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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MOSEL WINES 68 he elects not to. “The estate is the right size for me to work and give the proper attention to the wines,” he says. How’s that for capitalism! Willi could make, say, 50% more wine and sell it instantaneously, thus obtaining kid-leather seat covers for his zippy new Porsche, but instead he knows in his bones what the proper size for his estate must be, if he is to preserve his relationship to his wines, to his work. Hopeless Willi, just hopeless; where’s your ambition, man; where’s your can-do spirit? DON’T YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE M<strong>ONE</strong>Y??? Most businesses confront this conundrum eventually. What is the ideal size to which to aspire? I would define it as the most robust volume consistent with maintaining the original motivating spirit of the enterprise. You know you’ve passed that point when it isn’t as much fun as it used to be. Growth, in itself, is the siren song that dashes our souls against the rocks unless we insist on balancing our whole lives. This sermon will be rebroadcast at eleven. When we finished tasting one year, Willi brought out a bottle of the celestial 1975 Domprobst Auslese, which is about as good a Mosel wine as has ever been made. Christoph appeared in the doorway to say hi in his raffish sideburns. I recalled that the first time I drank this Domprobst was in 1980, in Willi’s living room. His kids were little then. Willi left the room to take a phone call and I sat there with my glass of Auslese while the kids sat on the floor playing with a little top which hummed as it spun. The humming and the playing and the beauty of the wine and the friendliness and hospitality of my host became a single thing. I often recall that moment when I hear someone defend the idea of giving point-scores to wines. Schaefer grows only Riesling and only on steep slopes. The best is the Domprobst, though there’s no scoffing at his Himmelreich (fruitier), or his Bernkasteler Badstube (actually Matheisbildchen, and typically rich and flinty) or his little bit of Wehlener Sonnenuhr (light but true to form). Vinification isn’t unusual, expect for the very gentlest of pressings, which leaves few bitter phenols in the wines, and gives them their strikingly pale colors. Willi knows his vineyards like he knows his children, all their quirks and foibles and capabilities. As a taster he responds to “character above all. The finesse of fruit is also important to me, and the harmony of sweetness, fruit and acidity. Apart from that, the wine should embody its vineyard and grape variety.” Christoph’s decision to carry on the winery is quietly momentous. Schaefers said, with characteristic understatement, “we really didn’t pressure him at all, he came to the decision entirely on his own,” and there was something even more stirring than Willi’s and Esther’s quiet pride and gratification. How can I put it? I hope that Christoph observed the contentment in this household, the bedrock joy when one’s heart is at home in one’s work. Different vintners have said this to me at different times: Hans-Günter Schwarz is always saying, “you have to love it.” Helmut Dönnhoff repeats almost as a mantra, “It has to be FUN.” And Willi Schaefer has the glow of a man doing exactly what he was put on earth to do. I am fortunate to be a part of it, and to know this kind, honorable, modest and lovely man as a friend. For many tasters, these are the Ne Plus Ultra of Mosel schaefer at a glance: wine, and they have attracted an almost religious following. Thus my most frustrating agency, as there is never enough wine. It is hard to put a finger on exactly what it is that makes how the wines taste: these wines so precious. There is a candor about them that is quite disarming. They are polished too, but not brashly so. They are careful to delineate their vineyard characteristics, and they offer fruit of sublime purity. They are utterly soaring in flavor yet not without weight. What many of you seem to have warmed to is their clarity, precision and beauty of fruit, so maybe I’ll leave it at that! GWS-133 2005 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett + Shy at first. Then what fruit-quality; partly exotic (a’la `97) and also serenely appley; then an adorably