The 1994 vintage of Weingut Steinmetz

The 1994 vintage was one of the last vintages
with Günther Steinmetz (left) in charge,
before his son Stefan took over the Weingut

Both Chambers Street Wines and Crush, patrons of German Riesling in New York City, have been offering older vintages for a while. Often these wines have been sourced from the producer's own cellars, thus giving us the opportunity (at very reasonable prices, too) to experience what makes the Riesling variety so unique: its ability to age for a very long time while multiplying its aroma and flavor compounds.

I have just received the first bottles of the Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Spätlese 1994 from Weingut Günther Steinmetz, imported to the US by the thoughtful people at Mosel Wine Merchant. At $20 per bottle this is a fantastic value (Chambers Street Wines). And soon I should be getting the Steinmetz 1994 Riesling Kestener Paulinsberg Auslese and 1994 Riesling Brauneberger Juffer Auslese (offered by Crush) this month. It is not easy to get back-vintages of German Riesling here in the States and such efforts to introduce American wine drinkers to older gems from Germany at affordable prices is laudable.

The 1994 vintage in Germany was a mixed bag: spells of hot, dry weather took turns with long rain periods throughout the growing season. Rot was an issue on lesser vineyards, but on better sites growers who selected their fruit rigidly were able to make outstanding wine from a vintage that produced wines of a complexity that strikes a raw nerve rather than padding it in sweetness. 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!

Kestinger 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.

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.

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Steinmetz profile and tasting notes