By Camilla Bowler
Last year’s holiday was sun, sea and sand – and a lot of lounging around. This year, it was time for a change and off to Germany to see some vines. The Mosel may be short on sea and sand but it is certainly not lacking in dramatic scenery. This has got to be one of the world’s most beautiful wine regions: carpets of vines extend for miles on vertiginous slopes so steep it seems madness to plant on them. There are vineyards in the most unlikely places – sometimes even just a few rows of vines between chunks of rock. You would earn yourself an evening glass of Riesling as a vineyard worker here!
The tour started in the Ruwer, at Maximin Grunhaus. The myth that all Germans speak perfect English was here resoundingly shattered as it emerged the winemaker spoke almost none at all. My GCSE German being somewhat rusty, it was fortunate that I had a translator in tow in the form of my husband; and more fortunate still (given his limited skill, grateful though I was for it), that the wines pretty much spoke for themselves. These wines came from contiguous vineyards on the sunny hillside opposite the winery, from several distinctive terroirs. The Herrenberg wines have a mineral, and slightly savoury character; while the Abtsberg vineyard gives more fruit and weight. We tasted the 2009s –– and if proof were needed that exceptional ripeness was achievable in this excellent vintage, this came in the final wine of the tasting: an Eiswein with 242g/l residual sugar (and only 7% abv). It was supremely concentrated, with a seemingly endless finish. There are wines in Germany that are like nothing else in the world.
The first stop in the Mosel proper was Reinhold Haart. From their unprepossessing premises in a row of houses beside the river, you would not guess that this is not only the star of Piesport but also one of the top estates of the whole region. From their 4.5ha in the renowned Goldtropfchen vineyard come wines of exceptionally purity and expression. Piesport is supposed to be about power but this is power of a restrained sort – underpinning everything else. After the 09s was a blind tasting which turned out to be 97 and 98 Spatlese from the Wintricher Ohligsberg (a smaller and consequently less famous vineyard than Goldtropchen, though unfairly so, if this tasting was anything to go by). They were fresh and vibrant – I would have put them at 5 years old, not over 10. I came away determined to age more of my Riesling.
Moving north, Dr Loosen is based just past Bernkastel. This is the place to go to learn about the differences between terroirs in the Mosel: Ernie Loosen has holdings in Wehlen, Graach, Bernkastel, Urzig and Erden, and makes textbook examples of each. The top wine here was the unquestionably the Erdener Pralat – the ‘heart’ of Erden as it is known – intense, concentrated, and long. But Dr Loosen makes excellent wines across the board; and wines that are approachable and food friendly. You could do a lot worse than Blue Slate trocken 2009 for a house Riesling.
It is not a long drive from Mosel to Rheingau but the landscape changes noticeably; as to do the wines. The Rhine itself is broader and busier, the villages are bigger and more bustling, and the vineyards and wines more varied. First stop was Robert Weil’s impeccably well-kept estate in Kiedrich. There are three single vineyards here, Grafenberg (finesse and depth), Turmberg (fuller and fruitier) and Klosterberg (lighter and more elegant). Grafenberg clearly stands out but the other two are also pretty impressive given that they have only recently been replanted – and it will be interesting to see what they produce in 5 or 10 years’ time. There is a policy here to exceed the maximum must weight at each level to ensure extreme concentration. These are rich and powerful wines, built to last.
The house style at Prinz von Hessen could not be more different: it is one of freshness, purity and elegance. Dr Clemens Kiedricher, a former professor at Geisenheim, is a thoughtful winemaker and one of enlightened views: his concern is very much with making wines that people want to drink. The wine that says this best is perhaps the estate’s Riesling “H”; fresh, ripe and clean, as approachable and easy to drink as Riesling gets, but without losing varietal character. The tasting started here and moved to the Johannisberger Klaus Erstes Gewachs (Klaus means monastery apparently) and the Winkeler Hasensprung Spatelese. The flagship wine here though is the Dachsfilet, which comes from a parcel of the estate’s oldest vines in the unclassified Dachsberg vineyard, one of the highest and coolest vineyards in the Rheingau. This altitude gives aromatic complexity while the favourable aspect and steepness of the slope ensure the grapes ripen fully. Unusually, a portion of the grapes are left in contact with skins before fermentation, giving texture and depth. The 2009 was excellent but needs time; a trocken that can and should age.
Wines of the trip -
Assmanshausen Hollerberg Spatburgunder Krone 2006 – a pinot that easily rivals many a premier cru Burgundy. It may not have the ageability (this was already quite evolved) but it certainly has the finesse. I liked it a lot, and was very excited to meet the man who made it – totally by chance, the following day at another winery where he now works.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Dr Loosen 1994 – concentrated, but supremely balanced. This vineyard is all about understated chic: never showy, never over the top, just elegant, full stop.
Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling Spatlese Prinz von Hessen 2009 – an elegant, light style of Spatlese. Not hard work at all – you can imagine it working in many contexts. Terrific value too.
August Kesseler Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 – rich, honeyed and slightly smoky. Powerful and sticky – which is surely what you want from a beerenauslese – but without being over the top.
Wintricher Ohligsberg Reinhold Haart 1997 – I don’t particularly like fruit terms to describe wine but if ever a wine tasted of lemons this was it – no other word would be possible. Very fresh, and beautifully textured.
It was a good holiday indeed!
Tags: Dr Loosen, German Wines, Germany, Maximin Grunhaus, Mosel, Prinz von Hessen, Reinhold Haart, Rheingau