Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

I'm not just singing the praises because I brought them, but those bottles of 2001 Prum Auslese and 2001 Donnhoff Auslese were both stunning, and that 2012 Selbach Oster Eiswein that Rob brought was about 99-100 points in my book. I was really blown away by these three wines, but I really know nothing about German wines. Can anyone elaborate upon what we were drinking? Patrick brought a bottle that was a beauty as well. And that 2013 Austrian Gobelsburg Gaisberg that was recommended here on the site was really lovely with the oysters at Black Salt. I have one more bottle of that, and we got two 375s of the Eiswein. I have some 2012 Prums and Donnhoffs in my cellar, are there other recommended German vintages in recent years?

The 2012s are very charming across the board, one of my favorite recent vintages. 2010 might be your style Jim, with epic levels of acidity (it was the first year in ages where wineries were given official permission to deacidify, I believe).

Not sure where you shop for German wines, but if you want to ship stuff, WineBid often has tons of German wines from back vintages at very good prices.

I got my 2001s years ago from Garagiste, where are they, in Seattle?
I got some 2012s at the NH liquor store.

I just checked with NH, they don't have much Prum wines left. Are either of these worthwhile?

2013 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Auslese, $46.99
2012 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Kabinet, $29.99

JimHow wrote:I got my 2001s years ago from Garagiste, where are they, in Seattle?
I got some 2012s at the NH liquor store.

I just checked with NH, they don't have much Prum wines left. Are either of these worthwhile?

2013 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Auslese, $46.99
2012 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Kabinet, $29.99

Stick with the Kabinett, lighter bodied and less sweet, it will drink sooner yet is still ageworthy. 2001 in the Mosel is the reference vintage of the last 15 years. I also like 2004 for acid driven wines.

JJ Prum makes my favorite Riesling. I also really like Donhoff and Selbach-Oster.

Glad you liked the Gaisberg, Jim. Riesling occupies a fair percentage of my cellar. To me, Riesling is one of the most versatile grapes in the world, both for the wine maker and consumer at the table. And, those that love their rieslings can almost be as opinionated as the burgundy lover.

I had the good fortune to begin my riesling journey in the late 80's. I met a young David Schildknecht who promptly turned me on to all manner of the grape. As to purchases, I think you have been given good advice by Blanquito. German wine is a lot like Port and Sauternes; lots of older vintages available. I enjoy mature German wines and find Auslese to take too long to mature (20+ years) to purchase a new vintage, at least at my age now...That said, vintages with good balancing acidity can be great a year or two post release as I appreciate that cracking acid/sugar thing as a summer aperitif or with spiced lighter fare. But for complex food, age or purchase the aged stuff.

These days I buy Austrian whites as I have enough Germans resting for that perfect salty pork dish or potato soup or crab or veal or....enjoy your journey, Jim. I really must attend one of the get-togethers....maybe SFO next year.

Thanks RPCV, we'd love to have you in SF next year!
That other Austrian wine you recommended was out of stock but this one was very delicious with oysters and tuna tartare at lunch at the Black Salt….

FWIW Pappa Doc is a German wine expert.

RDD wrote:FWIW Pappa Doc is a German wine expert.

Indeed. Two of the best German wines I've tried were courtesy of the Pappa.

JimHow wrote:I got my 2001s years ago from Garagiste, where are they, in Seattle?
I got some 2012s at the NH liquor store.

I just checked with NH, they don't have much Prum wines left. Are either of these worthwhile?

2013 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Auslese, $46.99
2012 JJ Prum Graacher Himel Riesling Kabinet, $29.99

JJ Prum is my favorite Riesling also. But I usually prefer 'Wehlener Sonnenuhr' version to Graacher version. In general, Prum tilts towards sweet side compared to other producers, but very balanced. So their Kabinett is slightly sweeter compared to other producers' Kabinett, which can be bone dry.

My preference is for Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett and Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese. These are brilliantly made rieslings IMO. Their higher end 'Goldkapsel' version is also brilliant needless to say...

