2007 Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling trocken Goldkapsel

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 88.7 points

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  11/15/2022 - honest bob wrote: 87 Points

  From 75cl, final 1,5cm of cork pasty and soft. I thought the phase in which Künstler had serious problems with closures (both inferior corks and defective Nomacorq plastic stoppers, which afflicted so many initially promising 2001-2003s) had ended by about 2004, but all my three bottles of this—at 34 EUR/75cl the most expensive dry Riesling Künstler had on offer back in the day—turned out to have decaying or already rotten corks. On 09.02.2021 I didn't score, but this time I'll try:
  Best on opening, went flabby after 1 hour, disintegrated after 2 hours. At best: highly concentrated, with hints of apricot, strong salinity, thick with minerality, this body-builder-"impressive" hulk alas lacks the poise, balance, and above all the charm of Künstler's other bottlings from this great site, e.g. the lithe wine which in 2007 was still called Hölle Kabinett trocken, or indeed the weightier Hölle Erstes (or is it Großes?) Gewächs. (Gotta love the ever-changing descriptions on German wine labels: anyone who can keep up with the nomenclature is working far too hard—and probably not drinking enough Riesling.) The good news is: Künstler now bottles everything under screwcap, since when the 10-20% failure rate I used to resent co-funding has suddenly vanished. Hmm, perhaps there's a lesson in there for other producers? 87P

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  2/9/2021 - honest bob wrote:

  From 75cl, lousy, literally rotten cork. Wine survived, probably due to Weinstein crust serving as a protective layer. As noted on 15.01.2016, just a bit softer, less acidic, more Ramses II-like, even more golden. Pineapple, apricot, dried pear. Add: struck match and incense scent. Best 2 hours after opening. Somewhere between „great wine“ and superconcentrated muscled-up monster. NR

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  11/5/2018 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 90 Points

  2007 Hölle Riesling Goldkapsel trocken
  Kompleks med krydder og gulfrukt. Litt spinkel frukt, men flotte freshe detaljer uten å være grønn. Flott vin. God balanse, men litt alkostikk. 90

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  1/15/2016 - honest bob wrote: 89 Points

  From 75cl, good cork, grey and spongey 1cm from end. This enormous Riesling has the body and many of the characteristics of a body-builder Californian Chardonnay. Yes, the varietal is still recognisable, but its origin barely so: The tell-tale Hölle apricot fruit and racy acidity are all but hidden under great swathes of fat, sweetish weight. It all depends how you drink this. If placed at the end of a Hochheimer tasting, a very small glass might indeed be convincing (as a super-concentrated monument – think one of the less modest statues of Ramses II). If actually drunk with food, it seems more likely to leave one regretting not having opened a bottle of 15$ Chuck, or preferably 10€ Riesling Kabinett, instead. I have seldom tasted a less "moreish" wine. It's conceivable that this will last for decades, during which it might well slim down to great beauty. But I fear that in my wine-drinking life it will remain an expensive, overblown disappointment. 88-89P(?)

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