Sometimes you need to be rigid
Three Weingut Steinmetz Rieslings from the difficult 1994 vintage
Photo Weingut Günther Steinmetz
Both Chambers Street Wines and Crush, two wine stores (and patrons of German Riesling) in New York City, have been offering older Riesling vintages for quite a while now. This is laudable. In many cases these wines have been sourced from the producer's own cellars, thus giving consumers the opportunity to experience what makes Riesling so unique: the ability to age for a very long time during which the Riesling gains immensely in complexity. I bought two Auslese and one Spätlese Riesling from 1994: the Brauneberger Juffer Auslese, Kestener Paulinsberg Auslese, Mülheimer Sonnenlay Spätlese.
The 1994 vintage in Germany was a mixed bag: spells of hot, dry weather took turns with long periods of rain throughout the growing season. A hot and dry growing season can put stress on the vines and stop them from ripening as all their energy is used to simply survive the heat. Too much rain can cause rot, which in 1994 indeed was an issue on lesser vineyards. But from the better sites in the Mosel growers who selected their fruit rigidly were able to make outstanding wines. 1994 produced complex wines with crisp acidity, still invigorating fourteen years later. No doubt that Günther Steinmetz was rigid.
Brauneberger Juffer Auslese 1994
Medium golden color. Developed nose with pronounced fleshy apricot aromas. Very warm fruit notes mixed with spicy, flowery and earthy tones. Medium sweet, medium(+) acidity. Light body. Medium intensity of red apple, minerals and spice. Long length.
Young and lively, still, after all these years. The acidity is still invigorating and the fruit is ripe and luscious. There is a fascinating earthiness in this wine, it is soaked with the imagery of a summer country landscape with the smell of warm earth, fragrant straw and ripe fruit, which lingers beautifully during a very long length. Beautiful!
$29
Kestener Paulinsberg Auslese 1994
Pronounced aromas of botrytis, honey, ripe apple and flowers. Medium(+) sweet, high acidity, low alcohol and light body. Medium flavor intensity of flowers, minerality and peach. Long length.
Leaner and more mineral than the Brauneberger Juffer. Overtones of spice on the long finish. Still very young tasting, has lots of acidity. A wine with a shy, but very interesting voice, that requires to listen carefully. If you do, you shall be rewarded. The minerality is pristine, rocks in a mountain lake on which the sun plays a warm tune of reflections. Beautiful purity with a seductive finish.
$29
Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Spätlese 1994
Medium golden color. Developed nose with a medium intensity of pear fruit, meadow flowers, ripe peach, honey, minerality and hints of smoke. Medium sweet on the palate, high acidity, low alcohol and light body. Medium intensity of toffee, strawberry, rhubarb, hints of fennel and wet stone. Medium length.
A fine Spätlese in its traditional sense, meaning it's not a lush wine of downgraded Auslese level but shows lots of ripe fruit and at the same time has a radiant acidity level that made me beg for more. Enough acidity to keep it alive for a few more years probably. Its complexity on the nose and the palate is deeply satisfying and given the price of $20 this is a fantastic deal. I already ordered more of it for my own cellar.
$20
