Two Days of Germany

Just a quick post today. I’ve spent the last couple of days focusing on if not obsessing over my presentation for tonight’s class on German wines at Tria Fermentation School. For a while I was beginning to wonder if the class would even come to fruition, as at this time last week registration was only at half-mast. It seems German wine is still a hard sell here in the city that loves you back. However, with a little cajoling on my part, and a little help from the friendly folks at Foobooz, Philly’s finest procrastinators came through in the pinch. Class is now sold-out. That makes me smile, as I’m looking forward to sharing some great wines.

The focus on Germany won’t end tonight, as I’ll be joined tomorrow by dozens of other people from throughout the wine blogosphere in writing about Old World Riesling. That’s the topic of tomorrow’s 45th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by Tim Elliott at Winecast. See you on the trail.

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Taste and Learn about Some of Germany’s Finest

Alright, listen up. I’m confused.

I announced my upcoming courses at Tria Fermentation School about ten days ago. The class on wines of the Loire was sold out within a couple of days. Another week later, the course on Germany, scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, has received only a few nibbles. What's up with that? Not sure what to expect? Or maybe you just missed it the first time around.

Don’t miss it this time. This class, I say with all due modesty, should be great. Even if I somehow manage to lose my voice and can only stand in front of the room and point at the maps and pretty pictures, the wines I’ll be pouring will be enough, I expect, to keep you totally captivated.

This class is for you if:

• You think you don't like white wine. You just haven't tasted the right stuff.
  
• You’re convinced all German wines are sweet. They’re not.
  
• You’re convinced that all sweet wine is bad and/or to be avoided. Patently untrue, my friends, although widely accepted as truth in America’s current wine culture.
  
• Your eyes go blurry and crossed as soon as you see a German wine label. We’ll try to crack the code.
  
• You think Germany only produces Riesling (we’ll taste plenty) and Gewürztraminer (we won’t taste any). I’ll also be pouring Scheurebe, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) – yes, a red wine.
  
• You’ve never explored the wines of Germany. This will be a great starting point.
  
• You’re a German wine fanatic. We’ll be tasting goodies from some of Germany’s top producers.

If you need to be convinced about the fantastic qualities of German wines by someone other than just me, check out Eric Asimov’s recent piece on dry German Rieslings in The New York Times. By coincidence, we’ll taste one of the wines Eric specifically mentioned – Von der Fels from Klaus-Peter Keller – and a couple from another producer – Ratzenberger – on his short list of favorites.

If you’re already convinced, sign up for class now. Again, it's next Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Class runs from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (or maybe a little later...). I’ll see you there.

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Ruwer Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Spätlese, Karthäuserhof 2004

I was shocked to see something from Karthäuserhof during a recent foray into one of the Philadelphia area’s better PLCB specialty stores. I picked up a bottle based on three strong recommending factors:

• multiple props from Lyle.
  
• a solid rear label. Rudi Wiest should be on everyone’s short list of most reliable importers of German wine.
  
• The VDP. Karthäuserhof is a member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats, a peer-based group consisting of many of Germany’s top producers.

I kept my fingers crossed, particularly given the $30 price tag and the non-current vintage, that it had survived Pennsylvania’s notoriously poor handling practices.

It hadn’t just survived. It rocked. Brilliant hues in the glass, more silver than gold, led to a concentrated nose of lime blossoms and slate. Penetrating elements of lime zest and lime oil followed on the palate, along with slight tropical nuances of papaya and passion fruit. It was the combination of crystalline minerality and impeccable balance that made the wine so compelling in its overall impact. Minerality was crystalline not just in flavor but in feel; it was as if I could feel the facets, the jagged edges, of each mineral element in the wine’s texture. Persistent and just beautiful. At once delicate and concentrated, its sweetness was in perfect balance with acidity and fruit as well. It made for a great pairing with the sushi and sashimi at Zento, even though I’d selected it for the evening in anticipation of some of the sweeter, richer and more modern dishes on the menu.

I’ll be headed back for the remaining bottles, as I’d love to drink another soon and sock a couple away for future exploration. $30. 8.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, San Marcos, CA.

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Germany and Loire Wine Classes at Tria Fermentation School

It’s that time of the month again. The gang at Tria Fermentation School have just announced their May schedule of courses. In addition to plenty of other wine, beer and cheese related seminars, I’ll be in the house on two separate occasions, leading courses on the wines of Germany and the Loire.

White wine haters beware! In the wines of Germany, scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2008, we’ll cover the basic keys to building a greater understanding of German wines. Along the way, we might just taste a red but the class will overwhelmingly focus on the great whites of Germany. Selections will include wines from some of the top producers of their respective regions: Jochen Ratzenberger in the Mittelrhein, Werner Schönleber in the Nahe, Klaus-Peter Keller in the Rheinhessen and Andreas Laible in Baden, among others.

The view from Bacharach, near Weingut Ratzenberger, in the Mittelrhein.
Later in the month, on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 to be exact, I’ll be leading a trip down the Loire, one of France’s most diverse wine growing regions. The line-up of wines has yet to be finalized for this session but rest assured that it will include some of the classics, like Sancerre, Chinon and Vouvray, along with some lesser known hidden gems.

The town of Chinon, as seen from the banks of the Vienne River.

