We started this day with a quick visit at Martin Müllen were we tasted mostly his 04-vintage. Martin mentioned that he found it to be a vintage perhaps best suited for the kabinett-style of wines. We tasted through some interesting kabinetts; especially the Steffensberg “fels”. The wines from the northernly faced slopes of the Paradies, although good, has perhaps seen better vintages. Again this year the wines from the Hühnerberg are definitely the most interesting.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett trocken 2004
A fine kabinett and a good foodwine. Medium bodied. Dry with fine acids. Slatey and appley.
Trabener Würzgarten riesling spätlese trocken 2004
More aromatic nose. Floral and some wurz. More powerful and fruity. Rounder acids. Perhaps not as interesting with more immediate satisfaction.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese trocken 2004
Martin finds this wine very problematic and first did not want to serve it to me, but changed his mind. It is a clear mineral and slatey wine. But darn closed in the mouth with very high acids. I seem to like this far better than Martin does. I think this will be great.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling qualitätswein trocken 2004
Harvested 20.November 2004. Typical Hühnerberg-style of apricots, slate and some spice. Slightly spritzy and medium concentrated in the mouth. Fine balance.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling spätlese trocken 2004
More intence and more concentration than the qualitätswein. Shows more fruity now, but a lot of nice things here. Very interesting.
Kröver Letterlay riesling spätlese halbtrocken 2004
More floral and honeyed. Milder more round and forward style. I will never be a huge fan of the Letterlay.
Trabener Würzgarten riesling qualitätswein 2004
Aromatic, floral, some spice. Sweet and uncomplicated style with fine balance.
Kröver Steffensberg riesling kabinett 2004
More earthy nose. Quite fine. Some spritz in the mouth. Sweet with refreshing acids. Nice.
Kröver Steffensberg “fels” riesling kabinett 2004
From a section in the vineyard with red slate. More focused mineral and slatey nose. Very fine nose. Sweet and nicely balanced. Very fine kabinett indeed. Very impressive for the price.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett 2004
Very closed wine. Not giving much at all. Fresh acids and good structure.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling qualitätswein 2004
Fruity nose, apricot with minerals underneath. Good body, sweet, structured and long taste. Very fine wine from the Hühnerberg.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling spätlese 2004
Bigger, more intense and fruity. Powerful in the mouth, structured. A bit closed. Not more interesting than the sweet qualitätswein.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling auslese 2004
A step up in intensity. Honeyed. Still the same apricot and minerals and botrytis. Quite thick and sweet in the mouth. Some botrytis. Full-bodied with decent structure,
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling eiswein 2004
Fine eiswein from the Hühnerberg. Fruity and tropcal. Typical eiswein with good concentration, long taste and huge acids (14,5 g/L). Very fine.