[wine] 2010 German wines

Germany's 2010 wines: a year of intense mystery Jon Bonnéunday, January 29, 2012 Most vintages give you a story line. It was good. It was bad. A year for nerds. A year for pleasure. For months, the story of Germany in 2010 has left me dumbstruck. The wines can be electrifying one moment, wan the next. They never taste the same twice. The only conclusion: It was a bizarro year, unlike any other in recent memory. Importer Terry Theise says: "2010 is a vintage that sends us all back to school." What happened? Awful flowering and fruit set and a cool summer created a prospect for disaster. And then in September came a glorious warm spell. The remaining tiny, thick-skinned grapes presaged an intense vintage. Then something nutty occurred: While grape acidity typically falls away as harvest sugar peaks, this time the two kept rising in tandem. Growers had gloriously ripe grapes with freakish acid levels. That meant they were faced with an option many hadn't considered in a generation: deacidifying their wines. Doing so is relatively simple: You treat a portion of wine, possibly with calcium carbonate - think antacid - but more likely a mix of two salts that targets the sharp flavors of malic acid. But just how to do it was a matter of much consternation among Germany's generally fastidious winemakers: Treat fresh juice before fermentation, or wait until afterward? Use just calcium or what the Germans call doppelsaltz? Winemaker parents old enough to remember the routine use of these techniques before the 1990s were peppered with questions. If Riesling is typically a pristine vehicle for expressing its origins, the 2010s received enough tinkering that tasting them raises a whole new set of questions. "I don't like to talk about winemaking," says vintner Johannes Leitz, who had to deacidify some wines even though his Rheingau village of Rudesheim historically gets the lowest acidity levels in the area. "But in 2010, you had to know what you were doing in the cellar." Thus the wines vary enormously. The best are outright glorious, with two decades or more of potential. Even those are austere in their beauty, showing an almost unreal level of flavor. Others are not just weak but regrettably atypical, a reminder of Germany's fortune with the past decade of vintages. As such, the 2010s have become more than the result of an uneven vintage - they are a referendum on the identity of German Riesling. That is a tough topic, because Germany's diverse range of Riesling styles is already a thicket. Think you know what separates the Spatlesen from the Kabinetts? The 2010s force you to suspend expectations. Acid levels are so high that many wines that are sweet according to the numbers actually taste dry. At their best, these wines are remarkably complex. The side benefit of turning flavors up to 11 is that all the nuances that make Riesling the finest white wine have been put through a magnifying lens. In part, that's because those tiny grapes created extreme levels of something only Germans seem to discuss in wine: dry extract, or a wine's stuffing - what's left if you remove the alcohol and water. "It's the highest dry extracts that I've encountered in 30 years in this business," importer Rudi Wiest says. Moreover, many profound wines are masquerading as simpler ones. That's not unique this year; growers often declassify sweet Riesling, selling more intense Spatlese as Kabinett, but in 2010, the quality leaps were severe. Johannes Selbach, a key vintner in the Mosel region, recalled one Spatlese that landed at 135 Oechsle (about 40 percent more than a typical wine grape), far above the level of 110 required to be considered the intensely sweet, rare wine known as Beerenauslese. Yet beauty didn't necessarily follow. After tasting examples for several months, I was joined for a final panel of more than 40 wines by John Vuong, wine director of Ame in San Francisco; and Eric Story, who buys German wine for K&L Wine Merchants. Our session was philosophically trying, yielding notes like "tastes like 90 percent of a great wine." Vintners whose quality is typically unwavering, like Von Hovel, offered wines that were a combination of beautiful, expected elements - a fusel oil aroma from its parcels near the Saar tributary of the Mosel - and frustratingly incomplete ones. Did this mean we didn't like the