A Wine Feast in the Rheingau, Germany: The Grand Wine Convention 2010

Picture: Zum Krug in Hattenheim, Rheingau, Germany

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Rheingau Wine Queens and Princesses in Hattenheim, Summer 2010

The Rheingau Grand Wine Convention (Grosse Konventstage des Rheingauer Weinkonvents), the annual gathering of Rheingau wine freaks, took place on June 2 to 5, 2010. These were 4 interesting and entertaining days in the heart of the Rheingau wine region, which is home for great Rieslings, but also for other wines.

Picture: The Rheingau

Wednesday

A tour of the Eberbach Abbey, followed by a walk to the Steinberg vineyard and a visit in the new winery of the Hessische Staatsweingüter.

The Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the Rheingau, Germany. Its Romanesque and Gothic buildings are impressive. It was founded in 1136 by Bernard of Clairvaux as the first Cistercian monastery on the east bank of the Rhine. The vineyards of Eberbach Abbey were, at 300 hectares, the largest in medieval Europe. Most of them are now the property of the State of Hessen and are run by the Hessische Staatsweingüter.

Picture: Eberbach Abbey

The Steinberg is a 32.4 hectares (80 acres) wall-enclosed vineyard in walking distance of the Eberbach Abbey. It is the largest wall-enclosed vineyard in Germany. It is owned by the Hessische Staatsweingüter and is planted only with Riesling vines. The favorite site of the monks, they built a 4 meter (13ft) wall around the vineyard to keep out thieves. This and its Cistercian heritage give Steinberg a distinct similarity to the famed Clos De Vougeot in Bourgogne in neigbouring France.

Picture: Steinberg

The new Steinbergkeller – the new state of the art winery of the Hessische Staatsweingueter - was a very controversial project. It was constructed for several 100 million Euro just outside of the Steinberg a few years ago. We toured the winery and tasted a dry and a sweet Steinberger Riesling and a Assmannshaeuser Hoellenberg Pinot Noir.



Pictures: Steinbergkellerei

Thursday

Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Rheingau Grand Convention at the Wine Cooperative Weinland Rheingau in Eltville-Erbach, with a Sekt reception and a walk-around tasting with wines of the 7 Rheingau Wine Cooperatives.

Wine Cooperatives account for a significant proportion of the total wine production in many major wine-producing countries, including most of the classical European wine countries, such as Germany.

In Germany, the earliest German winemaking Cooperatives date back to the 1800s. Prussia passed an association law (Genossenschaftsgesetz) in 1867, which became law in the entire North German Confederation in 1868. Two thirds of the 70.000 German vine-growers belong to a wine cooperative. Their production is one third of the German total. Cooperatives are particularly important in Baden, where they account for 85% of the production, Württemberg, and the smaller German wine regions Ahr, Hessische Bergstrasse, Saale-Unstrut and Saxony.

Friday

Wine Rendezvous of the Rheingau wine brotherhoods at the Hattenheim Castle. A joint summer party, organized by the Hochheimer Weinfreunde, the Rehingauer weinkonvent and the other wine brotherhoods of the Rheingau in conjunction junior winemakers from the Rheingau, pouring their wines. Many wine Queens and Princess honored us with their presence.

Picture: Hattenheim Castle

Saturday

9:00 Lecture about Challenges of the Wine Industry at the Eberbach Abbey.

A very interesting and fascinating presentation by Prof. Dr. Schulz from the Geisenheim University. The bottom line is: it is gonna be warmer and dryer in 100 years and so, with a major impact on the wine industry. Everyone is talking about the carbon footprint, but the water footprint is equally, if not more important.

16.00 Investiture in der Basilique of Eberbach Abbey

18.00 Rustic dinner in the Dormitory

19.00 Winetasting – 18 wines of member winemakers and from the cellar of the Rheingau Wine Convention

Sunday

Open wine cellars in Hattenheim, a cute little village with at least 3 top restaurants and about 20 wineries. About half of them opened their cellars for the members of the 2010 Rheingau Wine Convention.

Picture: Stefan Gerhard, Winemaker and "Ortslandwirt", Hattenheim Wine Queen Michaela I and Nadine Jaeger, General Manager of the Rheingau Wine Convention

Christian Haas, winemaker at Hattenheim’s 50 hectares , top wine Estate, VDP member Domaenenweingut Schloss Schoenborn, with 4 grapes Gault Millau, poured for us his wines. There is only one Estate ahead of Schoenborn in the Rheingau, Robert Weil, with 5 grapes Gault Millau.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Christian Haas

We were also very well treated by Norbert Barth, Stefan Ress and Johan Maximilian Lang.

Norbert Barth is owner and winemaker of the Barth Wein- and Sektgut. It is a 3 grapes Gault Millau, 15 hectares Estate, VDP member, which also produces sparkling wines, considered by many the best Sekt of Germany.