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Turkey for Keller

Just a quick post at the end of a crazy day. Klaus Peter Keller stopped by the shop this afternoon. It was lovely to see him but that’s about all there was to it. I bought him a turkey sandwich for lunch, chatted for about 30 seconds, turned around to help a customer and, c’est tout, he was gone – no doubt off to the next stop on his whirlwind tour of the northeast corridor. I would love to have made it up to his tasting in New York tonight, not only for the chance to squeeze in another few words and taste through some of his current releases but also to catch up with a few old friends and connect with some new ones. If any of you made it to the event, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Klaus-Peter (at right) during a visit to the Rheinhessen in 2004.

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Weingut Emrich Schönleber: Putting Monzingen on the Map

Weingut Emrich-Schönleber’s viticultural history is fairly recent. It’s under the aegis of the current patriarch, Werner Schönleber, who completed his viticultural studies in 1967, that the estate has slowly but surely risen over the last few decades to the top tier of Nahe wine estates. The early vinicultural history of the estate, however, goes back 250 years on Werner’s mother’s side – the Emrich side – of the family. At the time of my visit at the estate in February 2004, young Frank Schönleber, Werner’s son, was still enrolled in viticulture and oenology programs at the College of Geisenheim. “Junior” has since joined the estate’s farming and wine growing team in a full-fledged capacity, making Emrich-Schönleber a truly multi-generational, family winery.

Not familiar with the Nahe? Aside from the fame of the wines of Dönnhoff and, more recently, of Schönleber, that’s not too surprising. The Nahe is a small river relative to the majestic Rhein and lacks something in luster when compared to the storied history and famous estates of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer valleys. To oversimplify the path of the river, the Nahe flows “between” the Mosel and the Rhein. It finds its source in the highlands not far to the west-southwest of Monzingen and then follows a serpentine path eastward, turning to the north-northeast near Bad Kreuznach before eventually finding its confluence with the Rhein near the town of Bingen. This puts Monzingen, the home of the Emrich-Schönleber estate, squarely in the upper, outer reaches of the Nahe.

It was the first journey to the Nahe for all of the members of our trip so it was with a mild sense of adventure that we left our morning appointment with Weingut Keller in the Rheinhessen, found Monzingen on the map and pointed our trio of cars in the right direction. An hour or so later, we found ourselves circling the quiet, fairly modern, somewhat suburban looking village of Monzingen, conducting a ritual which would be repeated many times over the course of our trek: looking for the little brown sign which would point us down the correct street to the winery. Finally making our way into the winery’s courtyard, we were greeted by Werner, a tall, athletic and reserved yet friendly man, his silver wave of hair the only clue to his years. After introductions and basic amenities, he led us back to our cars and out to the family’s vineyards.


Vines in Frühlingsplätzchen
The Schönleber property comprises roughly 14 hectares (around 33 acres) of vines, all within the village boundaries of Monzingen. More than ten of those hectares – roughly 75% of the overall property – are planted on the steep slopes of the hillsides overlooking the Nahe. That 75% figure is mirrored by the ratio to which the fields are planted to Riesling. Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and tiny amounts of Scheurebe and other vines are planted as well, primarily on the flatter ground or in the richer soil bases, as they are considered to give less clear expressions of terroir than Riesling and are therefore deemed less worthy of the best sites. The slopes of the Monzingen hillsides range from 20% to 60% grades. While not as foreboding at first glance as the precipice-like pitches we’d seen at Weingut Ratzenberger the prior day, we were clearly in an arena where only the hard farming, strong and committed wine grower would choose to stake a claim. In fact, my overall impression upon entering the vineyards was that they seemed an amalgam, in the best sense, between the stark, stony slopes of the Mittelrhein and the gentler, sunnier, more fertile hillocks we’d seen that morning in the Rheinhessen.

Prime plots of the Frühlingsplätzchen and Halenberg vineyards, both Großes Gewächs (grand cru) sites, comprise the heart of the Schönleber’s property. Given the quality and clarity we already knew Schönleber’s wines to possess, we were stunned to find fields lying fallow all around their own well maintained parcels. Werner explained that many people, having come into their property through inheritance, have a sentimental attachment to the land which holds them back from selling. Yet they are not willing to undertake the work necessary to form them, to farm them, into the quality vineyards they could be. Understandable I suppose, but a crying shame. To the good though, it has given Werner and his family the slow but sure opportunity to add to their property over the years as some of those sentimental hold-outs have chosen to capitalize on their deeds. Werner speaks of Riesling with deep respect. He calls it a “hunger artist.” And at each step, the estate has focused its growth toward the best overall capacity for expression of that artistry by focusing their growth only on the choicest sites and steepest slopes.

A slice of Frühlingsplätzchen
The westernmost of the two great Monzingen vineyards is Frühlingsplätzchen, which means “a nice little place in Spring,” thus coined by the Romans who first planted vines there when they found the snow to disappear from its spot on the hill earlier than in the surrounding area. The earth here is decidedly red, a hue emanating both from a streak of red slate and from a substantial quantity of red loam overlying an otherwise rocky, quartzite soil base. It produces wines of fairly full, rounded body, marked by intense citrus fruit hints and a suggestion of mineral spiciness.

To the east of town, the smaller Halenberg rests on steep, rounded hills of very gravelly, sandy soil with a prominent vein of blue Devonian slate and very low loam content. The earth drains quickly here and the sun shines brightly, especially on the upper slopes, resulting in dry growing conditions that produce small berried clusters of Riesling. The wines tend to be more intensely aromatic and steely than those from Frühlingsplätzchen, at once more delicate yet also more brooding.

