Leaking bottle with level 4.9cm below fully-saturated cork, but showing a fresh pale yellowish colour, which suggests this is still very early days. A nose that speaks of summer flowers, apple and pear. Blackcurrant leaf, too. Mouth is on the tight side, with white fruit and minerals dominating the modest sweetness. Intense, ripening blackcurrant-gooseberry acidity.
Five days later, from a half, this is still showing very fresh on the nose and possessing a very energetic palate. Beautifully weighted, yet sleek. Concentrated and nuanced. Fine and up there with the 2007 version.
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Not many German wineries that I have not sampled over decades, but for some reason this one escaped me. Classic Kabernett, fuity apple and a little peach on the nose, nice mouthful of applegrapefruit /citrus, some minerality a nd saline in the mix, not overdone acid as so many are these days, good bottle, this class, Kabernett, produces so many bargain classics that one often does not need to spend more to get a top wine.
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This is starting to open up. Very pretty aromatics of lime, ripe pear, a touch of spices, there is also a saline mineral notes and some steel, overall beautiful aromatic balance of fruit and salty minerality. It‘s lighter+ bodied, with excellent mid-palate persistence and pretty high acidity. Nicely integrated and perfectly balanced sweetness. Long finish with lip-smacking freshness and mineral cut. A superb Kabinett from this great producer, top vineyard and old vines.
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Piquant orchard fruit, zesty citrus, and wonderful saline minerality that really shows it's sense of place. This will undoubtedly get better with more bottle age, but it irresistibly juicy and enjoyable now.
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Low alcohol (7.5%), bright acidity, salty minerality, and crunchy apple fruit, spritzed with lemon juice. This is classic kabinett, with moderate sweetness, and infinite drinkability.
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Excellent showing but a little less explosive than last time. Just needed an hour or so of air to integrate the light sponti note ans open up. Excellent Kabinett full od tension and mineral drive.
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Explosive but youthful notes of steel, minerality, lemon zest, ripe pear, also some spicy notes (like cinnamon or something). It's lighter-bodied, has medium-high acidity and very balanced sweetness. Superb length. A quintessential Kabinett from this great producer. This is how Kabinett should taste from my perspective... I absolutely love it.
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Very neutral pale green color, small bubbles start forming on the inside of the glass. The nose feels somewhat skunky and reductive with aromas of steely minerality, some wet stones, a little bit of sweet yellow apples, a little bit of hard-boiled eggs, a hint of waxy character and a touch of something vaguely smoky and a bit pungent, perhaps reduction or sulfites or something else. The wine is rich and moderately full-bodied on the palate with surprisingly complex and nuanced flavors of ripe apples and citrus fruits, some vague spicy character, a little bit of peachy richness and a hint of beeswax. The wine feels moderately high in acidity with residual sugar sweetness that is on the drier end of medium-sweet - although it might be that the wine is actually much sweeter than it tastes like and the acidity and sweetness are just canceling each other out. The mouthfeel is smooth, silky and ever-so-slightly sticky. The finish is long, lively and complex with steely minerality and flavors of rich lemon marmalade, freshly pressed apple juice and a hint beeswax.
Although the nose didn't promise much, the wine turned out to be very impressive - and surprisingly weighty for a Kabinett - on the palate. Lots of complexity and interesting things going on here with some slightly waxy and a bit wild nuances that seem to promise that there is more to this wine than just what the eyes meet. Most likely it will take at least a few more years in a cellar for the nose to clear most of its skunky Böckser character, but otherwise the wine is drinking wonderfully now. However, the impressive balance, concentration and structure promise good potential for future development, so there is definitely no need to hurry with this one. This wine received 8 points in our Kabinett Cup of 32 Rieslings from 2015, making it the 4th best wine of the evening. A very, very lovely effort and thoroughly impressive stuff for a Kabinett this young.
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From memory. Tart apples, pineapples, herbs, and minerals. Intense flavors but seemed truer to kabinett. Interesting to see what happens to this with age.
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A Rieslingfeier of our Own; 2/13/2017-2/18/2017 (Traben-Trarbach, Germany): #04-16, 7.5% abv. Konstantin remarked that this was a bit of a problem child in terms of getting the fermentation down, as they use 100% wild yeast and spontaneous ferments. This bottle showed a slightly lactic quality and tons of brown apple flavours, although it certainly had the requisite sweetness for a Kabinett. I'm not comfortable saying that this sample was wholly representative, and I'll leave it at that.
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Nice mix of yellow tropical, green apples, cantaloupe?! Blue minerals, palate is bright fresh and persistent with medium plus acidity and generous depth throughout
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Seth did a great job describing it. Much better on the second night when the wine comes in focus and gains nice mineral cut to balance the ample fruit and sweetness.
