(Mostly) Spätlese dinner at Proxi

Chicago, IL
Tasted Wednesday, December 1, 2021 by acyso with 174 views

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #11-02, 8% abv. Probably my least favourite of the Prüm flight. This was initially a little dirty but did seem to clean itself up with some time. The nose showed the ripest of the flight, and the fruit a little more browned. Less of an acidic cut as well, this overall felt clumsy, especially next to the very elegant Himmelreich and the ethereal Sonnenuhrs.

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  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #13-02, 8% abv. For some reason the last few years, I've neglected this bottling of Prüm to focus almost singularly on Wehlener Sonnenuhr. It's pretty clear from this bottle today that I probably made a mistake performing that triage. This was fantastic -- so bright, fresh, and minerally, with a slightly greenish herbaceous streak running through it. This probably had the most prominent acidic backbone and the starkest mineral structure, and the relatively tart fruit really brought that to the forefront.

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  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #15-02, 7.5% abv. Classic Wehlener Sonnenuhr with its slight creamy note on the nose. This doesn't have as much of a bright, high-acid structure as the Himmelreich, but shows a much more sedate sort of profile. There is a beautiful elegance and lightness on the palate here, though it is absolutely not lacking in concentration or flavour at all. Stealing a phrase from Theise, this is like the best of the Dönnhoff wines in that it just floats on the palate in its etherealness. This was the wine of the flight, until I tasted the auction version of this.

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  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Auction 98 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #17-02, 7.5% abv. If the regular bottling of this was ethereal, this really just took it to the next level. Somehow, this was able to pack more flavour and intensity on the palate, but come across as even lighter. This had a silky texture (which is very rare for white wines), and fewer of the creamy tones of the regular bottling. The acidity is subdued and serves to provide structure for the rest of the wine. Absolutely outstanding (one of the favourites this evening) and delicious now, though this has an unequivocally long life ahead of it.

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • 1998 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese Auction 93 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    #13-99, 8.5% abv. I didn't like this bottle as much as my previous one, which was many, many years ago now. I found this to be surprisingly rich and thickly textured, especially for Spätlese, and there were some slightly dirty elements here as well. It did clean up with time, but through it all was a pervasive ripe canary melon note that was a little odd.

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  • 2010 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese Auction 95 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    #18-11, 8% abv. The 2010 vintage I've never been particularly fond of because of what always strikes me as out-of-balance acidity. On the higher Prädikat wines (like Auslese onwards) that gives you this insane balancing act that can be really, really thrilling, but on the lower wines the acidity can be somewhat shrill. None of the text before is really relevant to this wine, just some random thoughts. This is a Spätlese that does pull of that balancing act between the fruit and the screaming acidity really well. Plenty of floral/honey notes on the nose. There's sweetness that comes across as a slightly peachy quality, and then there's that insane acidity that runs throughout the rest of this wine. It's a thrilling, absolutely exciting bottle of Dönnhoff that's drinking brilliantly now.

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  • 2014 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese Auction Flawed

    Germany, Nahe

    #21-15, 8% abv. I'm aware my previous note says #23; I'm pretty sure there's only one bottling of this, and so one of my notes is incorrect. All that out of the way, this was slightly corked.

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

Flight 4 (4 Notes)

  • 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    #19-99, 10% abv. The Müller-Catoir wines tonight were all unmistakably Müller-Catoir. This was a heavy, hard-hitting Spätlese with a generous mix of herbal tones and a very full-throttle dose of ripe, tropical fruit. There are some more exotic, almost scheurebe-like tropical tones on the palate, and the sweetness is balanced incredibly well with the slightly oily texture. A fascinating wine, but very much overshadowed by the 2001 version.

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  • 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese trocken 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    #20-99, 12% abv. In hindsight it wasn't probably the smartest idea to flight these in with the non-trocken versions. This wine suffered a lot for that mistake, as it drank really shrilly. That said, with air, there were also some odd green notes like celery and fennel seed that developed. This seemed also to have a good amount of botrytis, which gave it some other really odd flavours.