As we walked through the vineyards with Werner that afternoon, we’d intermittently seen a young woman out for a walk with her Rottweiler. I couldn’t imagine many prettier, more pacific spots to take the pup out for some exercise. Much to everyone’s chagrin, as we headed back to the cars for our return to the winery I somehow managed to find a way to take a little of that dog back with me. It took a hose in the courtyard garden to get the last of the fuchsia colored Rottweiler poop off my shoe. What the heck do they feed dogs in the Nahe?

Halenberg and the Dog
Back at the winery, clean-up duties completed, Werner led us to his cellars for the start of what would be one of the most intense tasting sessions of the trip. Luckily, Riesling results in palate fatigue much less quickly than most other wines.

Situated underground, Schönleber’s winemaking caves are modern, clean, simple and totally no-nonsense. Just a couple of naturally cold, humid, stone-cut rooms with tanks and casks of varying sizes, in-floor drainage to allow for regular cleanings, some simple fining and filtration equipment and the basic paraphernalia required for the job; nothing more.

Tasting from vat and cask in the cellar:

• 2003 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling
  Produced from fruit grown on the lower slopes of the Halenberg vineyard, picked at Spätlese ripeness but will be finished and marketed as a Kabinett. Delicate palate, with steely minerality and tingly grapefruit accents. Acidity was about 1g lower than usual, a side effect of the warm year, but still seemed sufficient to give balance and typicity.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese trocken
  Pulled from oak cask. Finished two days prior to our visit. This showed ripe fruit, very deep mineral tones and a creamy texture.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Riesling QbA halbtrocken
  Grassy on the nose, fuller bodied than in more typical years, slightly tart acidity. Fermentation and aging in steel only. Werner felt that the grassy character was unique to this single cask, most likely a characteristic given by the native yeasts specific to this tank. About 60-70% of his fermentations are run with native yeasts only.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken
  Vibrant and lively fruit on the palate, with good body, even a bit of muscle, accompanied by greater elegance than present in the QbA halbtrocken.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Kabinett
  Already very integrated; due for bottling in March. At 11.5 – 12%, it is quite high in alcohol for a Kabinett yet the purity of its fruit, along with lower than typical but still sufficient acidity, kept it balanced.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese
  Werner combined separate samples from two vats, destined to be blended before finishing. In Werner’s own words, one was “too sweet,” the other half-dry. Peaches and cream from beginning to end, with a correspondingly creamy texture.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese
  Atypically, this vat came from a parcel harvested on November 13 on the lower slopes of Halenberg; the estate’s Auslesen usually come from the mid and upper slopes. Most likely to be combined with a vat of greater richness from the upper slopes. Tasted of celery, sweet green grapes and grapefruit pith.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Beerenauslese
  Eventually to be bottled as Auslese Goldkapsel. Ultra-ripe, no botrytis. Very elegant and creamy with pure, intensely concentrated fruit.
  
  
• 2003 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
  Pulled from vat, still on the yeast. More muscular than the Frühlingsplätzchen BA. Raisin, honey and super ripe grapefruit tones, accompanied by a delicate trace of botrytis. Brooding. Very closed.

Back upstairs, we settled in for another tasting session in the winery’s visitor room and learned just a bit more about the current practices at the property. For those that still insist most German wine is sweet, think again. 50-55% of the estate’s production is of trocken wine; 15-20% halbtrocken; with only 25-35% in any given year being finished in “fruity” or nobly sweet styles spanning the entire range from Kabinett through TBA and Eiswein.

Tasting from bottle:

• 2002 Monzinger Riesling QbA halbtrocken
  Showing drier than when last tasted, with well integrated fruit and forward minerality. A trace of spritziness shows on the palate. Werner explained that this sometimes occurs naturally as a product of a very slow, cool fermentation, particularly given that he used only one pumping to remove the wine from its natural yeasts. Some carbon dioxide remains in the wine, whereas it would all have dissipated as gas in a warmer cellar.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken
  Fermentation and aging in old wooden casks, the notes of which show only in the wine’s youth. Broadly textured and intensely persistent. Werner recommends holding for 3-5 years and then drinking over the course of the next two to three decades.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Spätlese
  Vibrant acidity, lively, pure yellow grapefruit scents. Excellent food wine.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese
  From a plot of light, slatey soil. Very high-toned aromatics. Raisined fruit and a very clean hint of botrytis. Some of the fruit was harvested at Auslese ripeness levels.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Spätlese “Rutsch”
  Rutsch is a family name for the steepest parcel of the Frühlingsplätzchen vineyard; the slope’s motto is, “Three steps up, two steps back.” Very high acidity, wonderful structure. The finish lingered for minutes.
  
  After pouring the above three Auslesen, Werner informed us that they’d been opened the previous Saturday, six days prior to our tasting. They were still singing, showing no signs of oxidation or open bottle fatigue.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese
  Late harvest qualities showing through with a little hint of botrytis. Mango, exotic fruit and loads of peach and very ripe grapefruit. Decadent.
  
  
• 1992 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese
  Deep golden yet simultaneously bright in the glass. Petrol character emerging on the nose. Produced from what, at the time, were only four year old vines, bringing a lightness of body to the wine. At 11% alcohol, this was produced in a style that Werner called “classic,” a style which he preferred at the time though he’s since moved to a 9-10% range for most of the estate’s Auslesen. The truly “new style,” he stated, is for wines at an even lower 7-8% range.
  
