Riesling on Repeal Day

In stark contrast to last year, when Repeal Day elapsed without a taste of wine passing my lips, I spent yesterday, the 75th Anniversary of the abolition of prohibition, pouring some great German wines. As it happens, I was happy to be serving them alongside the men who grew them, some of the finest producers from their respective regions. While there was nary a lowlight on the evening, certain wines in each grower’s lineup inevitably showed their mettle.


Young Frank Schönleber (pictured above), in his second year holding the winemaking reins at Emrich-Schönleber, is already demonstrating that he has a great grasp of the terroir in his slice of the Nahe. His 2007 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling trocken is just beginning to show its stuff. Beautiful fruit, intense minerality and fine filigree are all balanced by depth and muscle that hint at a fine future to come.

Jochen Ratzenberger and Andreas Laible, both a bit tired after their long and interrupted trans-Atlantic flight, were nonetheless happily sharing their wines in great spirits.
It was a true pleasure to sip the 2007 Bacharacher Riesling Kabinett trocken of Jochen Ratzenberger. However, it was his 2005 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Großes Gewächs that stole the show, demonstrating that the best German wines from top quality sites can possess every bit as much richness and profundity as the top whites of the Côte de Beaune and Chablis, while also showing a level of bundled nerve and fruit expression that similarly priced white Burgundies rarely achieve.

I also really enjoyed meeting Andreas Laible for the first time. Though the focus at his estate is on Riesling, he was kind enough to diversify the evening’s slate by opting to pour examples of his other varietal wines. Though I’d find greater day-to-day flexibility in his lovely Weißer Burgunder Kabinett trocken, it was his 2007 Baden Ortenau Durbacher Plauelrain Traminer Spätlese trocken that begged for attention, its decadent nose of flowers, herbs and citrus oil balanced by fine acidity and rich, prickly texture.

Spending a little bit of time with the three of them yesterday – along with thinking about the wines as I write about them now – made me pine for a return trip to Germany. There’s so much more to explore….

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A Scheurebe Moment

I’ve been focusing on the Loire an awful lot of late. A shift of gears, at least a quick one, seems in order. Ever since reading a little wine poetry at James Wright’s Wine-Wein-Vino-Vin recently, I’ve had Scheurebe on my mind. A vaguely Germanic meal last night seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I reached into the cellar and found…


Baden Ortenau Durbacher Plauelrain Scheurebe Spätlese trocken, Andreas Laible 2005
$28. 14% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
I added a couplet to James’ poem. To read it, you’ll need to follow the link above and dig into the comments. For now, suffice it to say it was something about grapefruit, a very typical aromatic characteristic of Scheurebe. Laible’s Spätlese troken, though, has changed considerably since I last wrote about it and even since I last poured it at a class on German wines at Tria Fermentation School. It’s no longer so redolent of grapefruit. Part of that, I think, is just the wine’s natural concentration. Grapefruit, citrus and even catty aspects seem common to lighter styles of Scheurebe. But at a richer level, as with this Spätlese, riper aromas often kick in. Add to that a little more bottle age and the wines can start to show fleshier, less tangy characteristics. That’s exactly where Laible’s 2005 Scheurebe is at the moment.

The first glass was poured right out of the cellar, a bit too warm. The fact that it showed well at that temperature is a testament to the wine’s quality. The higher than ideal temp brought out a honeyed, round, not at all unappealing aspect. There was an undeniable blast of grapefruit right up front, but super ripe, sweet grapefruit, followed by lots of floral and sweet herbal scents. Lavender comes to mind. After a little chill down, more interesting things started to happen. Orange oil, peach nectar – definite peach nectar – and a light streak of white pepper emerged. With air, the wine became creamier in texture, developing a little vanilla edge. On the downside, its alcohol also became more apparent.

This is a monster of a wine. Not as unctuous as a similarly ripe Gewürztraminer but every bit as heady and concentrated. Spice, yellow flowers – goldenrod and marigolds – and peach nectar dominate. There’s an electrical spark of energy in its prickly texture, just enough to keep the wine from being plodding or domineering. But it still comes close to being over the top. The wine’s physiological concentration reminds me of marmalade, minus the jellied texture but complete with all the citrus peel bitterness. This needs food richer than what I paired it with (no, I’m not telling). I’d go right back to choucroute as we did two years ago. Maybe even roast goose. Roast pork at the very least, perhaps with an apricot or peach glaze. If you happen to have a bottle in your cellar, don’t hesitate to hold it for a couple more years. It’s still a wee one.

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The Choucroute Challenge

For the past few years, one of my dear coworkers has started a tradition that I hope she doesn’t retire. She’s made a big batch of absolutely delicious choucroute garnie and brought it into the shop to feed us hungry wine warriors on the last retail Saturday before Christmas. It’s one of the busiest days of the year, so the warm belly glow and slow-burn energy that results – I had a hard time not going back to the pot for a third helping this year – is more than welcome.

Each year, we’ve taken the opportunity to taste a few wines that, at least in theory, should be natural matches to the flavors, ingredients and richness of the dish. As the tradition for choucroute is most strongly tied to Alsace, we’ve perforce included at least one or two Alsace wines in the line-up. For two years running, though, a German wine has come out on top as the best pairing. Last year’s winner was Andreas Laible’s 2005 Baden Ortenau Durbacher Plauelrain Scheurebe Spätlese trocken; the wine’s big, spicy, grapefruit driven persona stood right up to the porcine goodness of all those mixed meats and kraut. This year’s prize was taken more by mineral, nerve and an underlying spine of intensity, all fronted by a beautiful combination of white peach, green apple and quince. It was the 2005 Saar Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Auslese halbtrocken from Johann Peter Reinert, just scintillatingly good, especially with the veal sausages.

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