Like many, I’m losing my mind over Falkenstein and bought a bunch of 2019s. I’ve sampled a few so far over the last few weeks. The wines were excellent: all very intense, racy and especially dramatic on the long, deep, very tart finishes. There’s a lot of complexity in the labeling of Falkenstein wines, with Spätleses that are just Spätlese as well as Trocken and Feinherb. There are Kabinetts, Kabinett Feinherbs and Kabinett Trockens. And more, of course. I’m still trying to figure out what all this means. But the wines are stunning no matter the labeling details. Compared to the classics that I’ve had a lot of (mostly J. J. Prüm and Willi Schaefer, but others) Falkenstein reads as more about citrus-y intensity and less about honeyed noses and palates. These are well balanced highly food-friendly wines that can be enjoyed with just about anything, but also merit quiet contemplation.
2019 Krettnacher Altenberg Riesling Spätlese Trocken. Tight, with a funky nose that took a few hours to blow off. A lot of obvious depth and fine tart finish but not giving much today. Needs a few years.
2019 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken “Egon” #19. Fresh tart apple and grapefruit nose over a bone dry palate. Good intensity of tart tart apple, grapefruit, lemon in the mouth with a solid acid splash leading to a long, tingly finish. Hint of effervescence. Very nice dry Riesling if somewhat austere at this point. The intensity of the finish points to positive future development.
2019 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese Feinherb “Onkel Peter” #4. Lovely wine showing a lot now, with more for the future. Lime, honey, grapefruit nose with hints of honeysuckle. Palate reads apple-y sweet and medium dense at first but fans out to reveal more tart grapefruit on the long tart finish. Very good balance now. I expect this to improve but drinking well now. I’m not sure how to tell the difference between a Spätlese Feinherb and a Kabinett. My favorite of the three, but probably mostly because it was the most open.
Thanks for the report. My #4s are in transit but I’m looking forward to trying it. It’s a bottling I like every year.
This year they started putting the Fuder names on the bottles, and I think they’ve been consistent lately year over year that certain Fuder numbers correspond to one or a combination of specific vineyards sites on a hillside. Lars Carlberg’s tasting notes have good info on that: A Selection of 2019 Saar Rieslings from Hofgut Falkenstein – Lars Carlberg: Mosel Wine
I opened #11 from 750 earlier this week, finishing it up last night, and I expect to post a note soon. But if you look on CT, Seth Rosenberg has posted a number of notes on the 2019s already.
I assume you mean the difference between a Spätlese feinherb and Kabinett feinherb? Feinherb means the wine will generally have 9-18 g/l residual sugar. Spätlesen have higher minimum must weights than Kabinetts, so all other things equal, if the two wines are both feinherb and from the same vineyard, then the Spätlese will have more alcohol (but this level will still be low compared to a dry white wine).
Exactly. Two weeks ago, I drank a 2017 Feinherb #23 and but for the 9% alcohol drank like a high acid, low sugar Kabinett (usually 7-8% at Falkenstein).
Had the Alte Reben #8 last week and it was surprisingly sweet with a honeyed note on the palate.
The alternberg like you said was really tart on open - i decanted it for 5 hours - we drank half - i left the other half in the bottle in the fridge and drank it 3 days later - really singing at that point.
Drinking this as I type, and it’s absolutely delicious to my palate. For a long time I wasn’t a huge fan of most drier Mosel wines, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve lost some of my sweet tooth and with the vintages warming up a bit, giving the wines a bit more completeness, I’m liking them more and more. This is racy as all get out, but not shrill, and finishes long and vibrant. I’m fairly new to Falkenstein but putting away at least a mixed case of '19s for 7+ years down the road.
I’ve had 5 different Falkenstein 2019s so far. Top notch quality across the board. I’m so glad I have a nice stash to drink as they develop over the years, especially since I got married in 2019.
My favorite has been the Gisela (#8) bottling. Incredibly pure, elegant, nuanced, and composed. So much character packed into that light, seemingly weightless body. The Krett. Euch. Spatlese #14 and N.H Feinherb Spatlese #4 are both fantastic too. You really can’t go wrong with any, it seems.
It makes me very happy that these excellent, delicious wines are so affordably priced.
Falkenstein FOMO:
Never, ever tried this producer. Just ordered a case of Krettnacher Altenberg Riesling Spätlese Trocken and Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken to see what the hub-bub is about. Of course, I really won’t know for another 10-15 years! But hey, 2019 Riesling and 2020 Covidium…
I thought the Trocken was excellent as well. We did a tasting of all of the Falkenstein wines that were brought to Chicago and this was my second favorite after the Auslese, a surprise because I generally prefer sugar in my Riesling.
You will be very happy if you like high acid, light, energetic, tension filled Rieslings. One of my favorite producers in the world. My only complaint is the bottles are emptied too fast.
I really have not seen many comments that Falkenstein “need” to age. Hard to tell, there was certainly some chatter here about them since maybe 2013 though on CT there’s really not much entered before 2014s. Anyone have much experience with opening older ones?
I’ve asked the same question. I recently opened two 2018s, the Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Spätlese and the Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben. Both were white fruited and lean on opening, but after remaining open in the fridge for several days, the wines filled out and displayed yellow apple. Very interesting transformation and it made me curious about how the wines would age.
I love love love wines like that. And Charlie (re: post 13), no worries, several will get popped soon. It’s just that I have a terribly hard time getting an idea where a Riesling will end up later in life. Or in a more positive spin, there are just so many delicious young Rieslings out there, but it’s hard for me to tell in which directions their deliciousity will evolve.
I usually keep these open in the fridge for at least 3 days and up to 6-7 after opening. As delicious as they are on opening, they do usually show more and relax some after a few days.
I agree, they are really easy to drink and the wine disappears before you know it, so it can be hard to keep any open for that long.
Sometimes I’ll just have a glass after I get home from work or with dinner and follow a bottle over the course of 3+ days that way.
![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}