Late September-2010 we visited once again Martin Müllen. This time for a tasting of the 2009-vintage. In this warm vintage Martin Müllen has made some spectacular sweet wines. There is indeed some fine trocken-wines also, but some selections were still fermenting.
Kröver Paradies Riesling kabinett trocken 2009
Flowers and lightly bitterish notes on the nose. With its 10,5% alcohol it is a light, slim and refreshing style in the mouth. It is acid-driven, but the acidity is not that high. More round and nice wine. Fine flowery and simple fruit. Light touch of residual. Nice little wine in a style we don’t see that often anymore.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling kabinett trocken 2009
More minerality on the nose. A touch of peach. Fine and typical Hühnerberg–nose. A lot more power in the mouth with fine acidity. Still a lighter Hühnerberg. The fruit shows a salty minerality, some peach. A touch of sweetness in the fruit. Good acidity. Pretty little Hühnerberg.
Kröver Paradies Riesling spätlese* trocken 2009
Underripe and mineral style. A little more earthy style. More power in the mouth. Also rounder and kinder style. A little riper, but well balanced. Mineral fruit. But lacking a little the focus of the Hühnerberg. A little coarser. Round and nice acidity. Touch crispness on the finish. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling spätlese trocken 2009
70-80 year old vines. Riper and more intensity on the nose. Lots of minerality. Hints of sweet flowers and peach. Fullbodied in the mouth. Light residual sugar (6,5 g/L). Mineral and lots of sweetish fruitnotes for a trocken. The ripeness makes you think the sweetness is a little higher. Fine acidity and length. Very good.
Kröver Paradies Riesling spätlese** trocken 2009
Riper nose than the one-star-version. But far better focus. Minerality, sweet flowers. Powerful dry Mosel-riesling in the mouth. Lots of concentration. Salty minerality, flowery fruit with some sweetness. Fine acidity, yet mild due to the vintage. Salty mineral finish. The finish also shows some more alcohol. Very good wine and the best of the trockens tasted here.
Kröver Paradies Riesling kabinett* feinherb 2009
Aged a long time ”sur lie”. Dark minerality. Some sur lie-character. A little fruit. Fullbodied kabinett in the mouth with light sweetness. Again this also shows a salty minerality. Some sur lie-character. Sweetish flowers. Young and typical. Mild acidity and medium length. Interesting wine that is a bit different with the sur lie-character. Good.
Kröver Paradies Riesling kabinett 2009
45 g/L residual sugar. Lightly sulphury nose. Hints of sweet flowers. Sour-sweet in the mouth. Fullbodied kabinett typical for the vintage. Sweet flowery fruit. Simpler style. Fine balance with nice acidity for this vintage. Medium length. Quite nice smaller wine.
Kröver Paradies Riesling spätlese 2009
45 g/L residual sugar. Flowery, citrusy nose with more minerality behind. Fullbodied and does not seems that sweet. More citrusy notes in the fruit. Sweet flowers and some minerality. A little more depth. Pretty acidity and good length. Nice spätlese, that lacks a little depth. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling spätlese 2009
Slate, minerality, some sweet flowers on the nose. Sweet spätlese, but fine mouthfeel. Sour-sweet balance. Young flowery fruit. Lots of slate. Some minerality, but more hidden that one would expect from a Hühnerberg. Fine acidity. Long citrusy finish. Also some dry-extract on the finish. Pretty wine with a lot of young sweet Riesling-notes. Needs some time to develop. Very good.
Kröver Steffensberg Riesling auslese 2009
Sweeter and typical auslese-style on the nose. Sweet flowers, hints of honey and botrytis. Slate-notes. Powerful in the mouth with some fatness. Lots of sweetness. Lightly salty minerality. Fine young flowery fruit. Good acidity that gives a citrusy and refreshing finish. Nice, if not too deep auslese. Very good.
Kröver Letterlay “Häsje” Riesling auslese 2009
Even more sweet flowers on the nose. Botrytis-notes. Sweetish, rich and slightly creamy auslese in the mouth. A little more botrytis-notes. Lots of sweet flowers in the fruit. The acidity seems rounder and milder than the Steffensberg, but is on the same measureable level. Good length. Sweet, big and a tad simple in style. Perhaps better with aging. Very good.
Kröver Letterlay “Eichhaus” Riesling auslese 2009
This parcel gives more warmth from the ground. Sweet flowers on the nose. Some darker mineral notes. A different animal. Quite powerful minerality. Some botrytis. Powerful and sweet in the mouth. Again lots of sweet flower-notes, but this has more minerality. Darker notes. The botrytis shows more on the finish. Rich, but not as creamy as the Häsje. Fine acidity and length. The better wine of the two Letterlay-auslesen.
Kröver Kirchlay Riesling auslese 2009
If I understood Martin Müllen correctly this is the first vintage from this parcel of Kirchlay to be bottled separately in many years. The vines were replanted in mid 90’s and the grapes was previously used for the non-einzellage-wines. Martin has strong hopes for the future here as the parcel has a special microclimate. The nose shows much botrytis. Bigger and riper wine. Honey, some sweet flowers. But also fine minerality. Powerful, sweet and slightly thick auslese in the mouth. Lots of botrytis. Clear and fine. Great fruit. Some honey, some sweet flowers, some citrus. But this has most of all a very fine minerality. Young and unevolved. Fine acidity and long taste. Great wine.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling auslese 2009
This bottle had been open for two months and the fruit showed a little oxidation, but it was still in remarkably fresh shape. Tropical nose. Some minerality. Fruit-compote. Fullbodied auslese in the mouth, yet far from the richness of the Kirchlay. Fine fruit. Again highly tropical and a fine minerality. Fruity and ripe Hühnerberg with great concentration. Fine acidity and good length. Great wine.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling beerenauslese 2009
Again a fruity and tropical nose. Loads of fruit. Some cherry-stones. Minerality. Some compote, but in a positive way. Fine botrytis. Powerful and sweet in the mouth. But a fruity and clear beerenauslese, more than powerful. Great fruit. So pure and transparent. Young and tropical. Even light minerality. Fine acidity and long taste. Great beerenauslese from Hühnerberg.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-2010