  
• 2000 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
  Menthol, lavender, quince and wildflowers on the nose. Evidence of good but, in Werner’s words, “not perfectly fine” botrytis. At once rich, delicate and finessed. Proof of great work in the vineyards and the cellar in a rainy, difficult vintage. Only 300 liters produced. From my own notes, “Awesome,” not a word I use with any frequency. One of the most memorable wines of the entire trip.
  
  
• 1998 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Eiswein
  Harvested from the lower slopes of Halenberg, the coldest spot of the slope due to diminished sun exposure. Intensely confectionery, rich fruit, confit, preserves. No botrytis. Grapey and cleansing acidity (15g). Like liquid candy. Decadent.
  
  
• 2002 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Eiswein
  50% raisined fruit, pegged at BA ripeness levels one day before harvest, followed by a frost which concentrated both the acidity and richness of the wine. Much more unctuous in texture than the ’98, with a musky, floral nose and scintillating acidity.

It was only as we moved through his wines in the tasting room that I sensed that Werner fully began to relax and let down his guard as he saw our expressions unfold after each subsequent pour. Seemingly at peace with the accolades he has received – Gault Millau called his 2004 wines the collection of the year and awarded Werner their Vintner of the Year award in 2006 – Werner is also clearly resolved not to rest on his laurels. He considers wine growing to be an ongoing education and is clearly happy to now have Frank joining him in the work to come. I look very much forward to their continuing success.

Werner and Frank Schönleber

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Weingut Keller: Shining Star in the Rheinhessen

February 2004. Day two of a group trek through a corner of Germany and a crescent of France. Our first of two appointments of the day was with one of the brightest new stars of German winemaking circles, Klaus Peter Keller. Accolades have come aplenty to Weingut Keller over the last several years, perhaps topped by the bestowal of the VinItaly International Award in 2002. Or perhaps they would favor father Klaus being named Best Winemaker of the Year in the 2000 edition of Gault-Millau’s Weinguide Deutschland. No matter. Suffice it to say that the Keller’s have made a big name for their estate in an area of the Rheinhessen known more for mass production and mediocrity than for top quality, small grower wines.

Flying the flag at Weingut Keller
Klaus Peter had anticipated our arrival, hanging out an American flag at the winery’s main entrance and greeting us shortly after we passed through the gates. Weingut Keller’s property consisted at that time of 12.5 hectares, spread through the villages of Dalsheim and Florsheim. As none of their better quality sites are proximal to the winery, it was right back into our vehicles for a tour through the local byways, destination vineyards. As we pulled off the main village roads onto the dirt paths that bisect the area’s fields, I was struck by the extreme contrast to the vineyards we’d clawed our way through a day earlier in the Mittelrhein. Here, steep, rocky slopes were replaced by gently undulating, topsoil laden, sun soaked hillocks. The scenery reminded me very much of the trench warfare landscapes from any number of WWI or WWII war films, just healed and grown over with rows of vines.

And those vines. Keller’s at least. I’ve never seen such precisely, uniformly pruned and trained vines. The photos I have don’t do them justice. They really did look like specimen plants, each trained low to the ground to capture the maximum of reflected sunlight and heat from the earth below. Klaus Peter feels this approach gives his wines both concentration and elegance. The terrain at the estate is dominated by rocky, limestone rich subsoil with lightly colored, slightly loamy topsoil. The limestone begins only ½ meter below the topsoil, making hard work for young vines as they try to develop their root systems. Keller helps along new plantings by providing light irrigation, a practice which is ceased across the board as soon as the vines are established and producing fruit.

Klaus-Peter (at right) giving us the lay of the land
All of the labor in the vineyards is managed by the Keller family and three apprentices. Their farming methods are as natural as the climate allows. No fertilizers are used. Vegetation is encouraged between every other row of vines to promote nitrogenation of the soil. Copper and sulfur are sprayed to prevent downy mildew. And pheromone capsules, hung strategically throughout the fields, are the only form of pest control.

A clear view of Keller's slice of the Rheinhessen
The Keller’s count four Großes Gewächs sites amongst their property: Dalsheimer Hubacker, Dalsheimer Bürgel, Westhofener Kirchspiel and Westhofener Morstein. In an area best known for the mass production of forgettable Liebfrauenmilch, this surprising density of Grand Cru ratings bestowed upon his property by the VdP is something of which Klaus Peter is keenly aware – and proud. He makes sure to capitalize upon the new vision of his terroir by maximizing his efforts in the vineyards, pruning and farming meticulously to coax the greatest potential from the fruit of his vines. And in the cellar, he polishes the wines like fine gems. Oddly though, we saw neither hide nor hair of the cellars and wine making facilities during our visit. After spending most of our time in the field, we finished with a quick whirl through the tasting room:

2003 Riesling QbA trocken
The first of the 2003 Rieslings to be finished, this was due to be bottled a week after our visit. This sample was tasted from a bottle pulled from vat earlier in the day. Very soft mouthfeel and extremely yeasty, showing simple tropical fruit on the palate. The QbA wines are produced with a combination of fruit from non-cru vineyard sites and of declassified fruit from the crus. No chaptalization was used.

2002 Riesling “Von der Fels”
Fruit from 15-30 year-old vines in several of Keller’s crus – still too young for the Großes Gewächs bottlings – has gone into “Von der Fels” since its first release in 2000. Though labeled simply as a QbA, this is essentially a non-vineyard designated Spätlese trocken, meant to be representative of the estate’s limestone rich terroir as expressed in a dry style. Lean aromatics gave way to concentrated limestone minerality with a fuller, firmer mouthfeel than in the basic QbA wines.


