08 Speritzer Charta

2008 Spreitzer Riesling Charta;
Pale straw yellow, lemony and apples, minerals and roses, fresh, lively acidity, balanced, long finish. 90

07 Willi Schaefer GD Spätlese

2007 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese;
Pale straw, focused, sharp in the best sence of the word, apples and minerals, needs air, or even better, cellaring. Pure, clean, fresh, long finish. 91

To be or TBA, Lieser LNH 06

2006 Schloss Lieser, Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese;
Light golden, botrytis, intense of pineapples and tropical fruit, lively and refined, towards visquous texture. High acidity, perfectly balanced, lively and such balance, extreme elegance and an astonishing length. 98

89 Dr.Loosen EP Auslese

Karl Kristian in action, virgin lobsters naturel

1989er Dr.Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese;

Pale golden, botrytis, honey, minerals, pineapples, apricot stones and some petroleum. Complex and layered. Beautiful balance, acidity feels lower than it is, very elegant, good length. 93

Bought at Weinhause Porn in Bernkastel this summer, from a huge Mosel collector, KK told us. Seems to be at peak now, if you wan't the fresh fruit in the wine, as well as aged nuances. Gorgeous with the virgin lobsters as the wine have shed a lot of its residual sugar by now.

82 Dr.Loosen GH Auslese

1982 Dr.Loosen, Graacher Himmelreich, Riesling Auslese;

Top fill, re-corked 2006 at the estate (late cellar release it seems). Golden colour, apricots, apples and minerals, very little if any petroleum. Surprisingly youthful, but lacks a bit of freshness. 82 was on the warm side as a vintage and this shows here. Acidity should have been better, it's clean, pure and elegant, but not glistening. Could be longer as well. 87

2003 Dr.Loosen EP Auslese

2003 Dr.Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese;

Expectations were not that high, but the acidity and wine was fresher than anticipated, even if not as lively and characterful as the wines of this vineyard normally would be. That actually describes the whole wine quite well. Tiny touch of petroleum lurking in the shadows of overripe lemons and pears, acidity only medium for Riesling, quite elegant and well balanced, long length. 91

06 Mönchhof ÜW Spätlese

2006 Mönchhof Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese;

Enjoying wines in summer and not actually writing that many tasting notes for ones, but here is a few from this week. Pale lemon, in that state at a few years of age where I find Riesling's to shut down and never fully opening up. Still apples, lemons, fairly ripe, minerals, nicely balanced, elegant, lively acidity, long length. 89

2010 Schloss Johannisberg, the Royal treatment

A nice line up of beautiful Riesling

The legendary Schloss Johannisberg

A beautiful article was written in yesterday's Norwegian newspaper DN, (in the D2 part) but they failed to give any description on the wines for some reason, and for the 2010's that they said was out of this world. I used to work for the Norwegian importer of this fantastic estate, so I seem to be lucky enough to taste the latest vintage every year (and sometimes even older vintages as well). Here is my view of the truly amazing 2010's of Schloss Johannisberg.

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Gelblack Trocken;

Pale lemon, very pure, fruit driven, yellow fruits, elegantly balanced, fresh acidity, long finish. 91

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rotlack Trocken;

Pale lemon, again very pure, elegant texture, more focused and "sharp" in structure, long length. 91

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Gelblack Feinherb;

Pale lemon, again more fruity and pure, well balanced, slightly more rounded texture, lively and long. 91

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rotlack Kabinett (Feinherb);

Pale lemon, very refined and elegant Kabinett, on the slightly drier style, or rather more classic than has been in fashion lately, pure, lively and long. 92

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Grünlack Spätlese;

Pale lemon, superb refinement on the nose, balance perfection, fragrant, nuanced, layered, the elegance is out of this world, I just love this wine.... 94

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rosalack Auslese;

Somewhat deeper lemon, pure, roses, intense, layered, complex, superb acidity, stunning texture and so mouthwatering, marvelous, fantastic length. 97

2010 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Goldlack Trockenbeerenauslese;

Golden, intense, layered and seductive. 23 grams acidity, 254 g. rs, the balance, intensity and complexity is beyond words, length for minutes on end, acidity is beyond description. I think perhaps the best way to describe this wine would be to describe the reaction of the four of us tasting it. (well Christian Witte (Domäneverwalter) has tasted it many times, but I could see the anticipation in his eyes). We smelt it in the glass, looked at each other with a -"Ahhh". Then tasted it, everybody started looking at each other, smiling more and more with eyes wide open in pure pleasure, then everybody just started laughing loudly. 100

In the olden days, the wine from Schloss Johannisberg was sold only to families of Royal blood. This is also the first estate recorded to plant solely with Riesling, and Spätlese was introduced here. Few wine making properties are more legendary.

Colour coding of Schloss Johannisberg:

Gelblack: Qba, normally both dry and off dry (Feinherb) made every year.

Rotlack; Kabinett, normally both dry and off dry (Feinherb) made every year.

Silberlack: Erstes Gewächs (EG) (Grand Cru) Dry/Trocken

Grünlack: Spätlese

Rosalack: Auslese

Rosa-Goldlack: Beerenauslese (BA)

Goldlack: Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)

Blaulack: Eiswein

Answer to question on 76 WS BA

As Blogspot is absolutely hopeless technically sometimes, I got tired of trying to answer Kjetil's question four times, and still it was not posted, so I will have to make a new post instead.

JJ Christoffel JR is an estate in Ürzig that makes fine, but a bit easy going and "simple" Rieslings, that are fruit driven. I enjoy the wines, but I'm not filling my cellar with them.

But I'm a huge fan of JJ Christoffel ERBEN, another Ürzig estate, making a subtle, extremelly refined, nuanced, layered and complex style with normally long length. The wines are normally increadibly difficult to source.

So, to answer the question Kjetil, no, I have never given too high remarks to Jr, the "beginners" Riesling, and a very fine one at that, but I certainly have to Erben. So, nothing has changed in my opinion.

05 Peter Nicolay ÜW BA

2005 Peter Nicolay, Ürziger Würzgarten, Riesling Beerenauslese;

Golden, honey, apricots, botrytis, intense nose. High acidity that you really hardly notice as such, elegant and luscious, rounded then really refreshing acidity towards the finish. Long finish. 93

09 Schâfer-Frölich Halenberg GG

2009 Schäfer-Frölich, Monzinger Halenberg, Riesling GG;

Pale lemon yellow, stunning nose, ripe fruits and apples, fatty minerals, yellow fruit quite intense, yet understated. Fresh acidity and gorgeously balanced for a dry Riesling, stunning texture, very long finish. Really needed a few hours in a decanter, and this is one of the best dry Rieslings I have tasted. 95

It went absolutely perfectly with virgin lobster in home made taco shell and tomato sauce and fresh pine needles. This seasoning made the dish have a sort of gin aftertaste that was really amazing together with the wine. Creation by Jon Engdahl. (Maemo and Kolonihagen)

03 Loosen Eiswein

2003 Dr.Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Eiswein;

(Demi) Pale golden, very elegant and refined nose, tropical and pineapples in abundance. To my surprice (the vintage) its fresh acidity and quite lively. Pure, elegant and nicely balanced, long finish. One of the few 03's from Mosel that seems to be able to age very well still. 92

07 Schlumberger

2007 Schlumberger Kessler Riesling Grand Cru;

Heavier style of Riesling, some roses and heavy minerality, honey and ripe, good acidity, a bit hollow mid palate, good length. 85

05 Loosen ET

2005 Dr.Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett;

Pale straw yellow, closed, schist's and lemon, some sweeter fruits and tropical with air. Pure and elegant, ok acidity, nice balance good length. 83

08 Adam Hofberg Kabinett

2008 AJ Adam Hofberg Riesling Kabinett;

Pale lemon yellow, pear, minerals and apples on the nose. Fresh acidity, a bit tight still, needed some air to open, balanced, refreshing and good length. 87

06 Schloss Lieser Auslese Lange Goldkapsel

2006 Schloss Lieser, Lieserer Niederberg Helden Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel;

Pale golden, citrus, lemon, apples, minerals, focused nose, pear, apricots, tender yet very complex nose. More intensity on the palate, gorgeous acidity, cleans perfectly, needs time still, fantastic length. 94

07 Grans Fassian TA Auslese Goldkapsel

2007 Grans Fassian Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel;

(600 demi bottles made, and I think I've had six now, so one percent of the production!) Pale golden, minerals, schists, light of apples, pear, raisins and apricots. Great balance, high acidity, balances the sweetness perfectly, intense, very long finish. 93

98 JJ Prüm WS Auslese Goldkapsel

1998 Joh.Jos.Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel;

Pale golden, minerals, hint of botrytis, honey, melon, apricots, pear, apples, needs air to open, elegant and fresh. Elegant sweetness, acidity balances it perfectly, fresh and youthful, very long finish. 94

04 JJ Prüm WS Spätlese

2004 Joh.Jos.Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese;

Pale golden, starting to mature somewhat, some petroleum, light of oxidized apples, minerals, touch of roses, pear and schist. Elegant and fresh acidity, balanced, good intensity but slightly short for JJ. 89

98 Clos St Hune

1998 Trimbach Clos St Hune;

Lemon yellow, ripe and mature Riesling, minerals, some oxidized apples, some petroleum. Lovely and fresh acidity, balanced, getting perfectly mature, very long finish. 93