Picture: Norbert Barth

Johann Maximilian Lang is the owner and winemaker of Weingut Lang, VDP member, a 18 hectares, 2 grapes Gault Millau Estate. Weingut Lang is very much focusing on dry white Rieslings.

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Johann Maximilian Lang

Stefan Ress, is the senior chef of Weingut Balthasar Ress, VDP member, a 42 hectares, 2 grapes Gault Millau Estate. This is one of the larger German producers, also very present in the American market.

POicture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Stefan Ress

Then, there was a handful of smaller, family owned and operated wineries: Stefan Gerhard, Leon Gerhard, Weingut Kopp, Dr. Christopher Wolf and Hans Bausch with Christoph Pesh, who is Bausch’s winemaker and also has started to produce his own wines. All these winemakers are in the about 5 hectares range and produce excellent artisanal wines, with a lot of enthusiasm, experience and expertise, and often following long family traditions. Their wines are typically not available in the international market, but they are worth visiting when you are in the region. It takes you back to the roots of winemaking. My cellar in Frankfurt is stocked with wines from Germany's top winemakers, but also with those exciting wines from smaller growers.

Weingut Leon Gerhard owns a bit less than 5 hectares, including parcels in all of Hattenheim's top vineyards. His daughter is this year's Wine Queen of Hattenheim. Werner Gerhard sells his Liter Wine for Euro 3.80.

Picture: Werner Gerhard

Werner Gerhard's cousin, Stefan Gerhard, has a bit more than 2 hectares. His flagship wine is a 2009 Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Erstes Gewaechs, which was harvested at 118 Oechsle, well into the Auslese range. But it was fully fermented and is bone-dry. Weingut Stefan Gerhard sells a lot of its wines in the US.

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Stefan Gerhard

The smallest was Weingut Dr. Christopher Wolf, with about 1 hectare. The 45 minutes with Christian Wolf in his old cellar were fascinating. Dr. Christopher Wolf has two jobs. He has a full-time job as a medical doctor in a hospital in near-by Wiesbaden, and he is very successful entrepreneur and winemaker, rebuilding a winery since 2003 from the various pieces that were there in his family, when he decided to launch this wine endeavor. He is very passionate about his wines and does everything himself as far as possible, but supported by the whole family, including wife, mother, father and other family members.

Picture: Dr. Christopher Wolf

Weingut Hans Lang
www.weingut-hans-lang.de

Weingut Stefan Gerhard
www.weingut-gerhard.com

Weingut Hans Bausch
www.weingut-hans-bausch.de

Weingut Christoph Pesch
www.weingut-christoph-pesch.de

Weingut Balthasar Ress
www.balthasar-ress.de

Wein- und Sektgut Barth
www.weingut-barth.de

Weingut Kopp
www.weingut-kopp.de

Weingut Dr. Christopher Wolf
www.rhein-wein.com

Weingut Leon Gerhard
weingut.leongerhard@web.de



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Picture: Eberbach Abbey in the Rheingau, Germany

German Spaetlese and Auslese Wines – Dry and Sweet

Germany’s Spaetlese and Auslese wines, translated literally, means selected harvest and late harvest wines. Many consumers associate with these terms sweetness in the wine. This is not correct. Auslese and Spaetlese wines can be sweet, even sugar-sweet, but can also be bone dry.

In the German wine law approach of classifying wines, Auslese and Spaetlese refer to the level of sugar in the grape at the point of harvest. The sugar in the grapes however, disappears during fermentation and turns into alcohol. If you leave it to mother nature, without additional effort of the wine maker, grapes harvested at Auslese and Spaetlese level do not have enough sugar by themselves to produce enough remaining sugar so that the wine is sweet. This is only true for noble-sweet wines Beerenauslese, Trockeneweerebnauslese and Eiswein. If you do not do anything, all the sugar in the grapes harvested at Auslese or Spaetlese level is fermented and disappears. You get a bone dry wine. However, in reality, there are sweet Spaetlese and Auslese wines. How does that happen?

There are two methods used by German winemakers to generate residual sugar in such wine:

First, stopping the fermentation; this is typically done through a skillful manipulation of the fermentation process with sulfur and temperature control. The winemaker needs to follow closely the fermentation process and must make sure that it comes to a stop at the desired level of sugar.

Second, the other technique is to let the wine first fully ferment and then add to the dry and fully fermented wine sterilized grape juice (called in German "Suessreserve"). Here the winemakers lets the wine fully ferment to produce a dry wine and then experiments with different amounts of Suessreserve to achieve the desired level of sweetness in the final product. Ideally, the Suessreserve comes from the same wine. It needs to be sterilized so it does not begin to ferment after it is added to the wine.

Both methods are widely used and perfectly legal. What is not legal is to add sugar to the must, if these wines are sold at the Preadikatswein level, that means as Kabinett, Spaetlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese or Eiswein. Chaptalization is only permitted for wines at QbA level and below. Roughly 60 percent of German wine is accounted for by QBA and lower level wine and thus can be chaptalized and indeed is.