2002 Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs
The rather gothic looking rust orange labels of Keller’s grand cru bottlings are facsimiles of the old family labels which were used up to 1953. The ’02 Hubacker was muscular, spicy, and even a bit earthy, with tremendous mineral extract. Very closed at time of tasting, with loads of acidity keeping the 13% alcohol in check.

2000 Hubacker Riesling “G-Max” Großes Gewächs
Named to commemorate the birth of Klaus-Peter’s son, the 2000 was more aromatically forthcoming. Though still tasting very young, its mouthfeel had begun to round, showing orange oil and spicy earth on the palate. A very difficult vintage, with rain at harvest time. Keller explained that the purely spontaneous fermentation methods used for his Großes Gewächs can lead to extremely long fermentation times – think in terms of years – and can leave primary yeast characteristics in the flavor profile of the wines for their first 3-5 years in bottle.

2002 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Rich fruit, candied citrus peels. Extremely well balanced. Short notes….

2003 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Tasted from a sample bottle pulled from vat. K-P found 2003 a perfect vintage for the production of Spätlese. Big time tropical fruit, very exotic and, not surprisingly, very yeasty. Far richer and rounder than the ’02, but nonetheless showing good acid (6.5g) for a hot vintage. Elegant.


1997 Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Auslese
This is a bit of a rarity in the Keller portfolio as it comes from a vineyard site in the Rheingau that was leased by the Keller’s only from 1996-1998, while Klaus-Peter was still in oenology school. The wine was sold only at auction. Beautiful, golden color. A nose loaded with scents of botrytis. Honeyed on the front palate with lovely minerality on the mid-palate. Flavors of fruitcake, along with some petrol hints, typical to the more slate and quartzite soils of the Rheingau.

1997 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Very young in appearance and taste, with lively fruit accented by a hint of botrytis character (about 10% botrytis affected fruit). Minerally but not at all petrol in character, with very fine peach and lemon peel tones.

2003 Grüner Silvaner QbA trocken
Something forward and refreshing to finish the tasting. Silvaner is apparently quite the thing among German consumers. All of Keller’s Silvaner vines are at least 25 years old; they even produce a varietal Silvaner from 45 year-old grand cru vines. The 2003 showed a typically herbal nose but with riper fruit on the palate than in the previous few years. The grassiness was even more prevalent on the palate. Very fresh. Clocking in at 12.5%, higher in alcohol than the norm but still considered low for the vintage.

Klaus-Peter Keller stands at the forefront of today’s new generation of German winemakers. Though all three of the producer’s we visited during our short prelude in Germany are members of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats (VDP), Keller was by far the most forthcoming and enthusiastic in speaking of the qualifications for membership and the qualities of his estate’s Großes Gewächs wines. His mission is clearly to express vineyard sites and an overall sense of terroir in favor of the hierarchical ripeness-based system established by the 1971 German wine laws. Concurrently, one gets the sense, both through the fruit-forward nature of the wines and the presentation of the estate, that Keller keeps just as keen an eye on the development and positioning of the winery’s global brand as a new standard for the Rheinhessen.

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Weingut Ratzenberger, Pearl of the Mittelrhein

February 2004. Philly – Paris – Frankfurt. After filing a claim for lost baggage – thanks, Air France – our group piled into three rental cars and headed straight to the riverside village of Bacharach. Following a quick stop at the hotel and a bite to eat – bratwurst and Jever Pils at Restaurant der Zupferkanne – it was straight to Weingut Ratzenberger, our only appointment of the day and the first destination of a nine day wine trip to Germany and France. Finding our way up the valley road to Steeg, Jochen Ratzenberger greeted us at his winery’s street-front door, paused for a moment to grab some stemware and led us right back out to our vehicles. Typical to the pattern at almost every winery in Europe, weather allowing, our tour would begin in the fields. Not surprisingly given the view we’d appreciated from the Bacharach village square, our route took us straight up hill and onto the single lane, switchback access roads to the vineyards.

The view from Bacharach
Standing on a precipitous, narrow footpath between two sections of the St. Jost vineyard, we were able to take in the view of nearly the entire estate. We were also exposed to the full force of the damp, cold, February wind blowing up the valley off the river, gaining a clear sense of just how peripheral this area is to viticulture. On the steep slopes above Bacharach and Steeg, Jochen’s vines are perfectly poised to receive every last ray of the sun, without which they would fail to ripen sufficiently for the production of quality wine. In cool climates, southern exposure can make the difference between a good site and a great one. In the Mittelrhein, southern exposure is an absolute must. And site is everything.

Looking down on Steeg and the Rhein from the St. Jost vineyard
The tiny village of Steeg, home to the Ratzenberger family and winery, sits in the crook of a valley, due west from Bacharach at a point where the Rhein flows almost perfectly north to south. The Ratzenbergers’ property is based primarily on three einzellagen (single vineyards) perched on the northern face of the valley slopes:

• Bacharacher Posten, nearest to the river at an average elevation of 150 meters,
  
• Bacharacher Wolfshöhle, a Großes Gewächs site, next up the valley at an elevation of 300 meters, and
  
• Steeger St. Jost, also Großes Gewächs, the westernmost site perched between 400-500 meters directly above the tiny hamlet of Steeg.