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This is really bright and sweet on the nose: the usual Ellegrub melon and lime that I get are pushed to almost to cotton candy and passion fruit. The sweetness isn't this overripe rich sweetness, but a superfine but very sweet note, while the acid is almost scorching with far end citrus and the like. also good minerality. The palate is similar: very bright and cut, with lots of that light sweetness, blazing acids, and nice slate, all while keeping very clear. There were a few tastes where it seemed a bit bony, but that was rare. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15.5/20.
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Great effort here. Thoroughly enjoyed this. There is so much precision and a crystalline purity in this wine that it is hard to forget. So intriguing. Can't wait to watch this develop over the years.
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Wunderschöner Kabinettriesling! Glockenklare Rieslingnase, am Gaumen frisch wie ein Gebirgsbach, resch, knackig, toller Säurebogen, traubige, vollmundige Steinfrucht. Leichter Restzucker, der der strammen Säure ein schönes Wechselspiel bietet - einfach Riesling in Reinkultur, toll!
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Tasted blind against Willi Schaefer's Domprobst 2014 and 15. More reserved nose, some pears, but not fully ripe at first. It opens up with time in the glass and the pear note gets slowly fleshier and riper. Less lively on the palate, pear first, then turns to citrus fruit on the finish. Tenser, less sweet and with high acidity. On day 2 non-blind. Starts with some sweetness, but then gets immediately sharp, with a mineral linearity. The pear comes back also on the finish.
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Damn tasty, but this tastes like a spatlese. Powerful peachy fruit, significant dry extract, a fair amount of RS, lots of acid that balances the weight, long finish where the sugar really lingers. This doesn't have the elegance to the extract or the slate/mineral character of a really top example.
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1/6/2024 - Ingmars wrote:
Leaking bottle with level 4.9cm below fully-saturated cork, but showing a fresh pale yellowish colour, which suggests this is still very early days. A nose that speaks of summer flowers, apple and pear. Blackcurrant leaf, too. Mouth is on the tight side, with white fruit and minerals dominating the modest sweetness. Intense, ripening blackcurrant-gooseberry acidity.
Five days later, from a half, this is still showing very fresh on the nose and possessing a very energetic palate. Beautifully weighted, yet sleek. Concentrated and nuanced. Fine and up there with the 2007 version.
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6/22/2022 - angelcyn Likes this wine:
Not many German wineries that I have not sampled over decades, but for some reason this one escaped me.
Classic Kabernett, fuity apple and a little peach on the nose, nice mouthful of applegrapefruit /citrus, some minerality a nd saline in the mix, not overdone acid as so many are these days, good bottle, this class, Kabernett, produces so many bargain classics that one often does not need to spend more to get a top wine.
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1/2/2021 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is starting to open up. Very pretty aromatics of lime, ripe pear, a touch of spices, there is also a saline mineral notes and some steel, overall beautiful aromatic balance of fruit and salty minerality. It‘s lighter+ bodied, with excellent mid-palate persistence and pretty high acidity. Nicely integrated and perfectly balanced sweetness. Long finish with lip-smacking freshness and mineral cut. A superb Kabinett from this great producer, top vineyard and old vines.
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9/23/2020 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar note to my previous bottle. Absolutely delicious.
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8/15/2020 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Piquant orchard fruit, zesty citrus, and wonderful saline minerality that really shows it's sense of place. This will undoubtedly get better with more bottle age, but it irresistibly juicy and enjoyable now.
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4/7/2019 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Low alcohol (7.5%), bright acidity, salty minerality, and crunchy apple fruit, spritzed with lemon juice. This is classic kabinett, with moderate sweetness, and infinite drinkability.
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3/20/2018 - pryby Likes this wine: 88 Points
Super crushable. Only 7.5% alcohol. Delicious - citrusy with great acid and a bit of effervescence.
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1/26/2018 - EMAZurich Likes this wine: 91 Points
Palmer Vertikale: Wieder ganz toll, schöne, traubige Rieslingnase, vollfruchtiger Gaumen, viel Speck im Moment. Super.
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1/26/2018 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent showing but a little less explosive than last time. Just needed an hour or so of air to integrate the light sponti note ans open up. Excellent Kabinett full od tension and mineral drive.
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8/20/2017 - Charlie Carnes wrote:
Mad parting gift!
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7/22/2017 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Explosive but youthful notes of steel, minerality, lemon zest, ripe pear, also some spicy notes (like cinnamon or something). It's lighter-bodied, has medium-high acidity and very balanced sweetness. Superb length. A quintessential Kabinett from this great producer. This is how Kabinett should taste from my perspective... I absolutely love it.
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4/22/2017 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind in Kabinett Cup 2015. 7,5% alcohol.
