I will contact you Robert. I have a cool cooled room for Riesling only
1989 Hans Kramp: An Incredible Find In The Saar
The stash of 1989s still resting in the Kramp cellar
I will contact you Robert. I have a cool cooled room for Riesling only
Update from last night.
I decided to open odd bottles which were alongside the 48 1982s. These were older; I had them 3 days in my wine fridge.
1976 I opened to find it smelling musty. The colour was deep gold, and the wine was at bottom of the neck of the bottle. I waited a few minutes and tasted. It was not ācorkedā but something was off - almost sherry like and simply felt wrong. Afraid of poisoning myself, I emptied the bottle and decided it must be off.
I then went for the other older bottle, 1979. As soon as I tried to enter with the corkscrew it pushed into the bottle. Undeterred I poured a small glass. The wine was lighter golden, much more alive than the 1976. However, small dust of black cork across glass and surface of wine. I decided to filter through muslin and obtained a very clear glass. The wine was very full, little in way of normal citrus/petrol I felt used to, lightly sweet but 100% not dessert territory. Felt elegant and pleasant, round on mouth and some complexity of nuts and old oranges. I noted the wine seemed balanced, full bodied and quite liquorous. However, my partner found the sight of small black dust too offputting and urged me not to run risk of stomach upset. I just lacked courage, so contented myself with one glass and poured rest bottle away.
So, 2 down - but the most damaged looking and older odd bottles. 48 1985s to go.
Some questions to you kind folks:
Any ideas how to open when the cork is compromised/soft?
Is it ok to filter wine if dusty?
How do I tell if wine is off or could give health concern?
How can I tell if wine is safe to drink?
Reading Tom Reddick, I think I have been a fool - perhaps decanting carefully and then having patience I could have saved 46 years of history! Patience and wisdom are traits I lack,Brent is probably on the money - there will be the odd miss and some hits.
@ Robert Dentice. If you want to e mail me at anthony.wands@gmail.com I could send you picture of bottles for you to choose half dozen to send to USA. Iām not a dealer but find myself with 48 bottles I am a little scared of and feel ignorant in handing/storing. The previous owner had a large cellar in a country house: I have an apartment.
Thanks for all your help and input, Gentlemen.
Sorry - they are 1982 not 1985.
Would love to post images here as bottles look fantastic:
Color looks great on those. You never know you could have a nice wine.
Never heard of Arthur Kramp. The vineyard is great, but the vintage is not. The colour looks good. I expect an almost dry, very slim (or even thin) wine with strong acidity and nice aromas.
AYLER KUPP NOT ARTHUR KRAMP!! LOL
OH I SEE ARTHUR KRAMP IS IN WINE PRODUCER IN THE VINEYARD.
SOME REARCH AND CAME ACROSS FASCINATING ARTICLE, WHICH DIVES DIRECTLY TO THE HISTORY OF THE VERY BOTTLES:
The stash of 1989s still resting in the Kramp cellar
LOL
OH I SEE ARTHUR KRAMP IS IN WINE PRODUCER IN THE VINEYARD.
SOME REARCH AND CAME ACROSS FASCINATING ARTICLE, WHICH DIVES DIRECTLY TO THE HISTORY OF THE VERY BOTTLES:
Not sure if Arthur and Hans are related. There is no listings for Arthur Kramp on cellartracker. I have had many of the Hans Kramp bottles mentioned in the article and they were mostly outstanding. Including one this year.
In studying the region we kept coming across the Kramp name (especially in David Schildknechtās writing) and we learned that the wines were archetypal, old-fashioned expressions of Ayler Kupp ā zesty, limey, taut and mineral Rieslings; I asked Florian if he knew them. Silly question! Aylās a tiny town, and as luck would have it, the Kramp cellar is directly across the street from his. On top of that, when Kramp retired, Florianās father purchased the estateās plots in the Kupp (if youāve ever had Lauerās āSeniorā or āStirnā youāve had grapes from these vines), and now has access to the defunct cellar across the street.
It is an average vintage or maybe even worse?! Unfortunately for you, at this time climate change didnāt exist, so there was heavy rain during harvest, especially october. Maybe you have luck, as they maybe harvested this Kabi before the rain started. Quite likely so, I guess.
Best suitable for asian food.
I am not familiar with the 1982 vintage, but will say Charlie and I had an incredible 1982 Prum at Bernās last year. Here is Charlieās note:
9/3/2021 - CHARLIE CARNES LIKES THIS WINE: 96 Points
Wow, this is so good right now. It is amazing to me how when these wines age they darken, yet lose the perception of viscosity. This has become fluid, and racy, with lovely acid; itās just popping from the glass. It still has some youthful traits like flowers, pollen, slate, and honey. But, it has transformed, and the slate is flinty, and the honey is more of an essence, dried, if you will, and gotten hints of spice. This is flat out lovely, and showing the elegance of one of my favorite vineyards!
In an evening with Bordeaux going back to 1930s, including an ethereal 1945 Kirwan, the 1982 Prum was one of the highlights. An intoxicating nose, fully alive and at prime, granted stored at Berns!
The best way to open these bottles is with a Durand. Lacking that, Iād jury rig a similar version with a long thin corkscrew and an Ah-So.
Filtering these would be OK, but I wouldnāt mind a little mold in my wine.
This
1976 I opened to find it smelling musty. The colour was deep gold, and the wine was at bottom of the neck of the bottle. I waited a few minutes and tasted. It was not ācorkedā but something was off - almost sherry like and simply felt wrong. Afraid of poisoning myself, I emptied the bottle and decided it must be off.
Is it ok to filter wine if dusty?
How do I tell if wine is off or could give health concern?
How can I tell if wine is safe to drink?.l
The wine is almost certainly safe. Iāve never heard of any health concerns arising from drinking old wine. With the caveat that Iām not a scientist, alcohol and acidity are preservatives and create an environment that isnāt favorable to the growth of harmful bacteria. I would also imagine that if thereās anything in the wine that could make you ill you would be able to tell that easily from the scent. I really would not be concerned about it at all.
I must say, I admire your restraint. At the same time, I donāt quite understand the hesitation. Do I understand correctly that you have 48 identical bottles and havenāt tried a single one yet? What would speak against just opening one and seeing whether you like it? If itās good, then great you have 47 left to enjoy. If itās not good, just try a few more?
Anthony be patient when opening (with a Durand) and have no fear of mold or wet corks. Riesling is resilient. Donāt be in a hurry to dump you can always check back later in the night or even the next day. Sounds like you have a bunch of nice wine there, probably more winners than off bottles.
1982 is not a year I have much experience with, but Selbach-Osterās Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling SpƤtlese was excellent a few years back. Never heard of Arthur Kramp, but agree that Hans Kramp made some impressive wines during the 1980s.