I don’t think there is much mystery or difficulty in predicting. Prices are going to be very high today. The hype for the Willi Schaefer kabinett seems to be driven by us Americans. I’ve passed on that there was a prediction from an american importer that it will exceed 100 euro and everyone looks at me like I have two heads and asks why anyone would pay so much for a wine that’s never been offered before. I’ve got a bunch of no limit bids on kabi and spat and an aggressive bid on the Grunhaus TBA and Prum LGK, but I don’t expect to win much else. J&B sent estimates to clients that predicted prices 20-30% above last year. The tasting is about to begin.
I was at Falkenstein yesterday tasting ‘21. Will post some brief notes later.
Alex
For the kabi flight, the big surprise for me was the Adam. Almost dry on the nose, peachy pineapple on the palate, acidic on the finish in a good way. Really nice. Haag was the best of the flight for me - earthy and pure with a backend that stays with you. Lieser has a bit of sponti but really comes through on the palate. Schaefer is very shy at this point. Quiet. 7.5%. Clemens Busch is flowery and very expressive on the back end. Grunhaus is a spat/auslese. Much sweeter on the nose than the others. Much more oily on the palate. Very happy with this flight.
Second kabi flight. Egon is very good. Just a hint of sweetness. Everything in 3D. Zilliken is balanced and surprisingly lite. Von Othengraven has some reduction and for me was a bit too austere on the back end. Lauer is a touch sweeter than the others on the nose but opens on the palate as proper kabi. I liked it a lot.
Rewinding, Haag’s GG Im Falkenberg wins the GG flight for me.
Ok. Here we go. Spatlese. Adam is really lite and subtle, and balanced. Almost kabi-like. Thanisch is proper doctor , lots of earth and moss. Haag is amazing. A core that pulls you in. So much depth. Endless. Lieser is Burgundian on the nose. Very light on the palate. Perfectly balanced. Persistent. Schaefer - oh my. Maybe perfect on the nose. A touch sweeter than Haag and Lieser. It’s gonna go very high and it should. Prum - mystical. A cold morning walk through a spatlese dew cloud. Great flight. Lovely vintage I think.
Spatlese continued…
Egon - reticent, a little green. Maybe a bit too acidic then clipped on the finish. Gallais - beautiful, bright, open and fruity. Maybe a bit more sun on the grapes than some of the others. Lauer 23 - the best spat I’ve tried from Lauer. The 24 is a touch riper, lots of balance. Both beautiful. Side by side, 23 is maybe a touch more delineated and elegant, and 24 is a higher on the pradikat.
I have to say, I wasn’t too impressed by the Kabis this year. Adams was nice, Haag was the easy winner, although I quite liked the Forstmeister’s Rausch as well. I absolutely loved the Lieser Kabi last year but was less impressed this year. Schaefer closed and not too exciting. Busch was a steal last year but delivers less this year.
Lieser did much better at the Spätlese, clear winner for me. Adam surprisingly good again. Egon Mueller was very good, Thanisch a bit flat. Von Hövel didn’t do themselves many favors with both Kabi and Spätlese, very difficult to like at this stage.
Maybe I’m comparing too much with 2019 which was exuberant last year, but I’m less impressed this year around.
Quick hits on the sweet wines. The Prum auslese was very good for me. The Schloss Lieser was very lite and very precise and then bursts on the palate. Really great. Egon’s goldkap is the first appearance of botrytis and very different than anything else. Prum LGK - precise, a straight line, clean, lots of salinity. Really lovely. Grunhaus TBA - looks like an oil slick. Smoke and charcoal on the nose. A hint of grand marnier. Kaleidoscope on the palate, impossibly complex. The acid on the back end really pushes it to the next level. Clemens Busch TBA - lacks the complexity of the grunhaus. Botrytis is less evident. Nice acid. Hard to follow the Grunhaus I suppose.
Fully agree on the Prüm Auslese, that was excellent. The Beerenauslese of Schloss Saarstein was also very good, very vibrant. Loosen AGK had a beautiful nose, great wine.
Thanks for your commentaries Arjan and Alex. Interesting that you found the Schafer GD Kabi a little quiet, but I have found in vintages that were slightly cooler that their regular GD kabinett can be like this in youth.
I was a little nervous skipping bidding on GD Spatlese this year, which I may have to track down later, but hopeful I’ll grab some Haag BJS Spat with my bids.
Wow- really appreciate the tasting impressions guys. Great information. I love Haag, but given how much Riesling I get each year, I do not buy them every year at auction. I went for a six pack of the Spatlese on rumors of its greatness, and so fingers crossed. And it sounds like it was a good idea to no-limit Schaefer Spatlese though that may be painful in the moment. Very excited to see how the Grunhauser TBA does today- Alex your description reminds me of the 2010 I had last year. While most TBAs improve with age, they are also pretty spellbinding in youth. Grunhauser is too, but the wine is so powerful and complex that young they can be challenging to enjoy. I did not bid too crazy there, but hoping I get 1 or 2 halves that I can sock away for 20 years.
Quick programming note for anyone who does not have the listings in front of them. This year the auction will go by producer rather than have a special section at the end for the really high end stickies. Here is the order in which wines will be auctioned,
7 lots comprising the various GGs offered
AJ Adam
Dr. Loosen
Wwe. Dr. H. Thanisch
Fritz Haag
Knebel
Schloss Lieser
Willi Schaefer
Clemens-Busch
Joh. Jos. Prum
Maximin Grunhaus
Egon Muller
Schloss Saarstein
Le Gallais
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken
von Othergraven
Peter Lauer
von Hovel
I could see that happening. But I did not bid that high. Much as I would like to try it someday, I have a small stash of his TBAs back to 1976. Not many, but enough to have one every few years. And so while the 2018 may be a majestic creature, I told myself last year I was going to stop buying in that universe.
