Just got it e-mailed to me this morning and looks very cool.
Gunderloch
Bruder Dr. Becker
Joh. Geil Erben
Keller
Dr. Loosen
JJ Prum
St. Urbans-Hof
Reinhold Haart
S.A. Prum
Fritz Haag
Von Kesselstat
Karthauserhof
Selbach-Oster
Mostly estates I have never been to less the Rudi Wiest ones of JJ Prum, Karthauserhof and Fritz Haag. So excited . . . .Especially Keller despite the controversy from super-sommellier L e v i D a l t o n. The truth is in the bottle as I always say . . .I hope they have more substance than style . . .
Anybody visited any of these estates? Any ins and outs I should now or sites to see? . . .I will be clicking away aggressively (photo clicking to be clear)
Just call 'em like I see them. You'll remember I also don't like Haart, whereas you feel quite differently. Different strokes and all. Have you checked out Laible Pinot Blanc yet? Not to be missed.
ReplyDeleteItinerary looks grand. Curious what you think of JJ Prum these days. The wines are tough to evaluate young, of course, but maybe they have slipped a notch these days...
Re: Selbach-Oster, how did that slip in among the Rudi W lovefest? While there, could you maybe inquire about Johannes' theory about picking all in one go to properly get a terrior stamp in the wines? How does one determine which day of harvesting will deliver the most terroir?
Re: Keller again, it's like La Spinetta. Lot's of people like those wines. Hell, sometimes I really like those wines. But they aren't the real deal, are they?
Yes...I'll change your heart when it comes to Haart. I couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteThat Pinot Blanc is on my list. Need to get to Moore Bros.
My visit to Prum last year was unreal and I have more Prum in my cellar than any other Mosel producer. 2005 was crackin' at Manfred's. You can see my reviews of the 2005's plus older goodies on this blog.
Only three estates from the Kaiser. Haag, Karthauserhof and JJ Prum. So not that much of a lovefest. I will definetly ask that question of Johannes as that is news to me. Sounds like a load of crap to me. Harvesting all on the same day for the most terroir expression. C'mon Johannes!!
Levi,
Aren't you proud to be the first person to mention La Spinetta on my blog? But seriously how can you compare La Spoofeta to Keller. That is unfair.
And for the record the only La Spinetta I can stomach is the low end Barbera because it has the least makeup.
Re: Selbach, from TT's German Catalog 2007 edition page 53, quoting from a letter Johannes wrote: "...in 2004 we began to pick 'Rotlay' as a single block, with no selections pulled from the vineyard prior to harvesting. This brings the unique, diverse mix of greenish-yellow, golden, slightly overripe copper-colored, as well as botrytised berries together, creating a truly wholesome wine which reflects the true expression of this great site's 'terroir,' without the influence of human selection. We refrain from skimming through this vineyard but rather prefer a long hangtime to pick at optimum ripeness without pushing for over the top sugars." TT himself then goes on to comment that "I'll pick up on an implication inherent in Johannes' thinking here, which is that the en bloc picking is in essence a search for truth...[I'm sure there was a concern over] what might have been lost in the modern obsession with skimming the cream from the vineyard in search of higher must-weights (and the "points" such wines engender). Put concretely, you lose a holistic flavor containing both the ultra-ripe grapes plus the less-ripe ones and the grip and the green they impart. And which also constitutes terrior. It's not much of a leap to infer this is a quest for a deeper authenticity; it's one thing to select which flavors you want and another thing to pick the whole magilla and see what flavors you get."
ReplyDeleteI recently had an email exchange with Terry about this idea, with reference to Brundlmayer, who is also thinking along the same lines, and Deiss. My thing was like, how do you know the right day, isn't that a form of selection, and isn't the temptation to wait an extra day to be more sure of ripeness, and end of losing some finesse. But the upshot of it was that he said I should ask Johannes the question. And so I pass the torch to you, as you will see him before me.
What links La Spinetta and Keller is the sense of polish that is common to both. And yes, it is absolutely true that barbera is what La Spinetta does best.
And I believe Gunderloch and Haart are part of the Wiest stable.
Have you been to Trestle on Tenth? There was Zilliken '05 by the glass on my last visit. The list there is great.
Oh, one other thing, there is supposed to be this cool stone tower in the Dalsheimer Hubacker vineyard that you might see on your visit to Keller.
ReplyDeleteLevi,
ReplyDeleteI spaced on the other producers. Haart, Gunderloch etc.
That tower sounds cool. I am trying the '04 Dalsheimer Hubacker GG soon so I will be able to decide if it is all flash with no hard edges.
La Spinetta's Barolos and Barbarescos are undrinkable to my palate. The epitome of spoofulation.
Trestle on Tenth is the best "geek" wine list in the city.
I gotta run but I will discuss the interesting stuff Johannes says later.
Levi,
Go to work!!
Just bring me back some of Keller's G-Max...I so want to taste that!
ReplyDeleteJack,
ReplyDeleteThat is the one bottle on my radar to bring back.
Nik at St. Urbans-Hof has a great line up to taste. He's also a lot of fun and well respected.
ReplyDeleteDr. Loosen's higher end stuff is on par with the others.
I'd put St. Urbans-Hof equal to Schäfer-Fröhlich.
Liz,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. Have tasted St. Urbans-Hof in the past and have liked but have never been wowed. Cannot wait to try them again!
Have not tasted high end Loosen stuff since 2001 so am very curios especially as I am really feeling Erdener Pralat these days.
Schafer-Frohlich huh? Those some big shoes . . .
Levi,
ReplyDeleteBy the way . . .when I get my bonus I am totally coming to your restaurant to dine and of course whine . . .
On Trestle's list, you know his great competitor for best geek list is the one his wife does at Gramercy Tavern. It's pretty remarkable what she's done in that rather corporate and midbrow context. Have you been lately?
ReplyDeleteJuliette is a doll and I love talking wine with her. I just had a Donnhoff lunch there and did not get a chance to look at the list. The Donnhoff's were good though and the food was great.
ReplyDeleteThere is a pretty long history of geek wine list transcendence at Gramercy, starting with Steve Olson (who was a huge Rhone guy before that region got its due), and carrying through to Paul Grieco now of Hearth, who Juliette trained under. There are still many items on that list that date back to earlier regimes, such as the Radikon Merlot. The stage was set there a long time ago, not to take anything away from Juliette, who is hors classe.
ReplyDelete