A fourth vineyard site, Kloster Fürstental, lays one valley to the south of Steeg. Due to the special climate and exposure of Fürstental, which is kept dry by breezes from the river and by wider than average row spacing, its Riesling now goes to the production of just two styles: Sekt and Eiswein.

A larger perspective of St. Jost
Moving down the valley to a gentler slope nearer the river, Jochen uncorked a bottle of his Sekt, poured us each a glass and took a few moments to tell us more about his land. His vineyards are dominated by blue and black slate from the Devonian era. On the upper slopes, little if any topsoil is in evidence. Labor is almost entirely manual and in many spots necessitates a system of guide wires which he utilizes while working to prevent tumbles down the perilous inclines. Jochen makes the most of his land by farming to low yields and working the soil and plants as naturally as possible. Fertilization is completely organic. Pheromones are used, both to attract beneficial insects and put-off malevolent ones, in place of insecticides. Fungicides are used in small quantities to prevent vine diseases which can thrive in this cool, damp arena.

Making our way back to the weingut, we headed straight for the tasting room, opting to save the usual cellar visit until after we’d warmed up a bit. It was time do a little sampling.

• 2003 Bacharacher Rivaner QbA trocken
  Jochen’s work with Rivaner – a name which he prefers to its synonymous Müller-Thurgau – should be enough to make Jancis Robinson eat her rather dismissive words on the vine. His 2003, bottled only 10 days earlier, showed fresh, peachy fruit and good acidity along with richer texture and riper flavors than the previous year’s version. Finished at 4.5g RS and 5.5g of acidity, fermentation lasted 3.5 months.
  
  Rivaner is planted on the flatter lands where Riesling would not ripen.
  
• 2002 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spätlese trocken
  Beautiful length. Peach, apricot, lemon, yeast and slate flavors abound on a ripe frame, also larger in scale than the wine of the previous vintage. 4.5g RS. From this site, Jochen produces only Spätlese trocken, Kabinett halbtrocken and, in very good vintages, a Großes Gewächs.
  
  
• 2002 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken
  Hints of grapefruit, peach and white truffles, along with a spritzy mouthfeel that, Jochen explains, comes not from added carbon dioxide but rather from a combination of inherently high acidity and the natural carbon present in the slate rich soil of the St. Jost.
  
  
• 2002 Bacharacher Posten Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken
  More muscle than present in the previous two wines, also a more intense slatiness. Tightly wound yet showing great length on the palate. Posten is a site with a high percentage of gray slate along with quartz and some clay, giving wines with fuller, creamier textures.
  
  
• 1986 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken
  Bottled at 9.2%, this “little” ’86 was just barely showing its age, which was apparent only on the nose. Petrol, slate and truffle tones sparred with extremely lively peach-driven fruit. Steely acidity was still very much in evidence and the wine was light straw in color.
  
  
• 2001 Bacharacher Wolfshöhle*** Riesling QbA Großes Gewächs
  Fruit harvested at Auslese levels of ripeness, fermented to dryness and chaptalized ¼º with cane sugar to a final 12.5%. Jochen explained that the small degree of chaptalization allows for a long, slow fermentation, a desired trait for a wine destined to spend 36 months on its lees. Not surprisingly, this GG showed much fuller, richer textures, very firm acidity and correspondingly less delicacy than the previous wines. Flavors were much more autolytic than in the more typical Rieslings.
  
  
• 2001 Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Spätlese
  Beautifully rich peach and young petrol character. To ensure balance and the potential for longevity, Jochen selects fruit for his Spätlese based not just on ripeness but also on high acidity. Fermentation was stopped at around 50g RS, not by addition of sulfur dioxide but rather by racking the wine off its yeasts. Harvest occurred around November 8, 2001, approximately one month later than for his Bacharacher Kabinett trocken.
  
  
• 1966 Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spätlese feinherb
  This was as close as Jochen could come to a wine from my birth year (I’ll leave it to your guesses), which was uniformly horrible for wine throughout the world. Grace, minerality and acidity were still prevalent, lending the wine a surprisingly fresh feel in the mouth. Fruit had receded, leaving the wine totally tertiary in its flavor profile.
  
  
• 1976 Kloster Fürstental Riesling Beerenauslese
  Luckily, we had a young pup along for the trip and he was able to beg this bottle out of the Ratzenberger cellars. Incredibly rich texture, with intense aromas of botrytis and flavors of orange oil, honey and figs. The finish lasted for minutes.

Bacharach and the Rhein from Ratzenberger's vineyards
Having warmed our bones and tasted some wonderful juice, it was finally time for a trip downstairs for a tour of the cellar. The buildings that house Weingut Ratzenberger were built from 1850-1880. The cellars showed their era more apparently than the living and tasting quarters, from the style of raw stone cutting to the arches and nooks convenient for naturally cool bottle storage. Catching our eyes in the middle of the room was a set of pupitres where Jochen riddles his bottles of Sekt, a process which he still conducts completely by hand. It quickly became apparent that Jochen does utilize wood for fermentation and aging of some of his wines. A selection of 500 liter pièces, ranging from 2-50 years of age, were lined up, along with steel cuves of varying sizes, in the winemaking chambers of the cellar. While downstairs, we took the opportunity to taste from barrel a few more examples of the potential style just produced from the hot, dry growing season of 2003.

• 2003 Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Auslese
  Though still very yeasty, this boasted tons of tropical fruit character. Most likely to be finished and bottled as Spätlese halbtrocken.
  
