TN: 2015 Emrich-Schönleber „Halenberg“ GG - 2015s are singing now!

2015 Emrich-Schönleber „Halenberg“ GG

Beautiful classic mineral perfume of HALENBERG. The terroir is based on blue slate, quartzite and pebble soils and 5.3 ha owned by the Schönleber family.

On the palate you have flavors of lime, grapefruit, herbs and a charming underlying creaminess which is a characteristic of the warmer vintage 2015. This creaminess is not flabby, instead offers drinking pleasure and charme.

I am also impressed by the balance, finesse and elegance of this Grand Cru/Grosses Gewächs. I also recommend not to decant, as you can follow the development of the wine over 2-3-4h. With a little bit air the creaminess goes in the background and the classic mineral HALENBERG punch hits you in the face.

Open a bottle now (!), such charming. Of course potential for at least until 2030. In general the 2015 GGs are singing at the moment.

96/100

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P.S. greetings from the countryside for my friends in Berlin.

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My note from 2020 is very similar! Glad to know this is still open and singing.

“Haven’t opened one of these since March 2017, but heard they were starting to open up, so we pulled one for dinner with pork chops. Pulled the cork only about 20 minutes before serving. Drank from Zalto Universal glasses. This is about as good a young GG as I have ever had. The nose is gorgeous, beginning a touch tropical, then moving on to the darker side, with some savory notes accompanying the apricot and pastry that came out. The palate is complete, great attack, broad mid and extended, lingering finish. It opened up with air little by little, but I would not decant it - missing the initial stages would be a mistake. Open shows different aspects, and I think we mistakenly assume those are preferable. All aspects of this wine last night, from the first sip to the last, were delicious and delightful. The finish started to get more honeyed near the end, and even a few herbal notes joined in. The mouth feel was fantastic, the acid zinging on the tongue in complete harmony. Stunning bottle, very powerful, with plenty of upside. If you have a few of these, though, I’d drink one now. It would be a shame to miss this stage. The vintage gets criticized for being flabby sometimes. There is nothing flabby about this wine.”

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great minds think alike

Enjoy Paris. Vive la France.

Cool, thanks Martin & Sarah. Are 2015 GGs in general pretty open for business? I’ve got some (mostly donnhoff and schloss lieser) but wasn’t thinking of opening any for another couple years.

I had a 2015 Wittmann Morstein earlier this year that was fabulous, but haven’t had others nor much longitudinal experience with the GGs to say.

I had several 2015 GGs in the last weeks, they are open at the moment. Also a good friend told me last week that his 2015 GGs were great too.

Go into your cellar and pick 2015…….

I think they are open, but based on quite a bit of GG experience, I know I personally will like them even more with at least 5 more years. It’s al.ost always my practice to open a few early-ish and decide on a trajectory. It so much depends where your sweet spot lies. But they certainly aren’t closed right now.

Echoing others that 2015s are worth trying. They are so open it has been surprising to me. I just wonder how much better they might be in the future.

Interesting that you mention this. I had one earlier this year too. I agree that it was great. I’ve followed this wine since release to some extent, as it’s been ridiculously good from its very early stages (unusual for Wittmann Morstein, in my experience). I did think that most recent bottle of this might have been clamping down just a bit, since it didn’t quite have the fireworks I remembered, but maybe it was just me. Did you have the wine more than a year ago, and if so, do you have thoughts on the comparison? Anyone else?

Since people are talking about the openness of the vintage in general, does anyone have thoughts on how 2015 Keller GGs are showing right now? I’m always hesitant to open them since I no longer buy, but I really love them in their early open stage when I find it.

It was my first time having this wine.

In the last 8 weeks I had 2 bottles of 2015 Kirchspiel GG…….terrific and such open.

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We had a fabulous Heerkretz 2015 from Wagner-Stempel a few weeks ago. So,I think one of my three Halenbergs will be opened soon. Maybe as a „Reparaturriesling“ at the forthcoming 2016 Barolo tasting in Göttingen.

I was steered towards this producer by my good friend Mike, and I’m glad he did. I’ve only had one wine from them, but it sure was a memorable one. From 2019:

2010 Emrich-Schonleber Halenberg Grosse Lage Ries

I was put in charge of list ordering and this, which Count Lipyanskiy had mentioned to me as a house, caught my eye immediately. Boy, am I glad he weighed in. The bouquet has more than its share of mystery, some steel weaving through light apple and ginger whisks. This wine makes it on the palate, where it is exquisite, sublime and profound all at the same time. It’s been difficult at times for me to connote Riesling with “the noble grape”, but that descriptor fits here. Silky and steely at the same time, with yellow and white fruit notes, it’s a revelation, and stays the course a day or two later. 93 and definitely in the WOTY conversation. I do love this more structured and linear vintage, both here and in Austria and Alsace