Very neutral pale green color, small bubbles start forming on the inside of the glass. The nose feels somewhat skunky and reductive with aromas of steely minerality, some wet stones, a little bit of sweet yellow apples, a little bit of hard-boiled eggs, a hint of waxy character and a touch of something vaguely smoky and a bit pungent, perhaps reduction or sulfites or something else. The wine is rich and moderately full-bodied on the palate with surprisingly complex and nuanced flavors of ripe apples and citrus fruits, some vague spicy character, a little bit of peachy richness and a hint of beeswax. The wine feels moderately high in acidity with residual sugar sweetness that is on the drier end of medium-sweet - although it might be that the wine is actually much sweeter than it tastes like and the acidity and sweetness are just canceling each other out. The mouthfeel is smooth, silky and ever-so-slightly sticky. The finish is long, lively and complex with steely minerality and flavors of rich lemon marmalade, freshly pressed apple juice and a hint beeswax.
Although the nose didn't promise much, the wine turned out to be very impressive - and surprisingly weighty for a Kabinett - on the palate. Lots of complexity and interesting things going on here with some slightly waxy and a bit wild nuances that seem to promise that there is more to this wine than just what the eyes meet. Most likely it will take at least a few more years in a cellar for the nose to clear most of its skunky Böckser character, but otherwise the wine is drinking wonderfully now. However, the impressive balance, concentration and structure promise good potential for future development, so there is definitely no need to hurry with this one. This wine received 8 points in our Kabinett Cup of 32 Rieslings from 2015, making it the 4th best wine of the evening. A very, very lovely effort and thoroughly impressive stuff for a Kabinett this young.
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2/26/2017 - James Kim wrote: 90 Points
From memory. Tart apples, pineapples, herbs, and minerals. Intense flavors but seemed truer to kabinett. Interesting to see what happens to this with age.
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2/16/2017 - acyso wrote:
A Rieslingfeier of our Own; 2/13/2017-2/18/2017 (Traben-Trarbach, Germany): #04-16, 7.5% abv. Konstantin remarked that this was a bit of a problem child in terms of getting the fermentation down, as they use 100% wild yeast and spontaneous ferments. This bottle showed a slightly lactic quality and tons of brown apple flavours, although it certainly had the requisite sweetness for a Kabinett. I'm not comfortable saying that this sample was wholly representative, and I'll leave it at that.
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12/20/2016 - eoinhharkins Likes this wine:
Nice mix of yellow tropical, green apples, cantaloupe?! Blue minerals, palate is bright fresh and persistent with medium plus acidity and generous depth throughout
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12/8/2016 - LW31 wrote:
Yessir. Great depth and complexity. Dense old vines. Still very young but going extraordinary places.
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9/10/2016 - pifcho Likes this wine: 90 Points
Seth did a great job describing it. Much better on the second night when the wine comes in focus and gains nice mineral cut to balance the ample fruit and sweetness.
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8/31/2016 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is really bright and sweet on the nose: the usual Ellegrub melon and lime that I get are pushed to almost to cotton candy and passion fruit. The sweetness isn't this overripe rich sweetness, but a superfine but very sweet note, while the acid is almost scorching with far end citrus and the like. also good minerality. The palate is similar: very bright and cut, with lots of that light sweetness, blazing acids, and nice slate, all while keeping very clear. There were a few tastes where it seemed a bit bony, but that was rare. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15.5/20.
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8/24/2016 - jonanator wrote: 91 Points
Great effort here. Thoroughly enjoyed this. There is so much precision and a crystalline purity in this wine that it is hard to forget. So intriguing. Can't wait to watch this develop over the years.
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8/20/2016 - EMAZurich Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wunderschöner Kabinettriesling! Glockenklare Rieslingnase, am Gaumen frisch wie ein Gebirgsbach, resch, knackig, toller Säurebogen, traubige, vollmundige Steinfrucht. Leichter Restzucker, der der strammen Säure ein schönes Wechselspiel bietet - einfach Riesling in Reinkultur, toll!
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7/31/2016 - gilrbo Likes this wine:
Tasted blind against Willi Schaefer's Domprobst 2014 and 15.
More reserved nose, some pears, but not fully ripe at first. It opens up with time in the glass and the pear note gets slowly fleshier and riper.
Less lively on the palate, pear first, then turns to citrus fruit on the finish.
Tenser, less sweet and with high acidity.
On day 2 non-blind.
Starts with some sweetness, but then gets immediately sharp, with a mineral linearity. The pear comes back also on the finish.
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7/10/2016 - coremill wrote: 89 Points
Damn tasty, but this tastes like a spatlese. Powerful peachy fruit, significant dry extract, a fair amount of RS, lots of acid that balances the weight, long finish where the sugar really lingers. This doesn't have the elegance to the extract or the slate/mineral character of a really top example.
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6/16/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Floral on the nose, showing good, ripe stone fruit notes. Good acidity on the palate, fresh and vibrant. Quite linear with decent length. 89-90+
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