wow, this is extremely racy and energetic, with a powerful lemon-lime nose, and a palate that is lean, saline, and mineral-forward, streaked with citrus and herbs. The sweetness is felt more than tasted, perfectly balanced with the taut acidity. Really great stuff.
2023 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett #2: This is drinking really well. Beautifully expressive nose of lemon peel, florals, and apple. The palate is incredibly finessed and the acidity chiseled and precise. Very understated, but intense wine that is crisp, filigreed, mineral, and a touch spicy. Elegant weight and lacy texture.
2020 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5: Intense flavors of lemon, white fruit, ginger, and spices that persists through the midpalate to the finish, though, in terms of its weight, it is graced with lightness and finesse. The acidity is sufficient to balance the sugar and prevent the richness from being cloying, but a little more zap to provide some additional lift on the finish would have been nice. Still, a very good wine that still seems surprisingly rather open for business.
2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #3: Very honeyed and rich, but balanced with that classic Schaefer filigreed acidity and lacy finesse. This bottle does seem rather tertiary already and is darker in color than what I would expect for a wine this age. Still delicious and the tertiary notes are still at a point where they add rather than detract, but makes me wonder…
2001 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand: Quite mineral and sharp on the palate with dense white and yellow fruit. Quite dry with a pleasantly bitter, herbal finish. There’s a hint of petrol on the nose. This is quite good; in your face, but balanced with acidity and energy. Pleasantly severe.
2019 Weingut Clemens Busch Pündericher Marienburg Riesling Spätlese: No formal note, but I did remember this having perceptible sweetness that was balanced with racy acidity. Rich, but not cloying. I wish I had more time to focus on this, but too much wine at this dinner.
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Definitely!
It would seem to be wine and/or producer dependent though; I’ve had entry level Riesling that didn’t hold together after a short while after opening, while others were a real joy and reaffirming one’s love of the grape!
Similar to the way the maligned 2011 left bank Bordeaux rouge has come around and is showing well now.
I find most well made white wines are better the next day.
David, how would you describe the difference between the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr and the Schlossberg einzelages?
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is more the heat trap of the two, though not so crazy as say the Pralat vineyard. I find it shows more tropical notes. Zeltinger Schlossberg reminds me of what Sonnenuhr used to be, with more tree fruit character, and a clearer minerality. The ripeness of the Sonnenuhr tends to obscure the minerality a bit for me. That said I still adore the wines.
One of the things I really like about the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese Feinherb Ur Alte Reben is that it skews a little closer to the old Sonnenuhr style.
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I would have faith in your 2017 Maximim Grünhaus Kabinetts. I have often found that Kabinetts can go into a dumb stage at midlife and turn out beautifully with more time. Or contact Maximin to see if he’s a are of an issue.
Martin, an interesting observation: I just came back from a Mosel weekend. I am not at all familiar with Heymann-Löwenstein but we came across his wine twice:
(i) once at Rieslinghaus in Bernkastel in a tasting - the owner had us taste it as a riesling that is atypical compared to middle mosel riesling: close to Koblenz, terraced vineyard, richer than your typical light middle mosel - but very good nonetheless
(ii) once at Schanz (***) where the head sommelier recommended this to go with a richer fish plate - perfect pairing - a schieffer 2018 - cheapest wine of the evening, but so good.
A very nice discovery, and I think not that well known internationally.
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I spent the morning with Max at the estate last year and tasted through over 20 wines and I was very impressed with the quality. I’ve been a fan of MG since the '80s and I was not disappointed.
Might be but I seriously doubt that two different wines would be that dumb in same time. Maybe 2017 just won’t age as these are not first kabis from the vintage I have had problems with. I really liked 2017 on release as it was very different from ’15s & ’16s as wines were very slim, acidic & elegant. But now when the fruit has faded there ain’t nothing left. I’m afraid ’21 will be similar but hopefully I’m wrong…
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The Heymann-Löwenstein winery is very well known and highly respected in Germany. Especially in the Mosel and is THE name in the Terrasen-Mosel. I was there last year late into the night. I had had 4 extensive visits that day in Winningen. Started very early with Matthias Knebel, then Matterne and Schmidt, Madame Flöck and Julien Renard. All excellent to fantastic visits. Didn’t have any time for food all day, but knew I had to try to taste with Reinhard at Heymann-Löwenstein. He was so kind, it was end of day but he re-opened and proceeded to give a master class on Winningen wine and opened dozens of bottles. After 10pm, for the first time in my life at an top winery, I was the one who ended an individual wine tasting. I was starved because there had been no time for any meals at all that day. And still had an hour drive back to Kües and my kitchen. I highly recommend all 5 wineries for visits, maybe not all in the same day 
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I’m zero for three with 2017 currently, each opened recently within a few weeks of each other. Two kabis – Willi Schaefer Himmelreich and Grunhaus Abstberg Auction, and one trocken – Markus Heeb. All three tasted slightly off to me, though I’m having a hard time finding the words to describe it accurately. Overly mature, or bordering on oxidized is close but not really fair to the wine. It’s strange. Hopefully more people will crack open 2017’s and pipe up…