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Busch, Clemens 2011 Mosel Vom Roten Schiefer Riesling Trocken
Vom Roten Schiefer is always one of our favorites from Busch's lineup, and the 2011 continues the streak of delicious vintages from 2007 on. It's culled from red-slate parcels, primarily in the Rothenpfad, upstream from most of their grey and blue slate sites.The aromatics are quite nice, with present but restrained hints of flowers, grains, steel and spice. There's plenty of both body and acid, and it seems as if it may be just a hair off-dry, but still perfectly balanced. Really lovely depth and clarity here. -jfr
Dönnhoff 2011 Nahe Dellchen Riesling Grosses Gewächs
Dellchen is a steep site in Norheim, downstream for the Niederhausen/Oberhausen center where Dönnhoff resides. The soil is a classic Nahe mixture of slate toward the bottom of the site and volcanic elements out toward the sides. The nose is impressively chiseled, especially within the context of the fairly fruity vintage, with fresh, lean and precise mineral tones. I was very excited when tasting this one — the body is just what great German Trocken should be — lighter than comparable wines from Austria or Alsace but with no lack of fruit or depth. Green apple, lemon, strawberry, honeydew melon, and all followed by a stony rush on the penetrating finish. Simply terrific dry Dönnhoff! -jfr
Dönnhoff 2011 Nahe Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese
Kirschheck is 100% slate, and the wine retains the freshness and lightness of touch that you would expect from this type of soil. There's a whole array of classic Dönnhoff fruit tones including red apple, fresh pear, red cherry and lime pith. Spicy, elegant, refined and certainly another winner in this all-star lineup this vintage. -jfr
Dönnhoff 2011 Nahe Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese
Concentrated, focused, clean, clear and elegant. I can't say enough good things about this wine. Clarity. Class. Length. Tons of Mosel-like slate on the nose, no doubt from the weathered grey slate that combines with porphyr rock to form the base of the Hermannshöhle.There's an impressive rush of flavor on the finish, one of those that I like to call the "fruit basket" that comes from this vineyard, as the colors and flavors seem so varied and numerous: yellow, orange, red, pink, green, it's all there. A beautifully balanced, elegant Spätlese. Helmutt Dönnhoff explains that the gray, weathered slate here soaks up water like a sponge which is great for the wine but also shows that this isn't the kind of slate you want to us for your roof tiles. -jfr
Nikolaihof 2005 Wachau Riesling Steiner Hund Reserve
I have a three check system for tasting. Of what I tasted for a week in Austria, this is one of three wines that received the coveted third check for being mind-blowingly good. Savory minerals... the finish undulates — it comes in waves with moments receding and then reapproaching. It's expansive as a novel, touching, weeping and reminiscent of world-class perfume — you know the kind with just a twinge of an attractively disconcerting quality? I also tasted a singing, yet very youthful 92 Steiner Hund Riesling Spatlese if that gives you any reference for how long these wines can age. I was given a bottle of this wine with a specialized birthday label — and I intend on cellaring quite a few more as well. This wine deserves a soft spot in your heart too. RSG
Zilliken 2010 Saar Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese
This is a Spaetlese for the ages. Many years from now we're going to be talking about the non-deacidified 2010s (such as this one, of course) the same way we talk about the remarkable 1971s today. The price took an unfortunate jump this vintage since the crop was so small, but I still think it's undervalued for what it is, especially when compared to top wines from many other leading wine regions in France and even the US. 98 g/l residual sugar, 10.8 grams of acid, this is a blazing, chiseled, mind-blowing wine. Rippingly intense but not huge and blowsy, just super-focused and pristine with a whole panoply of green, yellow and orange citrus. So far it's my favorite Spaet of the year, and we only have one case. -jfr