Ewald Moseler Wine Expert Seminar #8, Weingut A. Diehl, Pfalz

Mitchell Wines Warehouse, Portland OR
Tasted Monday, August 3, 2009 by subtlet with 597 views

Introduction

This was the 8th in a monthly German wine lecture series hosted by Ewald Moseler, a German importer and wine expert in Portland. For this event, we were exploring the wines of Weingut A. Diehl from the Pfalz. I'm mostly familiar with wines from the Mosel, so a chance to experience a wide range from a single producer in the Pfalz was pretty exciting. As an interesting note, NO RIESLINGS WERE TASTED!!! This was a full tasting of German wines, made up of entirely non-riesling varietals. What an awesome learning experience. Who would've guessed that my second pinot meunier ever would have been German?

This tasting contained many wines that were new to the American market, so it was a great chance to see how my palate felt about non-cliche German wines, and to really explore some new territory.

Flight 1 (13 Notes)

  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Grauburgunder Trocken 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Delicate nose with a hint of violets. The apple flavors are light on the palate and a hint of peach flavors appears as well. The wine is clean, and has some nice acidity. 88+

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Weissburgunder Trocken 86 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Honeycomb and mango scents on the nose. The acidity here is nice, and the wine starts out well with some nice apple flavors, but it fades quickly.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Grauer Burgunder Kabinett trocken 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Apples and honey on the nose, and an interesting squash note. The wine is light up front, and has a a nice dry touch on the late mid palate. It's clean, and has a nice light acidity that works well with the rest of the wine.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Weissburgunder Kabinett trocken 84 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    This wine has a super light nose with faint pear scents and little else. The wine is a bit creamy, and is mellow on the palate, but contains very little for flavors or acidity.

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  • 2007 Weingut A Diehl Gewürztraminer Kabinett 89 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Some nice ripe apples appear on the nose, along with very faint strawberry notes, and a hint of pie crust. On the palate, the wine is light with some very nice honey running out on the finish. The mouth feel and acidity are enjoyable, and there's a hint of violets sneaking in as well. Bigtime QPR winner. 89+

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Merlot Rosé 81 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Dark strawberries and a hint of nutmeg on the nose. There is some nice acid up front, but the fruit is very light, and the whole thing seems to fall apart on the mid palate.

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  • 2007 Weingut A Diehl Spätburgunder Trocken 86 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Lots of funk on the nose that reminds me of Oregon pinot. Fascinating. In a blind tasting, I could possibly even be fooled by this wine on the nose. There are dark cherries as well, and some deep, ripe plums which remind me of Carneros fruit. The wine is light on the palate with plums and blackberry flavors making up most of the fruit. The funk appears on the back with a little bit of tannic structure, and some very light acid.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Schwarzriesling halbtrocken 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    The nose on this wine contains raspberries, dark plums, and a hint of tannins. There is some interesting apple flavor on the front that turns into distinct green apple flavors on the mid palate. The green apple flavors stay strong, as some nice acidity rolls through the finish, and a little bit of strawberry makes an appearance near the end. Interesting.

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  • 2007 Weingut A Diehl St. Laurent 86 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    The nose contains some blackberry jam scents, along with some fresher strawberry, and some distinct earthy funk. The wine is clean on the palate, with light plum flavors up front. The acidity is quite light throughout the experience, and the tannins evolve nicely and wrap up with a bit of oak at the end.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Dornfelder Trocken 87 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Fruit is all over this nose, with red apple and blackberry scents being dominant. When tasted, the wine is slight and bright with strawberry flavors greeting you immediately. The tannins are pointed, but not overly strong. Overall the wine is interesting and well made.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl Dornfelder 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Strawberries and cherries are all over the nose, and you can tell that this wine is full of fruit. The wine is sweet on the palate, right out of the gate. However, it's still clean, and on the lighter side for a sweet wine. There is a a bit of acid, but almost no tannic structure until very very late on the palate. Dark cherries and strawberries dominate the experience. Make no mistake, this wine is full on candy, and the 88 takes this into consideration. If you're into sweet wines, check this out. If you're not, don't kid yourself.

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  • 2008 Weingut A Diehl 3/1 85 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    This is a blend of 3 white varietals (Weissburgunder, Graubergunder, and Chardonnay) into a single wine. The nose shows some grape skins, but is overall quite light. The palate delivers some white grape scents with a hint of pear, but is overall very light as well. Very straightforward.l

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  • 2005 Weingut A Diehl Cabernet Sauvignon Trocken 88 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    This wine is super dark in the glass, and hints at the varietal at hand immediately. Skins and tannins leap out of the glass right away to make up the nose, and a some blackberry scents deliver a fruity component as well. The wine is light all the way through, which is a bit of a surprise after smelling the wine. There is a hint of strawberry flavor, as well as some gentle and firm tannins that evolve. Some apple flavors appear towards the end of the mid palate, and they linger along with the tannins on through the finish. The wine is clean, and solid at the price. 88+

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Closing

As I hoped, this was a fascinating bit of insight into the red wines of the Pfalz, as well as an experience with a new producer. Given the clean and focused nature of the best wines, I am quite excited to try some rieslings by this house, as well as other reds. I'm especially excited by the idea that there may be a higher quality bottling of gewurztraminer. Considering that the kabinett was of such quality and near the $10 price point, I think the other productions have a chance at being truly spectacular.

Overall, an excellent learning experience, and I look forward to seeing some A. Diehl wines on the local shelves.

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