woodsy mid-palate; with air the stayman and cox-orange starts to exhale, and there’s a granular salty spiciness that leaves a wintergreeny finish. SOMMELIER ALERT! SOS: 2 (7-23 years) GWS-132 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett ++ I damn sure didn’t taste a better Mosel Kabinett than this; the nose is immediately 3dimensional. The palate is stiffer, with a longer spine of front & center minerality; this is utterly generous and expressive, more piquant and wry than the Himmelreich, compelling even more attention. It’s hard to fathom how any wine could give more beauty and satisfaction; for all its virtues it asks to be drunk, not preened over. SOS: 2 (8-25 years)
GWS-134 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #7 + This is the slate-boy; drier-seeming than the Kabinett, with an almost gaudy minerality woven into a cool lemon-blossomy profile. But really it’s all there in every one of these in various emphases and configurations. What they all have is expressiveness and balance and just crazy length. SOMMELIER ALERT! SOS: 2 (10-28 years) GWS-135 2005 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese + Celestial, otherworldly aromas; tillleul, wintergreen, balsam, lime, cox-orange; the palate is coolly aloof, flavors you see when you look sideways, but the finish is encompassing and endless; this little wine builds a city of beauty on your palate, and the sun is out, and apples are so ripe they swoon drunkenly from the tree into your waiting hands. SOS: 2 (9-26 years) GWS-136 2005 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese Jeez, how does a guy stand it? Running out of words. Many apples here: fuji, cox-orange, mutsu. For the first time botrytis stands out. Salty and tangy, more explicitly weighty. SOS: 2 (9-25 years) GWS-137 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #8 + More serious and determined now; this is the fork in the road. Fibrous, apple-skins. Willful thrust of spicy slate. Starts feinting toward Nahe. More corpulent and wild-flowery. This wine is soberly beautiful, not euphorically beautiful — but beautiful it surely is. SOS: 2 (10-30 years) GWS-138 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #6 + Botrytis is escorted by a mass and piquancy of fruit, still feminine but grown-up, not at all girlish; carbonized slate and grape-hyacinth echo the best Austrians (you could easily imagine this coming from Nigl); Mirabelle and lime and a fruity finish. SOS: 3 (12-33 years) GWS-139 2005 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese #9 + Here the botrytis is engulfed by big ripe fruit; most so on the palate, which really blasts a volley of spice and yet a sleek line of fruit, becoming almost raspberried now. I’m remembering young `76s, though these `05s have more stuffing and structure. SOS: 3 (12-33 years) GWS-140 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #10 ++ This might be the most massive wine Schaefers have made, not (obviously) in alcohol but in breadth and depth and force; the nose is pure slate underlined by botrytis; the fruit is stirringly many-faceted yet contained within a tight salty kernel of intensity. Others will grab more associations than I can (or want to), but there’s brass in this, not only strings and cor anglais. SOS: 3 (14-36 years) GWS-141H2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling BA, 12/375ml Embryonic, of course. It was the first picking of the harvest. Beyond saying clean, creamy, malty, almost streamlined I can’t yet penetrate the seductive caramelly richness. SOS: 4 (20-45 years) 69 MOSEL WINES
Page 1:
terry theise estate selections Impo
Page 4 and 5:
ii “Within every effort there has
Page 6 and 7:
iv contents Theise Manifesto . . .
Page 8 and 9:
vi LET US WRITE YOUR ORDER FOR YOU!
Page 10 and 11:
2 These things coincided with a dec
Page 12 and 13:
4 View of the Mosel. human care and
Page 14 and 15:
6 Continuing New Approach to Tastin
Page 16 and 17:
8 Making the Case For German Wines
Page 18 and 19:
10 I’m sure I didn’t convert th
Page 20 and 21:
12 Principles of Selection in this
Page 22 and 23:
14 Belgium, and they immediately ru
Page 24 and 25:
16 Core-List Wines The core-list, w
Page 26 and 27: 18 to know better) that the great d
Page 28 and 29: 20 How I Approach Wine, or Let Wine
Page 30 and 31: 22 time and lots of flavor. Due to
Page 32 and 33: 24 SHORT-LIST FOR ROCKHEADS: Dr Dei
Page 34 and 35: 26 “Antiques” 2001 has modestly
Page 36 and 37: 28 Ah but this isn’t P.C., you se
Page 38 and 39: 30 How German Wines Age To define a
Page 40 and 41: 32 Label Basics German labels are s
Page 42 and 43: 34 around until he gets fluent in t
Page 44 and 45: 36 Plusses and The Quest For Perfec
Page 46 and 47: 38 sommelier alert GSO-264 2005 Sel
Page 48 and 49: 40 subject: why riesling? A) Becaus
Page 50 and 51: 42 Treking up the Erdener Treppchen
Page 52 and 53: MOSEL WINES 44 Other Regionals from
Page 54 and 55: MOSEL WINES 46 could do was sit the
Page 56 and 57: MOSEL WINES 48 A Look At The Vineya
Page 58 and 59: MOSEL WINES 50 THE SPÄTLESEN GSO-2
Page 60 and 61: MOSEL WINES 52 SCHTICKIES! GSO-281
Page 62 and 63: MOSEL WINES 54 Erstwhile cellar-mas
Page 64 and 65: MOSEL WINES 56 it’s confusing. Me
Page 66 and 67: MOSEL WINES 58 alfred merkelbach mo
Page 68 and 69: MOSEL WINES 60 GME-135 2005 Ürzige
Page 70 and 71: MOSEL WINES 62 joh. jos. christoffe
Page 72 and 73: MOSEL WINES 64 GJC-146 2005 Erdener
Page 74 and 75: MOSEL WINES 66 Sleek, feminine, ele
Page 78 and 79: MOSEL WINES 70 a.j. adam mosel •
Page 80 and 81: MOSEL WINES 72 changing; enterprisi
Page 82 and 83: MOSEL WINES 74 reuscher-haart mosel
Page 84 and 85: MOSEL WINES 76 hoffmann-simon •Vi
Page 86 and 87: MOSEL WINES 78 weingut ansgar clüs
Page 88 and 89: 80 Does this self-evident truth rea
Page 90 and 91: MOSEL WINES 82 carl loewen mosel
Page 92 and 93: MOSEL WINES 84 carl schmitt-wagner
Page 94 and 95: MOSEL WINES 86 karlsmühle-geiben r
Page 96 and 97: 88 Is all taste equally valid? Sure
Page 98 and 99: 90 mittelrhein wines In 1900 there
Page 100 and 101: MITTELRHEIN WINES 92 Bacharach, but
Page 102 and 103: MITTELRHEIN WINES 94 jost at a glan
Page 104 and 105: 96 nahe wines It is a joy to labor
Page 106 and 107: NAHE WINES 98 dönnhoff nahe • ob
Page 108 and 109: NAHE WINES 100 vintage happens befo
Page 110 and 111: NAHE WINES 102 GDH-172 2005 Estate
Page 112 and 113: NAHE WINES 104 helmut mathern nahe
Page 114 and 115: 106 the matter of “globalization
Page 116 and 117: NAHE WINES 108 jakob schneider nahe
Page 118 and 119: NAHE WINES 110 GJS-067 2005 Niederh
Page 120 and 121: NAHE WINES 112 Meddersheimer Rheing
Page 122 and 123: NAHE WINES 114 kruger-rumpf nahe
Page 124 and 125: NAHE WINES 116 GKF-099 2005 Scheure
Page 126 and 127:
NAHE WINES 118 viti-and-viniculture
Page 128 and 129:
NAHE WINES 120 THE AMAZING TRIO OF
Page 130 and 131:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 122 j.u.h.a. stru
Page 132 and 133:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 124 started to wo
Page 134 and 135:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 126 THE PATERBERG
Page 136 and 137:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 128 wagner-stempe
Page 138 and 139:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 130 GWG-016 2005
Page 140 and 141:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 132 weingut oekon
Page 142 and 143:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 134 gernot gysler
Page 144 and 145:
RHEINHESSEN WINES 136 christian-wil
Page 146 and 147:
138 tasting versus drinking I once
Page 148 and 149:
140 rheingau wines Recently Jancis
Page 150 and 151:
RHEINGAU WINES 142 josef leitz rhei
Page 152 and 153:
RHEINGAU WINES 144 Rüdesheim Viney
Page 154 and 155:
RHEINGAU WINES 146 On August 4th, 2
Page 156 and 157:
RHEINGAU WINES 148 I did, and liked
Page 158 and 159:
150 why does place-specificity matt
Page 160 and 161:
152 pfalz wines In the pretty walle
Page 162 and 163:
PFALZ WINES 154 müller-catoir pfal
Page 164 and 165:
PFALZ WINES 156 THE NOT-DRY WINES!
Page 166 and 167:
PFALZ WINES 158 josef biffar pfalz
Page 168 and 169:
160 scheurebe: what gives? Um, I ha
Page 170 and 171:
PFALZ WINES 162 board; these were t
Page 172 and 173:
PFALZ WINES 164 eugen müller pfalz
Page 174 and 175:
PFALZ WINES 166 GEM-080H 2005 Forst
Page 176 and 177:
PFALZ WINES 168 Messmers use only o
Page 178 and 179:
PFALZ WINES 170 theo minges pfalz
Page 180 and 181:
PFALZ WINES 172 GTM-093 2005 Gleisw
Page 182 and 183:
PFALZ WINES 174 Well, guess again.
Page 184 and 185:
PFALZ WINES 176 kurt darting pfalz
Page 186 and 187:
PFALZ WINES 178 GDR-143 2005 Dürkh
Page 188:
Back Cover Photo: Deer resting in t
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?