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  • 2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2134 100 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    #09-02, 10.5% abv. I keep trying to recreate that experience at Grand Sichuan so many years ago when I tasted this wine for the first time, and tonight, I finally managed to taste it again. This bottle reached those same heights. So incredibly complex and textural, with a kaleidoscope of ripe and tropical fruits on the nose and palate. Plenty of spice too, and behind it just the right amount of sweetness and acidity to get this surprisingly weighty riesling airborne. An obvious testament to the winemaking prowess of HGS.

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  • 2001 Müller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Kabinett trocken 90 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    #12-02, 12% abv. Despite being a Kabinett, this actually seemed like it had more weight than the 1998 Bürgergarten Spätlese trocken. The fruit profile is a little more tart and green, with more white fruit than tropical. I like the complexity and the balance here, even if the alcohol felt a little high in the context of things. Bright and zippy, this could easily pass for a GG in a cooler year too.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 2019 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder 88 Points

    Germany, Ahr

    A very dark and concentrated wine, especially next to the Enderle und Moll Liaison. Some oak spice with the plummy, blackberry flavours here. Good concentration and richness overall, but the oak does stick out a little too much.

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  • 2019 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir Liaison 83 Points

    Germany, Baden

    I don't get this stuff. It is unmistakably pinot, but that's really where it ends: pinot for the sake of pinot. Very bright and red-fruited, the archetypal post-modern style that is cool with all the winemakers these days. Thin and acidic on the palate and lacking the weight and depth that a good bottle of wine ought to have. It's fine to drink by the glass but any more than that and I'd ask for something with some actual flavour.

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Flight 6 (3 Notes)

  • 2004 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Auction 98 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #08-05, 9.5% abv. Very pale colour and a very, very mute nose that never really ever showed up to play. But the palate... this is still incredibly youthful and bright and is almost completely driven by the minerality. There are some tart apple notes for fruit, but this is the sort of wine that you have to chew. Fantastically concentrated with tons of extract, but with that compulsory lightness that you get from Kabinett. Stunning stuff with nary a sign of secondary development.

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  • 2005 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #04-06, 8% abv. Like my last note, this starts with a hint of sponti on the nose. It's a very stark contrast from the 2004 Egon auction Kabinett next to it; this is ripe and richly textured with more of a stone fruit character at the forefront. Certainly there is minerality behind this, but it's the sweet fruit that dominates this bottle. This bottle would probably have been better served in isolation from the Egon, especially given the stark stylistic/vintage differences, but it's also very fascinating to see such a different side of Kabinett.

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  • 2018 Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #08-19, 9% abv. This definitely suffered for being next to the Egon and Schaefer, and likely also on account of its youth. This comes off as distinctly white grapey, with the acidity somewhat disjoint from the rest of the wine. Very good mineral concentration here, but it's probably best to let remaining bottles of this rest as this appears to be in a bit of an awkward phase. That said, I've never been as sold on the Falkenstein wines as most; they seem to always be a little less balanced with respect to the acidity (it's a bit too high) than the textbook names.

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Flight 7 (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Eiswein 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #13-02, 8% abv. From half-bottle. A very interesting contrast between this and the Selbach "Junior" alongside. This shows far more breadth and the colour is significantly darker, making me wonder if this actually ended up with some botrytis in it. It certainly tasted that way, with a bit of caramel, orange peel, and spice. The acidity was dominated by the sweetness (whereas it was the other way with the Selbach).

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  • 2001 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Eiswein 'Junior' 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #30-02, 8% abv. From half-bottle. I think I ended up liking this more than the Christoffel alongside. Where the Christoffel showed more botrytis elements, this was more along the lines of the Dönnhoff style with less botrytis and more fresh fruit and herbal tones on the nose and palate. Indeed, the colour here was much lighter than Christoffel. This wine showed an acidic backbone over the sweetness and I found myself preferring this for its lack of botrytis and racier palate.

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