Dinner with Oliver Haag of Fritz Haag

Oliver was in town representing the winery at a host of tastings and Chad pulled together a casual dinner for him and the rest of our group. What a night it turned out to be, with some first class Rieslings, punctuated with interesting Burgundies, and paired with the ever-reliable food at Impreial Treasure. The table was made up of Oliver Haag, Chad, Ling (Fritz Haag's local agent), Leonard and Jillian, Martin and Joyce, Alex and Fiona, Hsien Min, Peter and myself.

• 2008 Fritz Haag Riesling trocken 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  It says QbA on the label, but Oliver Haag tells us that this wine comes from Kabinett grapes. A little bit of sulphur on the nose at first, took awhile to blow off, and then it showed white fruit, chalky mineral, a touch of flowers and little passion-fruity and melony scents. Palate was dry and minerally, with a seam of white fruit running though it. Not showing much complexity at the moment, but there was clearly some depth and body beyond typical QbA tockens. At the mid-palate, plenty of juicy, mouthwatering acidity and sparkly lime flavours moving into a decent finish that showed a touch of spice. Very pleasant indeed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Bloodwood Riesling 91 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange

  This showed really well I thought. I brought this blind - thought it would be interesting to see how it showed next to the German trocken, and it did really well, with everyone on the table liking it. Nose had a nice minerally, chalky aspect, with some white fruit and a flowery, muscat-like top note. Very approachable on the palate, which was light on its feet and very lithe, yet without being a watery pushover. There was a lovely dry backbone beneath the slightly peachy, flowery top-notes and neutral white fruit mid-tones, all laced through with beautifully integrated acidity. Finish was decent too, with touches of spice and mineral. A rather simple wine, lacking some of the body and depth of the German Trocken, but this this was nevertheless delicious, very approachable and superbly balanced. Great value for its price.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I thought this was very good, and exceptionally so when paired with the sweetish char siew pork collar. Nose had a little whiff of sulpher. I few swirls later, it opened up slightly to show subtle, rather neutral white fruit and a gentle, stony minerality. Lovely balance on the palate, with lively but very well integrated acidty and more stony minerality forming the backdrop for some fleshy white fruit, so much so that the wine came across dryer than its 17-18g of residual sugar would suggest. Nice weight here though. I loved the way the acidity just cut through the fatty pork and the gentle fruitiness of the wine played off the semi-sweet glace on the food. Finish was as seamless as the rest of the wine, with some juicness and more stony minerals. Very young still, a couple of years would do this some good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Riesling Kabinett 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Very decent village-level Kabinett. Nose was rather tight, with some chalk and white fruit and not much else showing. Slightly more opened on the palate though. Lovely balance, with a touch of sweetness on the fruit, more mineral and a touch of fresh meadow flowers. Quite nicely layered and well integrated. Finish had a little touch of spice to round things out. A very pleasant wine, very classic.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  An excellent wine. Hovering somewhere between Kabinett and Spatlese I thought, but excellent nonetheless. Oliver Haag said that 2009 was a challenging vintage but, on this showing, he certainly did a very good job. Head and shoulders above the more classic 2008, this showed bright fruit on the nose, with peach at the forefront, along with hints of passionfruit, some ripe gooseberries and a touch of grass and flowers. Lovely balance and integration on the palate, with very fruity, almost tropical tones, more passionfruit again here, was seamlessly wed to nice acidity. Finish had decent length - fresh and spritzy, with more of that delicious fruit at the back-end. Yummy.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Guillemard-Pothier Beaune 1er Cru Les Cras 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  Clearly a child of its vintage. Not a bad wine, but not all that great either. Pleasant enough nose. Ripe cherries, stewed at the edges, with some high-toned sweet flowery scents, some savoury earth and a whiff if roasted coffee that grew in the glass. Palate was not quite as pleasant as the nose though. Still high-toned, but quite a bit sweeter, with almost candied raspberries and strawberries at the fore, along with some herbs and spices mingling around. Balance was okay, but there was some heat weaving in and out at points. Finish ended a little bittersweet, with more roasty, toasty inflections accompanied by herb notes moving into menthol territory. Not the worst 2003 I have had, but the marks are there. All in all, decent wine, but not quite a 1er Cru, especially when put next to the very good Boillot on the same flight.