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2015 German Rieslings
Mark's
Tasted March 28, 2018 - March 29, 2018 by Loren Sonkin with 218 views
Introduction
Catching up on some tastings from February/2018. These wines were consumed blind for a couple of hours before revealing and enjoying them further. Breads and cheeses were served.
This was just a general tasting so we had a mixture of sweetness levels, regions and terroirs. Of course, given unlimited time and money, it would have been great to be more specific. But, since that wasn't an option, this worked out just fine.
One interesting item, is that of the eight wine, all of them got at least one first place vote except the JJ Prum, but that got the most 2nds and 3rds. Again, complete consistency among our group. ;-)
Flight 1 - A Sparkler to start (1 note)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Henkell Cuvée Brut
88 points
Green gold in color. A fair amount of smallish bubbles. The nose is nice lemons and seltzer. On the palate, this is slightly sour with slight wet stones. Dry. A slight spritz to it. Clipped on the finish. This is a nice sparkling wine that competes with Cremants and Cavas.
Flight 2 - 2015 German rieslings (8 notes)
White - Off-dry
2015 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Gelblack feinherb
88 points
Light golden in color. The nose is very tight with slight wet rock notes. Much better on the palate. Nice texture. Sour lemon candy notes. Tart acidity. Long finish.
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White
2015 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Quarzit
91 points
This was the groups WOTN although it only got one first place vote. I enjoyed it but perhaps a bit less. Light golden in color. The nose has some sulfur on it along with some minerals. On the palate, this is sweet. There is a nice complexity her and a lovely texture. Sour lemon candy. Almost a sweet-tart like quality. Nice finish. Great value for this wine although I have no idea how it ages or where it goes from here.
White - Off-dry
2015 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
94 points
Light golden in color. The nose has plenty of sulfur but also some peach and minerals. On the palate, more crisp apple. Slight honey notes. This is sweet and crisp at the same time. seems a bit tighter than i remembered it being a year ago. I would hold or give it plenty of air. At around $23, this is a great value.
White - Off-dry
2015 Weingut Goldatzel Geisenheimer Kläuserweg Riesling Spätlese feinherb
87 points
Light golden in color. The nose has slight sulfur notes with slight lemon and a bit of minerals. On the palate, this is a bit disjointed at the moment. Tart acidity. Lemon fruit. Bitter on the finish. Perhaps this comes together with some time. I don't know this producer.
White - Off-dry
2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese
89 points
Very disappointing showing. Normally, Prum takes some time to come around, but the 2015 was quite open for them on release. Maybe it has now shut down. Of course, this might have been an off bottle but nothing that I could pin point. Light gold in color. a bit of sulfur on the nose but not a lot. Some minerals and some lemon but a strange slightly decayed flesh note that I did not like. On the palate, this is slightly sweet with a lovely texture. Nice minerality and much cleaner. It turns slightly cloying on the finish. Its not bad, in fact, it is quite good. It's just that expectations were high. I will certainly let the bottles in my cellar rest for a while (which is a good thing).
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White - Off-dry
2015 Willi Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese
93 points
AP#2. Light golden in color. The nose is tight but with air, a nice minerality. On the palate, there is a nice mineral streak. A bit of a sugary/simple syrup note that is interesting but it is sweet. Very deep wine with a nice complexity. Long finish. Drinking well now, but I suspect some upside as the fruit emerges and the sweetness fades a bit.
White
2015 Dönnhoff Riesling
92 points
Light gold in color. The nose is tight with a minerality that emerges with air. On the palate, this has a hint of sweetness. Excellent balance. Some fruit (citrus and slight peach) emerge with air. Plenty of minerals though. Long finish. Always a great value, more true in 2015.
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White
2015 Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier Höhen-Sülzen Riesling Trocken
90 points
I liked this more than the group (7/8) although it did get one first place vote. Probably not helped by coming after a bunch of sweeter wines. Light golden in color. The nose has a nice minerality and interestingly, comes off as sweet and a bit sugary. On the palate, this is definitely dry. Deep with a nice minerality. It has a slight herbal note with some asparagus and finishing with a sour citrus that made it very different from all of the other wines on the table. It definitely was off putting to many but not all. Past vintages have taken a few years to come around so probably better to wait on this one for now.
Closing
I am very high on the 2015 vintage. On release, I drank a bunch (more than I planned) as they were so open and vibrant and enjoyable. Lately, they have started to shut down and this tasting confirmed that. At this point, I am glad to have some in the cellar, but will hold for a bit or give them a lot of air.