Schäfer-Fröhlich Tasting + Some Extras

This was a great tasting put together by Brad of Beautiful Wines. Lovely wines all round, with some bottles of tremendous quality, again underscoring how good the recent triumvirate of 2006, 2007 and 2009 have been for German Rieslings. Lovely pairing too, with Chinese dumplings (jiao zhi) and Thai green curry from Ying Thai Palace down the road. Thanks Brad! Extra bonus was meeting Salil, who had decamped to Singapore for a short while. His notes had always been a great source of information on CT, and it was good fun tasting, chatting and comparing impressions with him. All in all, a really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

• 2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Riesling Kabinett 91 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  I thought this was really impressive for a "village" level Kabinett. Attractive nose, with sweet nectar and honey notes along with sweet nectarines, ripe limes and a little whiff of minerality. It was on the palate where the wine really shone though. Not quite the depth and breadth of the better plots, but this had lots of weight for what it is, paired with super fresh acidity giving the wine a lovely, tingly balance. I thought the nose was a little sweet, which translated to some sweetness on the attack, but on the midpalate, it was all fresh lime, lemons and ripe grapefruit, maybe gooseberry, with some nice minerality and a little flowery hint in the background moving into the finish, where some spicy, gingery touches lingered in the mouth. A real live-wire of a wine, with lots of interesting little nuances. I liked this.

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• 2007 Schäfer-Fröhlich Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Third bottle I have tried, by far the best of the lot, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that Brad had opened this 3 days before. This was fast asleep the last time I tried it; this time, it felt like a grumpy child that had been rather rudely awoken. Yet for all that, the breed of the wine was crystal clear. Nose showed some sulphur when first poured, along with the sugary muscat scents of a closed-down Riesling. With some air and coaxing though, the wine showed some really nice whiffs of orange blossom and candied ginger. Very entrancing I thought, and there was certainly no mistaking the quality on the palate. Lovely balance, with ripe fruit ranging from peachy tones to more ginger candy to more citrus tangerine and grapefruit nuances. With time, it opened up even further, especially towards the finish, which showed a savoury, earthy, almost exotic spiciness. Very nice, but still tight and all rather primary, with sugary grapey flavours still casting a shadow over the whole wine. This will need lots of time yet, but I was really impressed by this showing.

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• 2009 Von Hövel Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Very pleasant, but nothing special. I must say that it certainly had a lovely bouquet, with a whole range of high-toned fruit accents - green apples, zesty lime, ripe guava and gooseberry, all underpinned by a little herby asparagus note. Quite Saar-like I thought. The palate really flattered to deceive on the attack as well, with green apples galore wed to delciously snappy ripe grapefruit flavours all showing quite a bit of richness and weight. Unfortunately, the wine just seemed to run out of energy at the mid-palate and petered out into rather hollow finish which dissipated quickly (albeit rather prettily) with a whiff of orange blossoms. A nice enough wine, but there are tons of better 2009 Spatlesen out there.

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• 2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Absolutely first class. A bit tight on the nose, but there was a lovely trickle of minerally scents, all slatey and limey, along with a dusting of floral notes and a little twist of orange peel. The nose may have been a little reserved, the palate was anything but - it elicited a "wow" from me on first sip. The first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, absolutely pitch perfect balance it had. The type of balance that marks the all very best pradikat wines. Wonderful, almost Auslese-rich, tropical fruit flavours of mangoes, lychees and rambutans were sewn together tight and seamlessly with a stream of acidity and a little minerally streak. You could barely pick all that apart though. The wine had such nice lines, and was so well put together that all you got was one glorious, complex flow of Riesling goodness, gliding effortlessly from the exuberant attack into a rich, almost creamily textured finish that showed gentle, palate-caressing length, with flavours of rambutans and bua dukus lingering away in the mouth. When Leitz's Roseneck is on song, it really hits the spot. This was a fantastic wine. Should age effortlessly well, but it will be extremely difficult to keep my hands off my two bottles.

