Product Description
HIGHLIGHT FROM THE STELLAR
2015 GERMAN VINTAGE
"Today, we are re-visiting the magnificent 2015 vintage of Germany, and highlighting this wine from on of our favorite German producers. Germany is at the forefront of the movement towards drier styles of Riesling, although the 2015 Rieslings are standout on every level. As Stephan Reinhardt of Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate said, "2015 is not just a near-perfect vintage for dry wines, but also for noble sweet wines, especially Riesling." Quantities are very limited, so jump on this gem before it’s gone!" – Jim Knight, The Wine House (4/11/17)
16 Points (Distinguished) Jancis Robinson – "Very expressive, fruity-dominated nose. Lightweight and sprightly with a very dry finish but chock-full of fruit. Off-dry end." –Jancis Robinson, April 2016
STEPHAN REINHARDT (ROBERT PARKER’S THE WINE ADVOCATE) ON THE 2015 VINTAGE
The long and mild 2014/2015 winter and early flowering was followed by a terribly warm and dry summer (July and August). Young vines had to be irrigated and many of the older vines stopped the assimilation process during the heat wave to protect themselves. You can taste it in some of the wines that are a bit bitter and seem to lack a certain physiological ripeness. It was important to work differently in the vineyards. The grapes had to ripen slowly and in the shadows; the goal of the producers was to retain the acidity and not harvest the grapes with excessive must weights. In the second half of September, the must weights were not that much further along than expected. Rather, on the contrary: They exploded after the very, very welcome rainfalls. Luckily, the temperatures remained cool, so botrytis did not play an important (if any) role in September. Also, the acidity levels – sine qua non of Riesling – remained unusually high. Whereas the producers in Baden and in Pfalz finished their harvest between two and three weeks through the end of September, Klaus Peter Keller in the Wonnegau (Southern Rheinhessen) and Daniel Wagner (Wagner-Stempel, Eastern Rheinhessen) didn’t finish before the end of October.
In fact, October was a perfect month, especially for Riesling, which seems to be the winner of the 2015 vintage. The temperatures were almost freezing cold in the night and morning hours; the days were dry and sunny, with permanent winds coming from the east. The grapes were perfectly ripe at moderate must weights (often between 90-97° Oechsle for the GG wines) and with stunning acidity levels; on the other hand, some berries were shriveled to raisins without botrytis (like in 1990 or 1971). So, 2015 is not just a near-perfect vintage for dry wines, but also for noble sweet wines, especially Rieslings.
The weather conditions lead to a wide range of concentrated and very intense wines – especially Riesling – with moderate alcohol levels, great complexity and power in the finish. The dry wines are intense, complex and full of tension, especially those from old vines on deeper soils. However, the warm vintage is always present, due to a super ripe and concentrated fruit core on the mid-palate and the intense finish. All of the 2015s taste pretty good and are generous already, and they probably won’t go into a valley over the next few years. Nevertheless, they will shine even stronger in 8-10 years.
It is important to know that there is no rule applicable for all regions or even areas. In Rheinhessen, the wines from the iron-rich and slatey Red Slope are very different from those from the clayey limestone soils in the Wonnegau. These are often dense and powerful, and reveal a super ripe, warm, almost cooked-fruit core, whereas the former tend to be rather classic Rieslings with great mineral expression. More often than not, I prefer the dry estate Rieslings to those from the village category, simply because thesewines were made from only ripe and sometimes overripe grapes. Whereas the "negative" selectio ) 0.0 ?Û ,· ) ) 2016-10-04 15:25:22.077 ) ) 2017-07-30 14:18:41.837 ) ) 7.0 0 0 ,· ) ) 0.0 Û ,· ) ) `Û `Û ,· ) ) 2008-08-02 00:00:00.000 ) ) 2015-12-31 00:00:00.000 ) ) 0.0 ØÛ ,· ) ) 2017-07-30 14:18:41.837 ) ) 2016-09-20 13:11:00.343 ) ) (Û b>