German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

PFALZ WINES
164
eugen müller
pfalz • forst
In 20+ years of making my rounds in March, I never saw more than a dusting of snow, and
even that was rare. The day we excursed to the Pfalz from Nierstein the forecast was for snowchanging-to-rain
but it never did. In the three hours we sat tasting at Müller I think 6 inches of
heavy wet snow fell. And the road-crews were on strike! Getting home was interesting that
night. Good thing we had bellies-full of Bach-Mayer’s fabulous schnitzels to reassure us.
Müller’s was the first visit in the Pfalz, and thus the first vintage-tales we heard. It was Stephan
Müller who told us of bunch-thinning by cutting the center-berries away “These are the ones most
vulnerable to rot,” he explained., “and it also increases air-flow to the remaining berries.”
Müller continues the climb he began with his superb `04s; indeed his performance in the difficult
`05 is even more ambitious and laudable. This is no longer merely a “value-agency” with high spots;
it’s now an entirely lovely agency which still offers fantastic
value.
Müller has become an owner of considerable consequence,
with more than 25% of the Kirchenstück, plus
significant holdings in the Jesuitengarten (a site many
think equal to Kirchenstück and some radicals think is
even better), plus holdings in Pechstein and Ungeheuer
and Musenhang (every great Forster!), and two of the
top sites in Ruppertsberg, Hoheburg and Nussbien.
But back to the Kirchenstück for a moment. The official
land assessment value of this site places it at the top
of the pile, not just in the Pfalz, but in all of Germany! If
you own land here, you are paying higher taxes than
owners in Doktor or Marcobrunn or Baiken or
Scharzhofberger. What is it about the Kirchenstück? As
usual with great vineyards, the “what” isn’t always so
explicable, but let’s try and explic-it!
Stephan and Kurt Müller in the vinyeard.
•Vineyard area: 17 hectares
•Annual production: 12,000 cases
•Top sites: Forster Kirchenstück,
Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer, Pechstein and
Musenhang
•Soil types: Calcareous loam, sandstone
detritus, partly with basalt and clay
•Grape varieties: 80% Riesling, 10% Grauburgunder
and Weissburgunder, 14% red
varieties mostly Spätburgunder
It starts with spice. But lots of sites give spicy wines.
Still, not this kind of spice; this sharp, nipping concentration.
Then there is a flavor of black-cherry which I’ve
never seen elsewhere in the Pfalz. Then there is a minerality
which again seems packed, as though it had been pounded
together, carbonized. The whole effect is penetratingly
expressive, yet, here’s the genius of it: it’s also, somehow
ELEGANT AND REFINED, and the palate keeps whipsawing
back and forth between “ZOUNDS! This is
spicy!” and “Oooooohh, this is gorgeous!”
The Jesuitengarten, in comparison, is quite a bit less
high-toned and zingy, more lush and caramelly: heavy
satin versus raw silk. What makes Jesuitengarten tick is
the solidity of its structure, the innate fineness of its flavors
and the stylishness of its complexity. Kirchenstück
has more genius in it, but also more arrogance.
Jesuitengarten is a little less brilliant but a little more
accommodating; it’s more diplomatic.