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• 2003 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese 89 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Not a bad Riesling, but rather unusual - this was clearly a child of its vintage. Nose preternaturally developed character, with smoky, petrol notes, along with a caramel-like aspect - something you would expect from a wine at least 5-6 years older. There was some sticky fruit in there, nectarine scents I thought, along with a whiff of earthiness. Very developed I thought. The palate was somewhat of a surprise though. It showed quite a bit younger and sprightlier than the nose would have let on, with a citrusy flavour-profile ranging from green apples to grapefruit and lemon pith, along with a nice bit of mineral. There was a little honeyed tone in the background, but far from being sweet, this was actually a little austere at points. Balance was decent, although there was a bit of alcohol sticking out at the edges. I felt that this lack the fresh intensity of the other vintages though, so that this stucked out rather like a rustic, slightly simpler country cousin to the other more urbane, sophisticated Felseneck Spatlesen. Finish had more of that austerity, with some dry flintiness paired with more green apples and some bittersweet fruit pith flavours, before another dose of unusually toasty smokiness. Not great length, but decent enough. Very decent, not great, but this was certainly unusual, and rather interesting.

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• 2006 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  A wonderful Riesling. Rather tight on the nose, with a bit of sulphur at the fringes that took a little while to get past. Beyond that though, it was fresh and pretty, with sprigs of herb along with whiffs of honey and fresh maple syrup and little hints of earth and flinty mineral. In spite of being opened for a couple of days, it still came across as rather reticent. The flavours on the palate were also a little primary, with sweet nectarines at the fore, maybe a little peach, but boy, everything about this wine was top-notch. Incredible depth, piercing intensity, with awesome power for a Spatlese, all underscored by some serious, stony minerality and with enough acidity to bring the wine into a lovely balance. Finish had incredible length too, with a touch more of those sweet herbal notes picked up on the nose. Still primary, with some of that 2006 over-sweetness flickering around the edges of the wine - this needs some time yet. However, I have no doubt that this will all smoothen out with age - this is a keeper, and one that should make for quite a profound experience with time.

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• 2007 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Opened 3 days ago, but somehow not quite as good as the last bottle. This seemed even tighter. Clearly quality again, but this was a grumpy wine in an awkward stage - it clearly did not appreciate being woken from what appeared to be a deep slumber. Nose was tightly wound and showed precious little apart from a drip of petrol, some flinty notes, a little nectar and a hint of earthiness. Tight on the palate too, with lots of primary grape sugars on the attack, followed by some green apples and ripe limes and lemons. There was a core of depth here, and quite a backbone of fresh lively acidity and dry extract, giving the wine a rather noble shape. Somehow though, the structure and the flavours were all a little disparate, especially when compared to the seamless integration that some of the other wines on show displayed. So much so that this came across almost a little disjointed, especially moving past the back-palate into the finish. It was even a little hot at the fringes. I must say there was great persistence and weight on this one, but I think it may have gotten to a point where it really needs quite a few years in the bottle before it shows its true colours again.

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• 2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Divided opinions here. Most of the room absolutely loved this, Salil was not very impressed. I personally thought it was an excellent Spatlese and really enjoyed it without quite going as crazy over it as some of the others. Nose was interesting, almost Gruner Veltliner like, with scents of herb and lentils mixed in with white flowers, white fruits and a little kumquat edge. There was some sulphur blowing around, but not so much that it became distracting. I was really impressed by the palate as well. Very complex. Very nice richness, but also very light, almost lithe on its feet, with pristine, almost crystalline purity in its fruit expression - all lovely lemon and tangerine flavours with a little squeeze of pineapple - along with a lovely sense of minerality and some joyous, sprightly acidity that really perked-up the palate. A real charmer here, with no lack of refinement. Really nice lines and focus I thought. Unfortunately, it all became unstuck a little towards the back-palate, where the freshness seemed to leech out of the wine, leaving it a bit sticky. Thankfully, it strengthens again at the finish, fading away with a farewell hint of lentils. It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops in time - I for one have high hopes. I think there is just tons of quality here.

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