Spaetlese and Auslese wine can be both sweet and dry, which is confusing for the consumer. The sweet Spaetlese and Auselse wines can be low and high in terms of alcohol content. In addition, new concepts of wine classification have been introduced in Germany. The most prominent is the one of the VDP. I have counted the different ways of making a Spaetlese wine and came up with 5 different categories. The same applies to Auslese wines. Here they are:

Grosses Geweachs

Let us start with Grosses Gewaechs wines. This is a concept that the VDP wine makers introduced for their membership a few years ago. Only wines from VDP wine makers, who account for 3 percent of the wine production, can be a Grosses Gewaechs wine . But these are more or less Germany’s top wine makers.

A Grosses Geweachs wine

(1) It is a wine from a top vineyard, a Erste Lage;
(2) is always a fully fermented wine and bone dry;
(3) at the point of harvest, it has to be at the Spaetlese level in terms of the sugar content of the grapes at the point of harvest; often they are at the Auslese level.
(3) is, as a rule, marketed under the QbA (Qualitaetswein) category. One of the implications of this is that they can be chaptalized. Here, chaptalization has nothing to do with the sweetness of the wine; the sole purpose is to add alcohol – this are bone dry wines.

Example: The number 87 of the 2009 Wine Spectator list, which got 93 points: 2007 Wittmann Riesling QbA Trocken, Weingut Wittmann, Rheinhessen

Erstes Gewaechs

For reasons that I have a hard time to follow, the state of Hessen, that means the Rheingau region mainly, did not go along with the Grosses Gewaechs concept and introduced a different concept: Erstes Gewaechs. In terms of quality, there is absolutely no difference between Grosses and Erstes Gewaechs, but in the Rheingau, any wine maker can produce an Erstes Gewaechs wine, supposed, he meets the strict criteria.

Ergo, a Erstes Gewaechs wine, like the Grosses Gewaechs wine is always at least a Spaetlese wine, labeled as a ObA wine and is bone dry.

Example: 2008 Hochheimer Hoelle, Riesling, Erstes Gewaechs, Hochheim, Weingut Schaefer.

Josef Schaefer explained to me that this wine was his first Erstes Gewaechs wine. His Estate is in Hochheime, Rheingau. At harvest, the wine was at Auslese level. It was not chaptalized. See more here.

Spaetlese trocken

This are wines

(1) made from grapes harvested at the Spaetlese level,
(2) were the wine maker decided to make a dry wine and to fully ferment the must so that all the sugar turns into alcohol and no sugar remains in the wine and
(3) which do not fall into the group of Grosses Gewaechs or Erstes Gewaechs wines.

A typical wine of that kind would be for example, a Spaetlese trcken produced by a non-VDP wine maker in say the Pflalz region. These are typically high alcohol dry wines.

Example: Two wines from Weingut Schaefer, Hochheim, Rheingau, which I recently tasted in Frankfurt am Main. See here.

2008 Hochheimer Kirchenstueck, Riesling Spaetlese trocken, a dry Spaetlese with a lot of tropical fruits on the palate and a nice long finish.

2008 Gewuerztraminer Spaetlese trocken; also a dry Spaetlese, but a Gewuerztraminer, which is unusual for the Riesling dominated Rheingau: nice wine with lots of tropical fruit, in particular pineapple.

Sweet Spaetlese with high Alcohol

This are wines

(1) made from grapes harvested at the Spaetlese level and
(2) were the wine maker decided to make a sweet wine using “Suessreserve”. Thus, he would let the wine fully ferment, producing a high alcohol level in the wine. At that point, he would have Spaetlese dry, see above. Then, he would add sterilized juice to find the desired level of sweetness. This cannot be a Grosses Gewaechs or Erstes Gewaechs wine, because they are always dry.

The label typically says Spaetlese, there is no reference to “trocken” and the level of Alcohol would be in the double digit area.

Example: I do not have a lot of sweet wines in my cellar, but I found a good example: 1993 Niersteiner Pettental Auslese, Weingut Heyl zu Herrnsheim, Nierstein, Rheinhessen, has 12 % alcohol and is louscisly-sweet.

Sweet Spaetlese with low Alcohol

This are wines

(1) made from grapes harvested at the Spaetlese level and
(2) were the wine maker decided to make a sweet wine by stopping the fermentation. The effect of stopping the fermentation is that the alcohol content in the wine is low and unfermented sugar remains in the wines. You find these light and sweet wines often in the Mosel valley. This are sweet, low-alcohol wines.

Example: On the three Top 100 lists of the Wine Enthusiast, Dr. Loosen appears with an Auslese from Mosel: Dr. Loosen 2007 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer); $42; 93 points; this is sweet and low alcohol Auslese .

Innovatively Classified Wine

Increasingly, winemakers are moving away from the traditional German wine classification and are introducing new concepts of classification, where the sugar content in the grapes at harvest is only of secondary importance. What is more important is the terroir and the final product in the bottle.

This are wines

(1) made with grapes harvested at Spaetlese level or Auslese, where
(2) the winemaker has abandoned the traditional classification system. This are the young, innovative winemakers, who are often very skeptical regarding the meaningfulness of the tradional wine classification system, where the sugar content of the grapes at the point of harvest is at the center of the system and not the quality of the wine in the bottle. But also well established traditional winemakers have gone this route.

Example: Mirjam Schneider, whose wine I reviewed here, has moved away from the traditional wine classification system and has introduced her own system of quality control. She sells all her wines as QbA, according to the government regulations, and then classifies the wines herself with her own approach.

The Merlot, for example, which I reviewed here, was harvested at 99 degree Oechsle, thus was an Auslese wine, but she markets the wine as five stars Lagenwein and you also find on the label the QbA category. By, the way, this allowed her to add a bit of sugar to the must to reinforce the alcohol content to an amazing 15 percent. A fabulous wine.


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The Wines of Up and Coming Winzerhof Thoerle, Rheinhessen

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Johannes and Uta Thoerle

Picture: Rudolf and Christoph Thoerle

Picture: Saulheim, Rheinhessen

Winzerhof Thoerle in Saulheim, Rheinhessen, had invited for the annual presentation of the new wines and I was privileged to participate in this event.

Rheinhessen

Thoerle is an up and coming winery in the center of Rheinhessen, an area that used to be known for winemakers often focusing on quantity and not quality. Rheinhessen is the largest viticultural region in Germany. Every fourth bottle of German wine comes from Rheinhessen. The high-yielder Mueller-Thurgau accounts for about 1/5 of the vineyards. Unlike in other German wine regions, where monoculture of the vine is the norm, here the many rolling hills are host to a wide variety of crops grown alongside the grape.

Picture: Germany's Wine Regions

Rheinhessen also has the rather dubious honor of being considered the birthplace of Liebfraumilch. At the same time, Rheinhessen is among Germany’s most interesting wine regions. A lot is happening there. This is not because of the terroir, but because of the people. There is an increasing group of mostly young and ambitious winemakers who want to produce and indeed do produce outstanding wine and not wines in large quantities. Johannes Thoerle of Winzerhof Thoerle is one of them.

Message in a Bottle

Twenty of those new stars in the wine scene from the Rheinhessen region have created a network of winemakers and have given the group the name “message in a bottle”. Not a lot of words are necessary, just open a bottle of wine from these winemakers and you get the message. It is in the bottle. You do indeed find outstanding wine in the bottles of these winemakers. They are not only colleagues, but they claim to be also friends. When the “message in the bottle’ network was created in 2002, most winemakers joining the network were not yet well established and were trying to work their way up, like Johannes Thoerle. But the message in the bottle group also comprises well established wine super stars, like Philipp Wittmann from Westhofen and Klaus-Peter Keller from Flörsheim-Dalsheim.

VDP Membership?

The crème de la crème of German winemakers are the about 200 VDP members. About 2 dozens of them come from the Rheinhessen area. There is a handful of winemakers who are in line for joining this prestigious group. The Winzerhof Thoerle is always mentioned as potential candidate when you talk to people from the wine industry. At the Thoerle tasting event, one of the guests told me that in his view the winemakers Keller, Dreissigacker and Thoerle were the top three winemakers now in Rheinhessen. Anyway, 4 years ago, Winzerhof Thoerle was not even mentioned in the Gault Millau Wine Guide; in the 2010 edition, Winzerhof Thoerle was promoted to 2 grapes.

Winzerhof Thoerle

Winzerhof Thoerle is a family owned and operated winery in Rheinhessen in the town of Saulheim, with Johannes Thoerle in the driver seat and helped by his parents Rudolf and Ute and his brother Christoph. Johannes joined the winery a few years ago after an apprenticeship, inter alia, with star winemaker Wittmann. The family owns 15 hectares in the Hoelle, Schlossberg and Probstey vineyards in the Saulheim wine region, where they grow mainly Riesling, Silvaner and Burgundy grapes. The historical inn, the “Altes Kelterhaus”, is a cosy setting in which to enjoy a glass of wine, for example at one of the wine dinners that the Thoerles regularly organize. The overwhelming majority of the Winzerhof Thoerle wine portfolio is dry, with both read and white wines on the wine list.


Picture: Winzerhof Thoerle

The Thoerle Wine Classification

Like many other winemakers, the Winzerhof Thoerle has introduced its own wine classification, with different approaches for dry and sweet wines. It follows the new VDP system.

Basically, all dry wines are labeled as QbA (Qualitaetswein besonderer Anbaugebiete) wines. The level of quality is then expressed by the terroir principle; the narrower the specification, the higher the quality of the wine is.

There are 3 quality levels for dry wines:

Lagenweine – the best wines from one of the three vineyards of Thoerle: Hoelle, Schlossberg and Probstley, with the winemaker, village, vineyard and grape variety indicated on the label.

Ortsweine - the quality level below Lagenwein, with the winemaker, village and the grape variety indicated on the label; there is no vineyard indicated.

Gutsweine – the quality level below Ortsweine, with only the winemaker and the grape variety indicated on the label; this would also include the so-called Literwein, the reasonably priced wine for daily consumption, the kind of house wine.

For sweet wines, the traditional wine classification of Kabinet, Spaetlese and Auslese is followed, and of course, also for the noble sweet wines.

This is all new for the American consumers; they need to be educated. My friends from the German Wine Society in Washington DC usually do not touch QbA wines and only go for the Kabinett and upwards quality levels.

The Wine Portfolio

There are about 3 dozens of wines on the wine list, which is dominated by dry white wines. At the Gutswein level , I found the 2009 Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc very appealing. The Gutsweine tend to be at the Euro 5.50 level. About 1/3 of the wines are red, with a 2007 Hoelle Spaetburgunder “R” the best and most expensive wine (Euro 24.50). The 4 flagship dry Lagenweine are in the Euro 13 to 15 range. 3 sweet wines are in the portfolio and 3 noble-sweet wines, including a 2009 Saulheimer Probstey Riesling Beerenauslese at 215 grams remaining sugar for Euro 29.50. As most producers of premium wines do, the Winzerhof Thoerle complements its portfolio with Sekts, including a 2008 Riesling Sekt brut for Euro 8.90.

The current exchange rates are: 1 Euro = 0.84 BP = 1,23 US$ = 112 Yen = 8.4 Chinese Yuan.

Winzerhof Thoerle, Saulheim, Rheinhessen
www.winzerhof-thoerle.de




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The Sancerre Wines of Christian and Karine Lauverjat

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Christian and Karine Lauverjat from Sancerre

Laurent Givrey from Elite Imports brought a large group of winemakers over to the Washington DC area at the end of April. I was able to establish contact with and taste the wines of a number of them. One of the winemakers, who impressed me very much, was the husband and wife team Christian and Karine Lauverjat from Domaine Lauverjat in Sancerre, France. I had the opportunity to taste his wines at Paul’s on Wisconsin Avenue.

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley includes a number of wine regions along the Loire River, from the Muscadet region on the Atlantic coast to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in north central France. In between are the regions of Anjou, Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Vouvray. appellations.

The majority of production is white wine from the Chenin Blanc and the Sauvignon Blanc grapes. There are, however, some red wines made, notably in the Chinon region, from Cabernet Franc. In addition, with the Crémant de Loire, the Loire Valley is the second largest sparkling wine producer in France, after Champagne.

The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking. In the High Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France. It is also noteworthy for its architectural heritage, in its breathtaking historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its castles, such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, Château de Chambord, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau.

Picture: The Wine regions of the Loire Valley

Sancerre

Almost all of the appellation of Sanceree lie on the left bank of the Loire, opposite Pouilly-Fumé, in the western part of the Loire Valley. Sancerre is well regarded for and primarily associated with Sauvignon Blanc, making wines of great purity and elegance. Pinot Noir is also grown, accounting for around 20% of the region's production. A rosé style from Pinot noir is also produced.

The focus of Sancerre winemakers is usually to express the pure fruit flavors of Sauvignon Blanc and the natural terroir of the region.Sancerre wines tend to have very little interaction with oak, instead spending most of their fermentation and aging period in large stainless steel fermentation tanks. However, since the late 20th century some producers have begun experimenting with some degree of oak fermentation or aging.

The vine growing area is 2200 hectars; about 16 million bottles is the annual production.

Cheese of the Sancerre region

I not only like the wines of the Sancerre region, but also the delicious cheese, they produce there: Chabichou du Poitou, Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny Saint Pierre, Valencay.

Domaine Lauverjat

Husband and wife team Christian and Karine Lauverjat's Domaine Lauverjat lies in the village of Sury-en-Vaux in the heart of the Sancerre Appellation. The property has been in the family for several generations, but Christian and Karine are the first to make and bottle their own wines.

The 12 hectares of vineyard are on the slopes of one hill, with two main soil types. The upper part of the hill is dominated by limestone clay soils, known locally as terre blanche which produce full bodied, well-structured wines. The lower part of the slope has a pebble limestone soil known locally as caillottes which tends to produce lighter more fruity wines.

What Christian and Karine Poured

Sancerre Moulin des Vrilleres Blanc 2009

Tasting notes: Straw yellow in the glass, notes of herbs and gooseberries on the nose. medium bodied, crisp and dry, flavors of smoky minerals, juicy tangy citrus and pink grapefruit on the palate, lasting finish, an easy going wine.
Sale $17.99 Reg. $21.99

Sancerre Moulin des Vrilleres Rosé 2008

Tasting notes: 100% Pinot Noir, pale orange in the glass, fresh strawberries and raspberries on the nose, medium-bodied, satin-textured, fruity, well-balanced wine with a long finish.
Sale $18.99 Reg. $23.99

Sancerre Moulin des Vrilleres Rouge 2008
Tasting notes: ruby in the glass, on the nose are aromas of cherry pit, lavender, humus and ripe fruits, medium to full bodied wine, generous tart cherry and hints of fresh herb notes on the palate, the cherry fruit comes out again on the finish.
Sale $18.99 Reg. $23.99

Domaine Lauverjat, Sancerre, France
lauverjat.christian@wanadoo.fr

Elite Wines, US
www.elitewines.net



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Picture: Artur Steinmann Receiving the 2010 German Wine Critique Award from Wolfgang Junglas in Mainz

Weinfeder

Weinfeder (Wine Feather), the Association of German Wine Publicists, had invited for the Mainz Days of Wine Critique on June 1, 2010 in Mainz, Rheinhessen. Wolfgang Junglas , President, ably led through the evening. Weinfeder was established in 2004. It is the German branch of the Fédération Internationale des Journalistes et Écrivains de Vins et Spiritueux (FIJEV).

Picture: Wolfgang Junglas

German Wine Critique Award

For the 6th time, Weinfeder awarded the German Wine Critique Prize (Preis der Deutschen Weinkritik) for outstanding achievement in the wine industry. The 2010 award went to Frank & Frei, a group of 17 winemakers from Franken. Last year, the Message in a Bottle Group from Rheinhessen received the award. Harry George, Frankfurt am Main, delivered the laudatio.

Picture: Harry George

Frank & Frei

The Frank & Frei concept was created in 1996 by 17 winemakers from Franken with the view of promoting the grape variety Mueller-Thurgau and the typical Bocksbeutel bottle. The distinctive Bocksbeutel (literally, "Ram's Sack") is often described as "an over-sized perfume bottle" rather than what it really is - a part of a Ram that served as a wine container prior to the invention of glass bottles.

Under the same label, with the Frank & Frei logo, all 17 winemakers produce Mueller Thurgau wines in the same style, the Frank & Frei style and sell it in Bocksbeutel. The Initiative has turned out to be very successful and the winemakers have included now a rose sparkler and a red wine in the Frank & Frei portfolio.

The Frank & Frei winemakers include worlds stars like Horst Sauer. Here is a complete list.

GERALD BALDAUF • Ramsthal
HUGO BRENNFLECK • Sulzfeld
FRIEDER BURRLEIN • Mainstockheim
WALTER ERHARD • Volkach
MICHAEL FRÖHLICH • Escherndorf
KLAUS GIEGERICH • Großwallstadt
DR. KLAUS-PETER HEIGEL • Zeil/Main
SANDRA KNOLL • Würzburg
WINFRIED LUCKERT • Sulzfeld
MAX MARKERT • Eibelstadt
RUDOLF MAY • Retzstadt
JOCHEN MEINTZINGER • Frickenhausen
ANDREA FLAMMERSBERGER • Volkach
HORST SAUER • Escherndorf
RAINER SAUER • Escherndorf
ARTUR STEINMANN • Sommerhausen
GERHARD STICH • Bürgstadt

Young Winemakers Award

The Young Winemakers Award (Foerderpreis der Deutschen Weinkritik) went to a group of 5 youngsters – Gipfelstuermer Mittelrhein (Summit Stormers) - from the relatively unknown wine region Mittelrhein. Steffen Maus, Frankfurt am Main, delivered the laudatio.

Picture: Steffen Maus

Gipfelstuermer Mittelrhein

The group was created just about a year ago. Mittelrhein is a small wine region. It is characterized by steep slopes on both site of the very picturesque Rhein Valley, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage. A trip on the Rhein river from Bingen to Koblenz is breathtaking. And this is the area where these young folks grow their wines. It was also noted that their web site is very clever.

The overwhelming part of the Mittelrhein vineyards are on steep slopes, which implies the only very limited use of machines and the heavy reliance on manual work in the vineyard. This is costly and deters many young folks from pursuing winemaking in the Mittelrhein. Indeed, the vineyard area has shrunk to only 1/4 of what it was 100 years ago. Gipfelstuermer want to stop and reverse this downward trend.

Picture: The Gipfelstuermer, Steffen Maus and Wolfgang Junglas

The Gipfelstuermer are:

Felix Pieper, Weingut Pieper, Koenigswinter
Thomas Philipps, Weingut Philipps-Muehle, St. Goar
Sebastian Schneider, Schneider - Das Weingut, Bad Hoenningen
Christina Wagner, Weingut Weinhaus Wagner, Koblenz (not present in Mainz)
Martin Philipps, Weingut Philipss-Muehle, St. Goar

Talk Show

The official part of this very entertaining evening was concluded by a very interesting, yet inconclusive talk show. Prof. Dieter Hoffmann (Geisenheim), Artur Steinmann (Frank & Frei Winemaker), Steffen Schindler (DWI) and Sandra Kantwerk (Sommelier, Mainz) discussed what kind of wine the consumer will demand in five years down the road – will their taste move towards sweet and fruity wines or to dry wines. Interesting views were expressed, but no consensus view emerged. We will watch what is going to happen!

Picture: (from left to right) Artur Steinmann, Werner Eckert, Dieter Hoffmann, Sandra Kantwerk and Steffen Schindler, and Wolfgang Junglas

Weinfeder
www.weinfeder.de

Frank & Frei
www.frank-und-frei.de

Gipfelstuermer Mittelrhein
www.gipfelstuermer-mittelrhein.de


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The Wines from Entre Deux Mers Winemaker Joel Duffau

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Sandrine and Joel Duffau at Laurent Givrey's Grand Storage Tasting

Laurent Givrey from Elite Imports brought a large group of winemakers over to the Washington DC area at the end of April. I was able to establish contact with and taste the wines of a number of them. One of the winemakers, who impressed me very much, was Entre Deux Mers winemaker Joel Duffau. I had the opportunity to taste his wines at Paul’s on Wisconsin Avenue.

Bordeaux – Left Bank, Right Bank and Entre Deux Mers

Bordeaux wine takes its name from the region’s main city, which derives from the French bord de l’eau, meaning “along the waters.” The Bordeaux region is the second largest winegrowing area in the world, with more than 287,000 acres under vine. More vineyard land is planted in Bordeaux than in all of Germany, and ten times the amount planted in New Zealand.

The Gironde estuary dominates the regions along with its tributaries, the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers. These rivers define the main geographical subdivisions of the region:

The Left Bank is situated on the left bank of the Garonne, in the west and south of the region, around the city of Bordeaux itself. The Left Bank is further subdivided into: Graves, the area upstream of the city Bordeaux and Médoc, the area downstream of the city Bordeaux, situated on a peninsula between Gironde and the Atlantic. The five First Growths are situated here.

The Right Bank is situated on the right bank of the Dordogne, in the northern parts of the region, around the city of Libourne.

Entre Deux Mers is the inland region sculpted into a somewhat irregular wedge by the two rivers that give it its name, the Pyrenees-sourced Garonne to the west and the Massif-Centrale-sourced Dordogne to the east.

Picture: Entre Deux Mers and the Other Bordeaux Regions

Wine grapes in Bordeaux

There are five red grapes varieties grown in Bordeaux region: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc which give vigor, tannin and good aging capabilities; Merlot which brings softness and suppleness (Merlot is the most planted grape in Bordeaux, covering about 50 percent of the wine region); Malbec and Petit Verdot, which are used in lesser proportion. White wines are produced mostly from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

A general rule of thumb is that the Left Bank is predominately more Cabernet Sauvignon based and theh the Right Bank more Merlot based. The Graves area produces both red wine and white wine. The area of Sauternes and Barsac are more known for the botrytized dessert wines. Entre Deux Mers is known for its white wines.

Entre Deux Mers

Entre Deux Mers may be among Bordeaux's least heralded regions, but it is a most beautiful area, with rolling hills, bucolic pastureland, and quiet woodland.

It's best known for its whites and only the whites get to put their place of origin on the label; the reds are labeled merely Bordeaux AC.

The main grape variety in Entre-Deux-Mers wines is Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc's favorite companion is Semillon. Generally, the Entre-Des-Mers wine is smooth, dry and aromatic.

Chateau La Mothe Du Barry and Chateau les Arromans

Chateau La Mothe Du Barry and Chateau Les Arromans have their origin in one larger Chateau founded by Jean Duffau in 1965. It was called Chateau Les Arromans and grew to 30 hectares in the village of Moulon over the years. When Jean retired in 1998, he devided the vineyards and the winery into to, the (new) Chateau La Mothe Du Barry and the (remaining) Chateau Les Arromans between the two brothers Joel and Eric. I do not know what happened to Eric, but it looks to me as if both Chateaus are now run by Joel Duffau. He is the winemaker of both Chateaus.