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2006 J.M. Boillot Beaune 1er Cru Epenottes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  This was really yummy. No pretensions to greatness, but a really nice wine for what it is. Very attractive nose. Earth and meat scents were overlaid with high-toned dark cherries and flowery perfume. Lovely balance on the palate. High-toned, lively, juicy, with clean cherry flavours wed to flinty mineral. Rather simple, but delicious, elegant and very nicely transparent. Finish was fresh and open, with bits of spice and a touch of herb closing the wine off. Gorgeous pairing with Peking Duck in crepe, with both the acid and fruit of the wine playing of the roasted duck meat and sweetish Hoi Sin sauce very nicely.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2004 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #6 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Chad opened this last night and kept it in the bottle. It was showing really well by the time we got to it. Lovely nose. Honey, apricots, white flowers, little drops of petroleum at the edges - a whole lot of depth here. Very nice palate too. Oily, almost fatty texture, with a surprising bit of botrytis for a 2004, but still pretty much in balance. Nice ripe flavours of apricots, honey, orange tangerine, musk, sweet lemons and a touch of creamy caramel. Finish was richly honeyed, with a touch of kumquat. This lacked the cut and finesse of some of the other Auslesen on show, but was a deliciously voluptuous type of wine. A Marilyn Monroe to the 1995 Goldkapsel's Grace Kelly on the same flight.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1995 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Gorgeous bottle. Opened this up a few hours before, really should have decanted it, as it really only came alive after half and hour in the glass. Lovely nose, more subtle than the younger Auslesen, but with more layered depth I thought. There was a little bit of kerosene. some white flowers, caramel, nuts and a sprinkle of herbs, all tightlty packed and nicely integrated. Lovely freshness and cut on the palate, so much so that Oliver Haag actually thought it was a 2003 Auslese, and everyone else on the table thought it was from the mid-2000s. Yet, with time, the layered complexity of age started showing more and more, with ripe lemons, sweet apples, honeyed undertones and, moving seamlessly into the long finish, orange tangerine, manuka honey and sweet flower tones. A lovely wine. Never showy, but full of class and character. Really deserves at least 5 more years in bottle before opening.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #6 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  How very unsual, two people brought the same bottle blind. This was the first of the pair, pretty good. Oliver Haag liked this bottle, which came across as riper and fuller, but quite a few of us preferred other one, which was fresher and livelier. Nice nose here. Quite some dpeth in it honey and caramel tones, with sweet yellow fruit and some petrol at the fringes. Palate was sweet, with ripe flavours of apricots and nectar. I got an impression of lowish acidity, making me think 2003 or 2005, but the wine did have some prickly freshness to balance it out. Finish had plenty more sticky fruit notes, some orange tangerines and just a little peek of mineral at the very end. This did not quite have the definition and focus that the best Rieslings of the night showed, but still a nice wine which will get much better with time. Patience adviced.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This was a very nice Spat. Lovely nose. Manuka hiney, nectar, some tangerine and a pineapple like whiff at the higher registers. Lovely cleanness on the palate, really fresh, with white flowers, more nectar, honey pears and some sweet white peach just starting to emerge. The mid-lengthed finish continued the flavours profile as it opened up nicely across the back-palate. Still young and primary, but very good indeed. More than held its own against a 2003 Fuder #6 and a 1998 Fuder #10 Auslesen on the same flight.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1998 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #10 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Rather tight, not giving much on the night. Quality was certainly here, but this needs some time to uncoil and open up. Nose was tightly-wound, showing primarliy honeyed notes, along with just bits of peach and apricot and a healthy whiff of botrytis. More botrytis obvious on the palate, with sweet, caramelly, honeyed tones along with ripe lemon flavours. Nicely integrated, well-balanced enough without quite being fresh, quite delicious, but somehow lacking the breadth of the other Auslesen on show. Finish was pretty decent, more sweetness here, with a sugary back-end. A nice wine, certainly good, but not great.