Anybody seen wine from Johannishof (Eser) lately? I had some good bottles from 2002, but haven’t seen a thing for years.
Wine Searcher is showing some availability, especially of the Charta Riesling.
Interesting post. Thanks. Thoughts and questions:
Is Schloss Reinhartshausen still around. I have not seen their wine in decades. Used to love their wines from the 70s and early 80s.
I also liked wines from Knyphausen from the early 80s and have not seen their wines in a long time. Sad that they have gone downhill.
Not a big fan of von Simmern. The only 2001 I have tasted that seemed old was a Erbacher Marcobrun Kabinett.
Also have not had any wines from Schloss Schonborn in a long time. Never had any that were very good. It is great if they are making excellent wines again. Has anyone had any pradikat wines from them?
Schloss Reinharthshausen is still around, but doesn’t seem to be imported into the U.S.
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There was a period maybe 15 years ago when a bunch of ‘90s and early ‘00s von Simmern showed up. They all seemed way older than they should have been, without showing obvious heat damage. Just not good, and not a good look for the estate or the importer.
Are they still good?
Well, I just found this online so I guess they had been imported in the last 5+ years: Schloss Reinhartshausen Riesling Grand Cru Dry Erstes Gewachs Erbacher Marcobrunn 2013 750 ML – Wine Online Delivery
I have not had any. I have seen them in Germany while traveling. They caught my eye, because they use the same robin’s egg blue that Robert Weil does, so at first I thought it was a Weil bottle.
Schloss Reinhartshausen’s 1971 Erbacher Siegelsberg Beerenauslese remains in my memory
as one of the most remarkable & monumental wines ever to go down this fellers gullet…
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I’ve had, and still have, a few Kesseler’s from the early-to-mid 2000s. They’ve been hit-or-miss; they first one I ever had was a hit, which is why I ended-up with a couple handfuls. The variability I’ve experienced as I’ve worked through them has left me without a desire to seek them out further.
I have a couple Weil’s laying down, one of which I may have even pulled from offsite recently, but I’ve yet to actually taste one.
the first time i became aware of tasting a perfect wine
it was at Weil in summer 2003.
i showed up along with old pal Dave Schildknecht, on his annual compression tour,
and Wilhelm W. had everything open and waiting for us –
the perfect wine was the 2002 Kiedricher Sandgrub Spätlese
and the way i knew it was perfect, was that i could still taste it in the back of my mouth
even after tasting the Auslese, the Beerenauslese, the Eiswein and the Trockenbeerenauslese
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Opened a 1993 Weil Spatlese just for this thread. Lovely, mature wine.
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As I’ve had only a smattering of Weil and Leitz, this discussion sent me to look at David Schildknecht’s last Vinous report on the region (2017 vintage, published in Aug 2019). His top producers overlap entirely with the names discussed in this thread. Surprisingly missing were the dozens of smaller producers that typically fill these kinds of articles. Instead only 13 Rheingau producers were covered at all. Perhaps that’s what is meant by an underperforming region, one missing the vitality and energy of lots of up and comers making names for themselves.
…im Herzen bin ich Pfälzer
Similar to Eric, this thread inspired me to open up a 2011 PJK Amphore over the weekend. Amazing wine - very much the German answer to Gravner IMHO.
Although I’m sure it can last another 20+ years, my best experience with the PJK dry Rieslings has been at 7-12 years old.
Slightly off topic but I was gifted the book The Wines of Germany by Anne Krebiehl and it has broken the mold. Highly recommended if you need any more enthusiasm for Rheingau or German wines as a whole. Free review on Jancis website here.
Whatever happened to Toni Jost? Their Bacharacher Hahn Kabinett was a mainstay in my early German wine appreciation in the early 90s.
They are still around. I haven’t had them for years, but Sommselect has the 2017 Hahn Kabinett right now.
Showing well, but also showing it’s age. Strange melon element on the nose. Decent weight, some persistence but could use more acid/nerve
Lots of mid-90s “great estates of the Rheingau” wines have been around. Almost all are decent, but a pale shadow of what they should be.
Corvers-Kauter are excellent: reds, sweet, dry. Particularly dry. When C-K’s viticultural efforts in the Von Simmern holdings kick in Marcobrunn and Baiken could be special.
Lots of good reds from Assmannshausen, particluarly Rudesheim Bishops’. As it get hotter, the spatburgunder seems to be thriving.
A 2020 Leitz Kabi this week was quite promising. Not as complex as the 19s, but had its own simple charm.