10 years after Riesling tasting - 2006

• 2006 Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Pfalz

  Double decanted about 1 hour before.
  Clear, intense golden color with amber reflexes. Medium+ intense, fully developed nose which would point me more to the Wachau than to the Pfalz: Ripe fruit, wax, honey, acacia.
  Dry (would guess around 5-8g/l), good ripe acidity, acacia, honey notes, hints of ripeness (“Firn”, petrol), lots of extract, ripe fruit. Very special, but really good. Clearly stands out of the whole tasting because of its more “baroque” style. I did not expect much from this wine, but it was clearly a surprise. Best PQR in the whole tasting. Potential? Will stay at this level for some years but I doubt it will improve.

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• 2006 Weingut Keller Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs 92 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Double decanted about 1 hour before.
  Clear, quite youthful pale golden-citrus color. Medium+ intense, developing nose with lots of chalk, fine ripe pear and apple.
  Dry, with good, well integrated acidity. From all Keller wines in this tasting the Hubacker was the most muscular, opulent wine, but not in the sense of the Bassermann-Jordan. Lots of pressure on the palate, chalk, fine yellow fruit. Long finish, still has potential for further development.

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• 2006 Weingut Keller Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Double decanted about 1 hour before.
  Clear, quite youthful pale golden-yellow color. Needed a lot of air and time. Nose was quite muted at the beginning and opened up with time. Very elegant nose with chalky minerality and fine yellow fruit.
  Really dry, very lean, focused and elegant. It was the most filigree wine in the flight. Lots of chalk, fine ripe pears. Complex and long finish. Needs a lot of air and has certainly potential for 5+ more years.

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• 2006 Weingut Keller Abts E®.de Riesling Großes Gewächs 94 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Double decanted about 2 hour before. First vintage wine was called Abtserde!
  Clear, youthful pale citrus golden color. Medium+ intense, quite youthful nose with lots of citrus fruit, herbs and stones.
  Bone dry, really the bigger brother of the Kirchspiel: It has everything of the Kirchspiel in an increased way: More pressure on the palate, even more elegant, longer. Wonderful wine with lots of potential and years of development ahead. Best wine in this flight.
  From a PQR point of view certainly the best buy in Keller’s range of GG. It just starts to show it's beauty, so no need to hurry it has several more years ahead.

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• 2006 Georg Breuer Rüdesheimer Berg Schloßberg Riesling 92 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Double decanted about 2 hour before.
  Clear, pale golden color. Medium intese, developing nose with some petrol and ripe fruit.
  Dry (about 5-8g/L), good acidity, elegant, ripe fruit, medium complexity, petrol nose, medium+ finish.
  Certainly can be kept for some more years but I don’t think it will improve much more.

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• 2006 Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Double decanted about 2 hour before.
  Clear, pale golden color. Medium intense, quite youthful nose. No signs of ageing.
  Dry, good acidity, full-flavored with lots of herbs, yellow stone fruit, mineral notes. Youthful, elegant and with a long finish. That’s how a fully developed Morstein should taste. But I doubt that it is at its peak now, I guess it has potential for 3-5+ years of development.

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• 2006 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich 96 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Decanted for about 3 hours.
  Clear, golden yellow color. Medium+ intense, wonderful developing nose with a beautiful bouquet of fine herbs, ripe yellow stone fruit, “Marille” (apricot). Really great!
  Dry (I would gess 3-8g/L), good acidity, lots of energy, pressure, extract, ripe fruit. Very expressive and opulent without being fat. Very long finish. It combines the elegance and pressure of the G-Max with the opulent notes of the Basserman-Jordan. A very appealing combination and my WOTN, even if this is a close decision. Has lots of potential for years ahead.

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• 2006 Weingut Keller Riesling G-Max 95 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Decanted for about 3 hours.
  Clear, medium golden color. One can easily detect Keller’s style. It fits perfectly in the range of Kirchspiel and Abtserde and tops both of them: Very elegant, cool aromas, no blockbuster but the comparison of “Muhamad Ali with velvet gloves” really matches to this wine. It has enormous pressure on the palate, complexity and is very pure and puristic. It has lots of potential for further ageing. If I should criticize something that it is the quite muted nose: It is not as lovely as the Unendlich. Maybe it needed more air?

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• 2006 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune

  France, Alsace

  Decanted for about 3 hours.
  Clear, golden yellow color. I will not rate this wine. It was not faulty according to my fellow tasters and it has all a great Riesling needs, but it has also some aromas in the nose (acetone) and on the palate that I really don’t like. So this wine was for me the biggest disappointment in the whole tasting because I expected much more. Maybe it will really need 10+ more years? I don’t know…

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• 2006 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel 88 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Opened about 3+h before, not decanted.
  Clear, golden color. Muted, fully developed nose with lots of petrol.
  Off-dry. What a descent compared to the previous flight. This wine is certainly a good Spätlese but can never compete with the complexity and class of the precious dry wines. It lacks complexity and is a bit one-dimensional. Drink now, it has no real potential for further development.

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• 2006 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Opened about 3+h before, not decanted.
  Clear, deep golden color. Medium intense nose with ripe fruit, honey, a tiny bit of petrol.
  Off-dry, much higher acidity than the Felseneck. This improves the inner tension and expressiveness of the wine a lot, compared to the Felseneck. Ripe fruit, medium+ complexity, slight notes of petrol. Medium+ finish. Drink now or in the next few years, it will not improve.

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• 2006 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Opened about 3+h before, not decanted. From 1/2 bottle.
  Clear, golden amber color. Medium intense, fully developed nose with lots of honey.
  Sweet, good acidity, medium complex with nice botrytis notes and ripe, dried fruits. Good wine, but never “worth” 99 PP… For me it lacks tension and vibrant. Has certainly a long life ahead, but whether it will really improve is doubtful.

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• 2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Opened about 3+h before, not decanted.
  Clear, golden yellow color. Medium+ intense, developing nose with surprisingly fresh citrus notes, honey, acidity and without the Prüm typical “Sponti” stinker.
  Sweet, very good, vibrant acidity which gives the whole wine the tension I missed in the Hermannshöhle. Really complex, ripe fruit, a worthy “golden capsule” and a really nice finish of the whole tasting. Has a long life ahead and will continue to develop.

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Most People say that 2006 was a weak, even bad vintage. After this tasting I can't agree with that, at least for the top producers. All wines were in very good shape, most of them quite youthful with lots of potential. It was interesting to taste the different styles of wine. The biggest surprise for me was the Basserman-Jordan which was really very good and interesting.