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1996 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Wow. This is getting back on form after the really disappointing showing the last time around. Lovely nose, almost Chambolle like, with lush, perfumed flowers and truffle notes wed too earthy sous bous and meat scents and lovely dark cherries and strawberries, all unfolding in dark, deep, aromatic layers. A bit tight on the palate at first, with lots of mineral on the attack and lots of freshness lent by high acidity. It unwound rather quickly though, to show fleshy red cherries and strawberries in a really clean, pure red fruit expression, all seasoned with an undertone of umami. Finish had great length and lots of complexity, with touches of spice, orange peel and anise mingling with the clean fruit expressions. Very nice, just starting to come together. If you have a bottle, keep it for another 2-3 years to really do it justice.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1996 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Ridiculously tight and unyielding for most of the time, it only really started opening up when we reached the desserts. A good wine, but it really does need time to show. Lean nose. Minerally, stony, with savoury meat, earth and mushroom and just a promise of lush red cherry fruit underneath that. Rather stingy, so much so that most thought Corton, Pommard of NSG. Not sure if it is my imagination, but I thought I caught just the faintest hint of flowers after this was revealed as a Cambolle. Palate was rather anorexic at first taste. The attacked was marked by fine, almost powdery tannins givng the wine a sense of structure, along with a fresh balance and a note of herbs and earth with scant fruit. With time, it slowly opened up to show clean, clear, high-toned cherry fruit with some depth and layers to it. Nice cut, focus and precision I thought. Finish had nice length too, with red fruit sprinkled with spice notes. Very fresh all the way to the end. I am not sure this will ever be a great wine, but there is certainly some quality here. It needs time though, I would not touch it for a few years more at least.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #6 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Second bottle of the night, and I thought this showed quite a bit better. A really nice wine. Nose opened with little whiffs of kerosene and rubber, followed by hints of honey and white flowers. Subtle, but very attractive. Palate had much the same flavours profile as the first bottle - sweet nectar, ripe white fruit, peachy stone fruit and some white flowers - yet it seemed like a completely different wine. What really stood out here was the wonderful integration and just superb balance of the wine, with a lovely freshness running through the sweet flavours and a bed of minerality adding some shape and focus. Finish was nice too, every bit as fresh and balanced as the attack, with just a touch of orange candy at the very end. A lovely wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #9 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Very young, a bit too young to enjoy fully, but I think this will turn out to be a very good wine. Very fragrant on the nose, with plenty of botrytised honey notes, some earth and a little bit of mushrooms. Rather Sauternes-like inflections I thought. Palate had some sugary sweetness, with toffee and caramel layered over ripe lemons and apricots. Balance was there despite the sweetness though. The quality of the wine really came through on the finish, which was long, and rather lovely, with fruit flavours nicely integrated with the botrytis sweetness.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2005 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese 95 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Wow. What a way to end a great evening. Even Oliver Haag was quite surprised when this was unveiled. Intriguing nose. I got really distinct smells of aged pu-er tea, along with floral jasmine notes, some rubber hints and rather tightly buried fruit. Quite lovely even at this age. The palate was a revelation. Tons of botrytis, and yet there was gorgeous acidity, so that the rich, almost oily texture of the wine just glided across the palate. The flavours on the wine were beautifully layered, with dried apricots, some pineapples and lots of buried complxity hidden away in the depths of the wine. Oh so young! Yet already brilliant. Lovely on the finish too, with Philipino dried mangoes galore and more flowers. Thanks Chad! A wonderful wine. Can only imagine how good this would be with a couple of decades under its belt.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

The Fritz Haag wines showed true to style - clean, balanced, well-integrated with plenty of depth, and all having a nice deliciousness to them. Like with many of the Mosel producers, quite a few of the recent, younger wines showed slightly sweeter and riper than their pradikat level might suggest. All in all though, Oliver appears to have managed the balance and feel of the wines rather well after taking over in 2005 / 2006. His wines certainly are recognisably Fritz Haag in style to my taste and generally of a very high standard. Kudos.