Tasting Format:
When one tastes in Germany, there is no limit to how much you can taste. In all the tastings I have conducted so far, I have been free to taste as much as I could. This makes it easy to taste first and buy only what you really like. It takes the guesswork out of the equation.
General Comments:
Trocken and Halbtrocken are what the German vintners seem to sell to the German consumers. And I must say that I by now vastly prefer the trocken editions from virtually all wineries I've been to. As far as I understand, these wines are not meant for ageing, but immediate pleasure and I would agree based on my tasting experience. In speaking to the vintners, it is clear that the importers for the US market dial in on the sweet and off-dry wines. It's a shame that not more dry wines are exported to the US market as I believe they would do well here.
Red vs. White Varietals:
With the many varietals that are being planted in Germany, my experience is that the red varietals, even from the best producers (like Meyer Naekel from the Ahr) are not in step with their "neighbors" from France. The German whites though are far superior to the German reds with Riesling leading the way. I would recommend readers to try Sylvaner, Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) and Gewuerztraminer though as these wines can be equally spectacular.
Prices:
German wines are incredibly inexpensive in Germany. Hard to believe just how inexpensive wine is there, even very good stuff. The best vintners sell their best wines at usually less than $25, which is barely more than the entry level semi-sweet wines here in the US are available for from some of the same or at least similar producers. Spending more than $10 per bottle for really good wine seems nearly impossible.
Availability:
Well, the 2005 vintage has been much hailed in Germany and thus the availability of the wines from top estates is very thin already. In trying to get an appointment with Emrich-Schoenleber in the Nahe region, I was informed they were already sold out of the 2005 trocken and halbtrocken wines, and I assume the same is/will be true for the other top estates like Doenhoff, Schaefer Froehlich, etc.
Weingut Hexamer:
We went tasting at Weingut Hexamer in Meddersheim on Tuesday afternoon, and it was a very interesting tasting. The cheap whites ($4-$6) were all very good quaffers that were certainly more than worth their tariff. The higher end whites were spectacular IMO. In particular the Rhaingrafenberg and Altenberg Riesling Spaetlese Trocken were absiolutely outstanding and for me, the highlight of the tasting. The other remarkeable wines were the Grauburgunder Spaetlese Trockewn and the "Fruehburgunder" red wine from 2005. A very solid red wine, although for local price levels, quite steep at about $20. Mr and Mrs Hexamer and their kids were terrific hosts and I couldn't imagine nicer folks to taste with and support. If you are in the Nahe region, I believe Hexamer is worth the effort of a visit.
Tomorrow I'll be back with some more normal tasting notes, but please do let me know of your experiences tasting German wines. I'd love to know...
0 comments:
Post a Comment