2010 Rheinhessen - Wagner-Stempel

This was my 2nd visit to Wagner-Stempel and it is now in the must visit every time category for sure. My visit last year was wonderful and now that they have picked up a new distributor, Rudi Wiest, who is a dear friend and helps make my arrangements in Germany each year, I was even more pumped to go. Siefersheim is a charming little village and the estate pf Wagner-Stempel has to be one of the more beautiful estates in that pastoral style. It is unreal how close to the Nahe Siefersheim is. It is a 20 minute drive from Bockenau, and not surprisingly it shares much of the same porphyr soil. The wines of Wagner-Stempel in 2009, I must admit, overall as a group I liked better than 2010, but in 2010 the Grosses Gewachs bottlings of Hollberg and Heerkretz were out of this world and a leap over the excellent 2009's. Daniel Wagner, who guided us through the tasting after another epic vineyard tour from Oliver Muller, did tell me that he did de-acidify some of his lower end bottlings and did not for the two GG's. As a result some of the basic bottlings do seem to be missing some electricity and snap. Overall it is an excellent group but lacks some energy and at some times can be dull at the low end. This was not the case in 2009 and I see 2010 as a blip and the basic bottlings which were so great in 2009 will be back to form in 2011. But do not get me wrong, this is one of the top estates in the Rheinhessen, and now that they have a new US importer who champions the Grosses Gewachs wines of Germany, they will see a wider audience in the United States, as the wines deserve it.

2010 Silvaner Trocken - Mineral, green (in that good Silvaner way) and ripe. Dense, pure wine with excellent focus. But a touch warm.

2010 Siefersheimer Silvaner Trocken - This is the next level up Silvaner. This was quite good. Mineral and ripe nose. Lovely, pure and clean. Inviting aromas. Some pistachio and other nuts develop after aeration. Elegant on the palate with ripe, complex flavors along with clean, yet creamy flavors. Still very precise wine but shows the creamier side of Silvaner. Long and intense wine. Needs food.

2010 Weissburgunder Trocken - Simple nose of minerals and apples. Very ripe. Sappy and dense on the palate but really lacks snap.

2010 Siefersheimer Weissburgunder Trocken - Floral and high-toned nose. Ripe and juicy on the palate with excellent purity and focus. Clean and mineral wine with persistent apple and pear flavors on the finish. Good weight. Quite good.

2010 Schuerebe Trocken - This was the best basic wine by far. Always is. Grapefruit and redcurrants on the nose. Great acids and snap on the palate. Can't believe this is de-assed. Huge currant fruit on the palate but as lean and mineral as they come. A lot to like in this one.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc Trocken - Minerals and typical SB aromas. Palate is sappy and dense. Excellent for what it is.

2010 Riesling Trocken - Pretty mineral and ripe nose. Yellow fruits and a salty impression on the palate. Intense yet lacks energy and snap.

2010 Siefersheimer Riesling Trocken "Vom Porphyr" - The calling card of the winery and it is excellent again in 2010 and is one of the best "non GG Riesling done inna GG style" values on the market today. From young vine Heerkretz and Hollberg fruit. Mineral and ripe in 2010 and full of tightly packed mineral and fruit. Wonderful texture and some great finesse but still very powerful as this wine can be. Bee pollen on the nose after aeration. Just awesome.

2010 Hollberg Riesling GG - Very mineral and ripe nose. Expansive. Powdered sugar on the nose which I love getting out of high end dry German Riesling, especially from this area. Keller and Schafer-Frohlich also get this confectionary aroma in their wines in ripe vintages. Great complexity emerges after some coaxing. What a palate and easily the best Hollberg ever. Just had the 2005 Hollberg GG the other night and wow was it delivering after only a short time in the cellar. The 2010 in five years should be at a much higher level than the 2005. Already amazingly complex on the nose. So suave and fine on the palate. Regal stuff and one the very best 2010 GG's.

2010 Heerkretz Riesling GG - 9.5 grams per liter of acid here, which is pretty high for a GG, but man does this wine bend the mind quickly. So fine and filigreed and absolutely stuffed with minerals. Outrageous complexity and almost weightless yet immensely concentrated. A remarkable wine and one of the top GG's of the vintage.

2010 Siefersheimer Heerkretz Spatlese - A brilliant year for the fruity styled wines of Wagner-Stempel. Ut is a very small part of their production and not at all what they are known for. Just a perfectly balanced, ripe and sappy wine. So dense with extract and ripe but alive and tingles the palate. Remarkable. Heerkretz again dances on your palate.

2010 Siefersheimer Heerkretz Auslese - Incredibly vivid yellow fruit along with dazzling minerality. So juicy, ripe and concentrated yet elegant. Out of this world Auslese with a finish that keps on pushing the fruit. Remarkable again.

A great visit to one of the best estates in Germany and one of the top three in the Rheinhessen along with Keller and Wittman.