wines? Hardly. We have a bounty of recommendations - but sometimes unexpected ones. The dry Rieslings of Rheingau producer Robert Weil, for instance, outpaced its usually epic sweet wines. The medium-dry from Nahe producer Schafer-Frohlich, a style which can be noncommittal, was stunning. Because the vintage yielded so little fruit, there's not much wine to go around, and growers are starting to send their 2011s to store shelves. At first glance, the new vintage offers pretty and engaging wines. In its charm, it avoids the ridiculous peaks and valleys of 2010. "Comparing them side by side," Selbach concludes, "is like a house cat and a wildcat." On the label While 2010 confounded many of these designations, here's a quick primer on German terms that describe a wine's style: QbA: Usually an estate's basic wine, which can describe a good everyday bottle and sometimes beyond. Kabinett: The first level of Pradikat, or superior, wines, which are determined by the grapes' sugar levels. Kabinett wines typically are lighter and sweet, although increasingly are declassified wines from riper grapes. Spatlese: Literally "late harvest," indicating a riper, sweeter style. Auslese and beyond: "Selected harvest," from very ripe grapes and capable of long aging. Beyond that lie the intensely sweet Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. There's also Eiswine, from grapes frozen on the vine. Trocken: Dry wine. Halbtrocken: Literally "half dry." A slightly off-dry style. Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or @jbonne on Twitter. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/29/FDOD1MU0T5.DTL 2010 German Rieslings: The Chronicle Recommends Sunday, January 29, 2012 On the label While 2010 confounded many of these designations, here's a quick primer on German terms that describe a wine's style: QbA: Usually an estate's basic wine, which can describe a good everyday bottle and sometimes beyond. Kabinett: The first level of Pradikat, or superior, wines, which are determined by the grapes' sugar levels. Kabinett wines typically are lighter and sweet, although increasingly are declassified wines from riper grapes. Spatlese: Literally "late harvest," indicating a riper, sweeter style. Auslese and beyond: "Selected harvest," from very ripe grapes and capable of long aging. Beyond that lie the intensely sweet Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. There's also Eiswine, from grapes frozen on the vine. Trocken: Dry wine. Halbtrocken: Literally "half dry." A slightly off-dry style. Here's a selection of 2010 German Rieslings. Although sugar levels were deceiving in 2010, the wines are listed in approximate order of increasing sweetness. 2010 Dreissigacker Trocken Rheinhessen Riesling ($16, 12% alcohol): This up-and-coming house sources its dry wine from organically farmed parcels around Bechtheim. Here's evidence of the Rheinhessen's abilities with a dry style: Slippery soapstone and exotic fruit with a subtlety in the texture. (Importer: Terrell Wines) 2010 Robert Weil Kiedrich Turmberg Trocken Rheingau Riesling ($54, 13%): Weil's dry offerings seemed stronger this time, including this deeply textured take on the Turmberg site. The 13 percent alcohol is a tip to the ripeness, and yet it's finessed and packed with dense apricot fruit, accented by iris and parsley. (Importer: Loosen Bros.) 2010 Schafer-Frohlich Medium Dry Nahe Riesling ($24, 11.5%): Not to dismiss Tim Frohlich's grand Felseneck bottling, but this style, which often seems stranded between dry and sweet, is beautifully precise in this wacky year. Sharp stone and lemongrass accents, matched by plush nectar fruit and deep, concentrated flavors. (Importer: Rudi Wiest Selections/Cellars Intl.) 2010 Von Schubert Maximin Grunhauser Mosel Riesling QbA ($25, 11%): Wines from this top Ruwer estate are often shut down at first, but this estate bottle is open and energetic, filled with white stone, ginger, lime zest and quince. Its impressive weight reveals a hint of sweetness to match dazzling acidity. (Importer: Loosen Bros.) 2010 Egon Muller Scharzhof Mosel Riesling QbA ($26, 10%): Muller is a major landholder in the Saar's Scharzhofberg vineyard. Even his basic QbA (which taps nearby parcels) lasts a decade. This is the best in years. Just shy of dry, it's packed with lime leaf, cardamom, white tea and intense citrus. (Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons) 2010 A.J. Adam Dhron Hofberg Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($33, 8%): Andreas Adam's indigenously fermented wines showcase this tiny middle Mosel village. But they can have a quiet phase, as with the 2010 Hofberg. Petrol and citrus-pith aromas show an invigorating side, and the ripe apricot and anise flavors have a polished texture. A deep wine in need of cellar age. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 J.J. Prum Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($25, 8.5%): A surprisingly ready-to-drink entry from Prum, Germany's most renowned producer. The snap in this basic Kabinett from several parcels is amazing; it tastes so dry that I had to double-check the label. A frisson of acidity and peach-nectar sweetness, with celery, stone and freesia accents, makes for a drama queen of a wine. (Importer: Valckenberg Intl.) 2010 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($22, 8%): This old-fashioned house in fashionable Piesport hit the jackpot in 2010, with a brooding Goldtropfchen full of dark stone and caramelized peach-tart flavors. Amazingly concentrated, with clementine and chervil and clover honey, and deep acidity to balance. Age it. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($30, 9%): A curious take on Karthauserhof, drier than it might be, but not quite halbtrocken. Subtle aromas of talc, jasmine tea, mandarin and quince, in a surprisingly approachable style that doesn't sacrifice its extraordinary length. (Importer: Rudi Wiest/Cellars International) 2010 Eugen Muller Forster Mariengarten Pfalz Riesling Kabinett ($18, 10%): This little-known label is worth tracking, based on this subtle but promising bottle. The basalt soils exude that exotic Pfalz character: Indian spice and dark stone amid citrus and ripe pear. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 Von Buhl Armand Pfalz Riesling Kabinett ($20, 7.5%): Von Buhl uses early-drinking Armand as its calling card. In a vintage of serious flavors, this exudes a vivacious side - citrus, cassia and ripe pear, with a stony edge - while still manifesting 2010's dense extract. (Importer: Rudi Wiest Selections/Cellars Intl.) 2010 Bastgen Kestener Paulinshofberg Mosel Riesling Spatlese ($23, 8%): Armin Vogel and his wife, Mona Bastgen, work a less-known part of the Mosel near famous Piesport. From this riverside parcel comes a beautifully balanced Spatlese, with juicy tree fruit flavors, intense honey (like its neighboring village), oregano and lacy talc. Truly promising. (Importer: Kysela Pere et Fils) 2010 Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Rheingau Riesling Spatlese ($22, 7.5%): Johannes Leitz is the Rheingau's emergent star. His approachable Magdalenenkreuz, from a loess parcel on Rudesheim's eastern edge, is especially fine-boned and honeyed this year. Freesia, lime rickey, apricot jam and sweet spice, with a subtle darker mineral side. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 Strub Niersteiner Pettenthal Rheinhessen Riesling Spatlese ($28, 10%): Two things of note here: a sweet wine from the slatey "Red Slope" outside Nierstein, typically a source for dry wine; and the influence of young Sebastian Strub, who did a stint at Donnhoff. The Rheinhessen's melon and papaya flavors, channeled through Mosel-level acidity and honeycomb. You almost chew this. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Anrecht Mosel Riesling ($36, 8.5%): Johannes Selbach has embraced a new concept: bottling individual parcels not by sweetness levels but simply by the block name - in this case Anrecht. It falls near an Auslese, but it's more a push from a steel glove: full of white tea, chalk, citrus pith and green apple, with deep richness and even deeper acidity. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) 2010 Merkelbach Erdener Treppchen Mosel Riesling Auslese ($26, 11%): This tiny old-school property in Urzig turned out astonishing sweet wines, including this one from iron-rich Treppchen. Technically a Beerenauslese, but lightened by dramatic acidity. Chewy and powerful, with soapstone, kaffir lime and ginger notes amid honeyed apricot. (Importer: A Terry Theise Selection/Michael Skurnik Wines) http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/29/FD9C1MUBQ9.DTL -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *