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

I had a moment during the conversation wherein I
realized, Hugo Schwang isn’t the most voluble heart-onhis-sleeve
producer in my portfolio, but I have probably
reuscher-haart at a glance:
underestimated how thoughtful and passionate he really
is. Mario’s settling in seems to have turbo-charged the
energy here, and this looks like an estate on the move.
Leesy, old-fashioned Piesporters that need time.
Great resonance and depth in the best examples.
At their best one can see why they’re held in such
how the wines taste:
renown. Schwang’s wines can have impressive, almost
majestic corpulence without being fat, plus a positive depth and stuffing from the lees.
When that happens the Piesport fruit shows its raison d’être; an almost lurid court
bouillon of bewitching fragrances and flavors; patchouli, passion fruit, bergamot,
mango. And all in a voodoo voluptuousness that’s the wine equivalent of an erotic
trance. We should have to get our PARENTS’ permission before drinking them. My
parents would have refused!
GRH-046L 2005 Piesporter Falkenberg Riesling, 1.0 Liter
This is a true single-site, in fact the highest slopes of the Goldtröpfchen; it’s unchaptalized
(indeed a “legal” near-Auslese at 87 Oechsle), and it’s all kinds of appley flowery
charm. Here’s an instance of the sweetness-conundrum, by the way; no one wants
too much sweetness in the “simple” Liter wine, because then you couldn’t just gulp it
down, but the “simple Liter wine” isn’t usually a near-Auslese. I wonder whether this
is too dry — you tell me.
SOS: 2 (now- 6 years)
GRH-043 2005 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett
Quite malty and curranty on the nose; amazing tactile solid mass on the palate; it works
almost feinherb (as it’s much riper than its “Kabinett-sweetness” would entail) but it’s a
real thick guava pudding unique among `05 Mosels I tasted.
SOMMELIER ALERT! SOS: 2 (5-18 years)
GRH-044 2005 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese +
This is like a big ol’ Thanksgiving-day parade float of a Mosel wine; you can’t believe
how huge it is, and yet it floats. Almost lurid rose, plantain, mango, but held just short
of overstatement by its tight cool solidity; again doesn’t seem, especially “sweet”, and
with all its outsized fruit it finishes with a demure kiss of wintergreen and herb.
SOS: 2 (8-23 years)
GRH-045 2005 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese (+)
Heaven alone knows how ripe this is; I do know there’s a TBA with 230 Oechsle that’ll
probably ferment till we pull troops out of Iraq; this fella is massively concentrated and
spicy; masculine and chewy (seems to be their vintage signature); too early to apply
adjectives but looks awfully promising.
SOS: 3 (12-30 years)
75
MOSEL WINES