Back from Europe: German Edition (PICS ARE HERE!)

Went to Germany to visit after my visit to France to visit some of my favorite estates and help out a friend . . .well now ex-friend get some German wines for his import company. I learned on this trip friends cannot do certain things with each other. Like travel. Like travel without a GPS and travel with different goals in mind. We'll still have a business deal hammered out but our friendship is definetly over. I will not use his name to protect the innoncent and guilty which we are both a party to. But besides that the trip was brief but great. Got to stay at the Van Volxem estate in the Saar, which is beautiful and Roman Niewodniczanski is a very nice and passionate guy and very very tall. It was also a great treat to go to Baden (Heger, Wassmer) and Wurttemberg (Schnaittman) again. Love those regions. And it was also a wonderful treat to visit Knebel and Clemens Busch who I have raved about before on this blog. Clemens is the most easygoing guy you can imagine and this was my first experience tasting his sweet wines and I was floored by the finesse, purity and delineation of these wines. The Knebel vineyards maybe the most steep, beautiful and intensely terraced vineyards I have ever been in. Beate Knebel is a lovely woman and Matthias Knebel is a rockstar and the winery is in good hands for the long haul. So with apologies to Gaut-Milau and my memory here is my trip in censored and uncensored form with pics coming soon.


Best dry wine non Riesling - 2007 Salwey Grauburgunder

Best dry wine non Riesling runner up - 2005 Dr. Heger Grauburgunder Spatlese Trocken


Best Dry Riesling - 2006 Van Volxem 1900 (oldest vines in Wiltinger Braunfels and Wiltinger Gottesfuss)

Best Dry Riesling runner up - 2000 Dr. Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Riesling Spatlese Trocken


Best Spatburgunder - 2005 Dr. Heger Achkarrer Schlossberg Spatburgunger Spatlese Trocken


Best Runner Up Spatburgunder - 2005 Salwey Spatburgunder Eichberg "R"


Greatest winery dog ever - the dog at Van Volxem (pic coming soon . . .it was a Weimerrunner I believe).

Best non German wine - 1989 l'Arosee (beautiful classic Bordeaux)

Most underwhelming non German wine - 1983 Lafite (too sweet and ripe for me . . .tasted blind too)


I lost my Knebel and Clemens Busch notes but the 2006 Clemens Busch Von Rotem Schiefer towers over the 2005. There are so many amazing Clemens Busch 2006's and he is a superstar of the Lower Mosel from dry to sweet. I don't remember the names of any but there was an Auslese LGK 2006 that was off the chain as well as the regular Auslese GK. The Knebel 2005 Winninger Bruckstuck TBA was ethereal and elegant with amazing texture and their 2004 Eiswein from Bruckstuck too was an all star.



Lars,

If you are reading this please chime in with the vineyard designates on the LGKA and GKA of Clemens Busch in 2006. Thanks. Also any other mistakes I made as I am doing this off the memory tip. More detailed notes and pics coming soon . .


This pic is of Beate and Mathhias Knebel at the tasting at the estate with me.


This pic is of Beate Knebel working the vineyards an hour later. They work their asses off at this estate.