Jim,

Yes, that Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Eiswein was pretty spectacular but we had many other fine German Rieslings at the convention.

Phil Bernstein at MacArthurs is a serious German wine expert (also very friendly and helpful). I suggest you tell him some of the German wines you like and ask him to put together a case of some of his recommendations of Kabinetts and Spatleses in the $20 to $40 price range. I don't you will be disappointed.

Chris Bublitz

I will do that, Chris, in the meantime I placed another small order from MacArthur's:

2 2012 Selbach Oster Spatlese * Zeltinger Sonnenuhr 750ml60497 $29.99 $59.98
2 2012 Selbach Oster Spatlese Zeltinger Sonnenuhr 750ml64150 $24.99 $49.98
2 2012 Prum, JJ Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese 750ml60541 $36.99 $73.98

Apologies for digging up an old thread here, but I thought I'd mention that the 2019 vintage for German Rieslings is been heralded as the best since 01.
Very favourable reports from various commentators:
https://www.jamessuckling.com/wine-tast ... t-vintage/
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles ... gh-vintage
https://www.justerinis.com/the-buyers-b ... ngs-reign/

Appreciate that buying to cellar some of these may be a young mans game, but for those that like them young, I couldn't recommend them more.

I had a bottle of 2019 Dr. Loosen Urzig Wurzgarten GG trocken last night and it was truly fantastic, particular given the price point (€25). Wonderfully complex, an equal mix of fruit and mineral notes, with a very long finish. Can only get better would some additional ageing (5/6 years) but such a treat even now. My local off-licence had a 2019 Riesling tasting night last week, and I honestly don't recall better young Rieslings.

Yup, 2019 is a vintage to buy!

Thanks for calling attention to the 2019s, Dio, I’ll look for some.

Any German vintage mentioned in the same breath as 2001 gets my heart racing.

Are they on the shelves yet?

I am afraid that most have already came and went (ie JJPrum, Keller, Lauer etc) though there are certain producers still available in the wholesale channels so probably worth looking sooner rather than later.

Last week I picked up 5 btls of the 2020 Keller VdF for $39.99 @ Bottle King in Ramsey and it is sadly becoming harder and harder to find.

Well gentlemen, we did a tasting of Prum fabulous 2019s yesterday, and included a bottle of 2001 Wehlener Auslese

We were not disappointed; the wines were superb with a few surprises.

Kabinett
The Graacher was slightly more complex than the Wehlener, which was more opulent. 93 and 92

Spatlese
The Graacher was superb with perhaps the longest finish of all. The best of the 2019s for one person, my joint second best.
The Wehlener again slightly lagging. Not quite the cut of the Graacher, but a lovely wine in its own right. 96 and 94

Auslese
The Graacher here had less minerality; but some lovely apple compote notes the Wehlener was better on the palate but marred by a strange cheesy nose.
94 and 93

Auslese GK
Two brilliant wines; the Graacher fresh with floral and white peaches. On its own spectacular, but paled next to an utterly complete and almost perfect Wehlener. It’s not the first time I have had the Wehlener; the others did not have the complexity, opulence and acidity this did. Hopefully this is the norm. 98+ and 96

Wehlener Spatlese 1990 badly corked
Wehlener Auslese 2001 big petrol nose; lots of underlying fruit. Long and easy. Intensely flavored. Delicious 97

The title of this thread is suitable to this post so I will add it in here.

Outrageously decadent aromas of apricot and orange marmalade that followed through on the rich, seamless palate with a seriously long finish. A pretty perfect wine in my eyes otherwise said, flawless and a revelatory experience. And a a big thank you to Mark for sharing this elixir and for a most enjoyable Riesling Sunday funday amongst good company out back.

Greg Kahn came over this afternoon and I shared the last few drops with him. He nailed the trailing flavors as gingerbread.

Amazing wine.

I had some well aged TBA at an offline dinner a few years ago. That was the only sticky I've ever thought could make me a sweet wine lover.