  
• 2003 Steeger St. Jost Auslese
  More aromatic with brighter, citrusier fruit than the previous wine. Soft acidity. To be finished as a Spätlese trocken.
  
  
• 2003 Kloster Fürstental Riesling Eiswein
  Jochen managed to make a tiny quantity of Eiswein in 2003. This sample, tasted from a 310 liter cuve, showed intense textural richness with lower than typical acidity.
  
  
• 2003 Spätburgunder
  The only red we tasted all day, this 2003 barrel draw of Pinot Noir showed concentrated, dark ruby colors along with a gamey nose followed by ample raspberry fruit and smoke on the palate.

Completing our barrel tasting, Jochen grabbed a few bottles from nearby racks before leading us back upstairs for one more pass through his tasting room. Hey, we weren’t about to complain.

• 2003 Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Auslese
  Bottled only four days earlier, this was very ripe and soft, showing off aromas and flavors of white peaches, oranges, fresh herbs, anise and lavender.
  
  
• 2002 Kloster Fürstental Riesling Eiswein
  Not surprisingly, given the weather and vintage differences, this was not as rich as the ’03 we’d tasted from vat. That said, it showed a more balanced structure, supported by intense acidity (15-16 grams). The fruit for this wine was nearly harvested as a very ripe Spatlese until a cold spell set in, allowing for a botrytis-free harvest which ran from December 5-8, 2002.
  
  
• 1998 Kloster Fürstental Riesling Eiswein
  5% botrytis along with a few years of bottle age had the ’98 Eiswein drinking like mango nectar electrified by brilliant acidity. Unctuous, oily and visceral on the palate.

I’m not sure we could have asked for a more propitious first visit. Between the casual warmth of the Ratzenberger’s welcome and the beautiful lineup of wines, our entire group – even after the long journey from the states – left energized and looking forward to the rest of the journey.

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Earliest German Harvest in Recorded History

Lending credence to a slew of recent discussions about the effects of global climate change on the traditional delicacy and relatively low alcohol of the Rieslings -- and wines in general -- of Germany, here's a short video clip from Reuters which reports on the August 28 start of the earliest harvest ever recorded in German wine making history. Though the images are clearly not from a top quality estate, the early harvest is likely to continue as a pattern throughout Germany's wine regions.

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A Kanzemer Beauty

If there is any lingering regret from a brief jaunt into the Rheinland during a wine trip in February 2004, it was our group’s inability to make a detour into the Saar to visit the estate of Johann Peter Reinert. Drinking his 2003 Kanzemer Sonnenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb this weekend brought thoughts of that missed opportunity right back to the front of my mind. In my experience, Reinert makes some of the most beautifully pure wines of the Saar. From tiny parcels on precipitous hillsides above the Saar and its canal, from villages such as Ayl, Kanzem, Wiltingen, Filzen and Wawern, Johann manages to scrape crystalline beauty from the hard slate earth. Even in a hot vintage like 2003, his wines embrace an icy acidity with delicate, persistent fruit and mineral nuances. The vineyard Sonnenberg – “Sunny Mountain” – tends to give forward, early maturing wines. At four years of age though, this bottle was still a toddler – fresh, vibrant and multi-faceted. Initial aromas of intense stoniness unfurled to give peaches, apple flesh, apple blossoms, orange zest and a light, bright hint of clover honey. Its finish went on and on. It’s impossible to overstate the food-friendliness of his wines. This bottle paired seamlessly with every aspect of a salad of raw beets, goat cheese and arugula, dressed with a splash of red wine vinegar, good olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. If there’s a more recent regret, it’s that there are no more bottles of this in my cellar. I’ll have to sock away some of his wonderful 2005’s… and go back for a visit.

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The Rieslings of Weingut Ratzenberger

Looking down at the St. Jost vineyard from the small footpath cut into the top of its hillside, perched high above the village of Steeg, it’s amazing to believe that vines can grow there at all, much less that people farm them by hand. Knowing the potential quality of the wines that emanate from the slope, it’s equally hard to believe that some of the owners of parts of this vineyard – and many like it throughout the Northern Rhein, the Nahe and the Saar – have chosen to let their land lie fallow. The work is just too hard. Thankfully, Jochen Ratzenberger perseveres.

Representing the second generation of estate production at Weingut Ratzenberger in the village of Bacharach, Jochen works 25 hectares of vines planted mostly to Riesling along with some Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and small quantities of Grauerburgunder (Pinot Gris) and Rivaner (Müller Thurgau). The property is based primarily on three Einzellagen (single vineyards). Posten, which is closest to the river, and Wolfshöhle, next up the valley, both lie above the village of Bacharach. Furthest from the river is St. Jost, spanning a larger elevation range above the tiny town of Steeg. The valley, which runs east-west, perpendicular to the Rhein, provides a perfect and necessary southern exposure to the entire property. In all three sites, slate of varying shades of blue and black – the same stone used for roofing the buildings in town – dominates the soil and provides a tough foothold for man and vine. The wines that Ratzenberger coaxes from these sites are without peer in the commune of Bacharach and can certainly be ranked among the best of the entire Mittelrhein region.

Capping off the better part of a week in the Philadelphia and New York areas, Jochen stopped by the shop yesterday to taste through some of his current releases with me and the rest of the crew. Following are some notes on what we tasted and what we learned along the way.