What we tasted

Château les Arromans Entre Deux Mers 2009

Tasting notes: Beautiful pale golden color in the glass, notes of grapefruit, blackberry leaf, and citrus on the nose, a light to medium-bodied wine, good acidity, on the palate this wine is round with flavors of almonds and honey, a lovely crisp, dry white that should be consumed young.
Sale $9.99 Reg. $11.99

Château les Arromans Rouge 2007

Tasting notes: 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, harmoniously blended to create a deep ruby colored wine, the nose offers up aromas of strawberry, raspberry, and blackcurrant from the Merlot, and licorice, green peppers, and spice from the Cabernet Sauvignon, with its aromatic finesse and velvety tannins, nothing to get awfully excited about, but a very good wine, relative to its price.
Sale $9.99 Reg. $11.99

Château la Mothe du Barry Rouge 2007

Tasting notes: A blend of 80 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, a concentrated Bordeaux at a very good value, round and supple, Chateau La Mothe du Barry offers a mouthful of flavors; dark fruits, soft tannins and great chocolate notes.
Sale $10.99 Reg. $12.99

Château la Mothe du Barry Cuvée Design 2007

Tasting notes : 100 % Merlot, aged in oak for 12 months, a voluptuous, yet elegant wine full bodied, concentrated with notes of black berries, plums, black currant, long finish with velvety tannins.
Sale $14.99 Reg. $17.99

During that period, air traffic was hampered by the Island vulcano clouds and some of the winemakers that Laurent had invited to Washington came late or not at all. The Duffau couple was in the first group and did not make it for the tasting at Paul's. But they were ably replaced by a very charming woman, Delphine Galamez, and her husband, who asked me to call them "les replacants".

Picture: Les Remplacants

Elite Wines
www.elitewines.net

Paul's
www.paulsdc.com

Chateau La Mothe Du Barry and Chateau les Arromans
joel.duffau@aliceadsl.fr

Les Remplacants
2y3x6@wanadoo.fr

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Relaunch F in Rheinhessen

Pictures: Relaunch F Poster and the Cathedral of Mainz, Rheinhessen, Wine Capital of Germany

Faberrebe is a new white grape variety that after some success is now on a downward trend. A group of winemakers from Rheinhessen in Germany is trying to stop the decline and to relaunch the Faberrebe under the Relaunch F Initiative. I participated in the third Relaunch F tasting in Ingelheim in May 2010, just a few miles down the Rhine river from Mainz, Germany's wine capital

Faberrebe

The Faberrebe was created in 1929 by Georg Scheu at the Landesanstalt für Rebenzüchtung in Alzey, Rheinhessen, Germany and released with varietal protection in 1967. Scheu created Faber by crossing Pinot Blanc and Müller-Thurgau. The name "Faber" (Latin for smith) was chosen in honour of Karl Schmitt in Landau, who hosted the trial plantations. The "Rebe" suffix is German for vine. The Faberrebe accounts today for about 0,7 percent of German wine production, down from 2.3 percent 20 years ago. However, the Faberrebe is still ahead of such popular grape varieties as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in Germany. Wines produced from Faberrebe are light to golden yellow in the glass, fruity and rather "muscaty" on the nose and are crisp with good acidity on the palate.

Relaunch F

Relaunch F is an initiative of Stefan M. Friedrich, supported by a growing number of winemakers from Rheinhessen. The now about 20 supporters were all present at the event with their new Faberrebe wines.

Under the Relauch F Initiatiave, the Faberrebe wines are medium sweet; they have to have remaining sugar in the 20 to 30 grams per liter range. There was an agreement at the tasting that this level of remaining sugar gives the wine a nice acidity/sweetness balance.

Picture: The Event Took Place at the Winzerkeller in Ingelheim

Picture: The Participating Winemakers

Picture: (from left to right) Matthias Hessdörfer, Managing Director, Winzer der Rheinhessischen Schweiz, Wöllstein, Dr.Ludwig Tauscher, Director of the Landwirtschaftskammer Rheinland Pfalz Zweigstelle Alzey, Stefan Maria Friedrich, Initiator of Relaunch F, Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, Katharina Faust, Wine Princess of Rheinhessen, Siefersheim, Dr. Otmar Bauer, Director of the Winemaking School Alzey until 1997, Thomas Roos, Managing Director, Ingelheimer Winzerkeller GbR.

Picture: Tasting the Relaunch F Wines

Trullo

All wine bottles produced under the Relaunch F Initiative have the same front label, with 3 trulli on it. A trullo is a traditional Apulian (Italy) stone dwelling with a conical roof. Trulli can also be found in Rheinhessen, built in 18th century by vineyard workers (some from Apulia) as huts.

Picture: Relaunch F Wines

Reigning Wine Princess Katharina and Former Wine Princess Alexandra

Together with Relaunch F initiator Stefan M. Friedrich, Katharina Faust, one of the 3 reigning Wine Pincesses of Rheinhessen and daughter of Relaunch F supporter Karl Hans Faust from Siefersheim, Rheinhessen, welcomed the winemakers and guests. Also present was former Wine Princess Alexandra, now a Wine Ambassador and wife of Marco Becker, winemaker from Mainz and Relaunch F supporter.

Picture: Stefan M. Friedrich and Princess Katharina Faust Opening the Tasting

Picture: Christian G.E.Schiller with Former Wine Princess Alexandra Becker and Husband and Relaunch F Supporter Marco W. Becker


Relaunch F
Stefan M. Friedrich, Rheinhessen, Germany
www.relaunch-f.eu



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