1. Bacharacher Kloster Furstental Riesling Sekt Brut 2001: Year in and year out, this is one of the most special wines I sell. Made in the Champagne method, including riddling by hand courtesy of Jochen himself, this single vineyard sparkling Riesling spends five years on its lees before disgorgement. Always a clear expression of both site and vintage, it’s a wonderful pairing with oysters and other shellfish and makes a splendid aperitif. The 2001 vintage is drinking wonderfully, crisp, completely dry, showing a very fine mousse and brimming with lightly toasty notes of apple and peach. The Kloster Furstental einzellage is located one valley to the south of Ratzenberger’s primary property. Its soil base is richer in loam than to the north, its rows are more widely spaced and its orientation opens it to the winds blowing along the river. All of these factors combine to make it a dry site with very strong vines, ideal for production of perfectly healthy fruit. Botrytis does not occur here and grapes can hang long on the vine, in some vintages into February. Jochen makes only two wines from the Kloster Furstental – Sekt (from an early picking) and Eiswein.
   
   
2. Bacharacher Riesling Kabinett trocken 2003: Ratzenberger’s village wines, produced only at the Kabinett trocken and QbA levels and labeled simply as Bacharacher with no vineyard designation, come from a cross-section of all three vineyards on the main property, usually dominated by fruit from Wolfshöhle. The warm, dry growing conditions of the 2003 vintage lend a creamier than typical structure to this bottling. The stoniness of all of the estate’s wines is present, soft yet dry, with hints of apricot on the palate. Jochen prefers this wine with fresh water trout caught in the streams near his home. Try it at home with any mild to medium flavored fish.
   
   
3. Steeger St. Jost Riesling Spätlese trocken 2002: Looking back on my notes from a visit to Weingut Ratzenberger in February 2004, we tasted this very wine shortly after bottling. Three years on, it’s developing wonderfully. Spätlesen trocken, late picked wines fermented to total dryness, give a more intense, vinous flavor profile than that found in earlier harvests and lesser degrees of dryness. That vinosity shows itself aromatically, with intense scents of minerals, peach and lime zest and greater body in the mouth. These elements, combined with textures resulting from a higher-acid vintage, make this a great choice for pairing with oilier fish such as salmon or with game birds. The St. Jost vineyard, with its high elevation and soil base of slate, clay and sand, is ideal for this style. The only other wines made there are a Kabinett halbtrocken and a Großes Gewächs.
   
   
4. Steeger St. Jost Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken 2003: The tasting order selected by Jochen surprised me here, as I would have expected to taste this before the Spätlese trocken. No matter, the wine is delicious. Very delicate and gentle, it shows crystal clear flavors of peaches and canned pineapple melded to soft yet refreshing acidity. This is incredibly versatile with lighter foods of all kinds, makes a wonderful aperitif and would hold its own with a wide range of modestly seasoned Asian cuisine.
   
   
5. Bacharacher Posten Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken 2002: Now the order begins to make sense, a clear progression from trocken to halbtrocken and on to sweeter styles. The aromas of this wine are the most intensely mineral yet, showing hints of what many refer to as petrol married to rich tones of apricot and a lush, persistent and lively mouth feel. Full body, lively acidity and a nuance of sweetness make this suitable for pairing with fatty birds and rich sauces. Posten’s proximity to the Rhein and its somewhat sheltered position, both contributing to light morning fog, make it an ideal site for the production of late harvest and botrytis effected styles. From here hail most of the Auslesen, Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen produced by Ratzenberger.
   
   
6. Bacharacher Riesling Kabinett 2003: Not yet for sale, this was tasted from a sample bottle. It reminded me instantly of the 1998 Bacharacher lieblich wines. Soft and broad across the palate, its transparent flavors of white peach and slate, subtle acidity and very low alcohol (8%) make this a classic aperitif style. I’m already looking forward to its availability.
   
   
7. Kloster Furstental Riesling Eiswein 2002: Back to the vineyard where the tasting began, this time with the showstopper. Real, handmade, farm grown Eiswein is a rarity in Germany. Some producers, depending on their vineyard sites, might only produce three or four bottlings per decade. Because of the special characteristics of Kloster Furstental though, Ratzenberger is able to make Eiswein, albeit in tiny quantities, in most years. Sporting 250 grams of residual sugar and 20 grams of acidity, this is pure nectar, unctuous, tooth coating yet still balanced. Subtler aromas but much more intense flavors emerge than in the earlier pickings – lemon and lime oils, kumquat, papaya, passion fruit and orange blossom honey. Its best possible serving scenario is straight up. If you must eat, pair it with a slice of good foie gras. But please, please don’t serve it with sweets; at $135 for a half-bottle, it would be the epitome of waste.

Looking at Jochen, with the flavors and textures of his Eiswein still lingering on my palate, it’s hard to imagine the dedication it takes to produce these wines. Always affable and perpetually relaxed, he tells us of the incredible toils of making his Beeren- and Trockenbeerenauslesen. It takes one person an entire day, selecting one berry at a time, to pick enough to make a single half-bottle. I’ve seen, in person, the guide wires used by Jochen and his picking and pruning crews to hold themselves in place while working the perilously steep hillside vineyards. And I’ve seen the tiny amounts of “topsoil” that must be carried back up the hill and redistributed after hard storms and at the end of the season. I would wonder how he justifies it all – perhaps thinking him mad – if I’d never tried the wines. They are Bacharach-Steeg in a bottle. They make it all worthwhile. Gladly, I think he enjoys them even more than I do.

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