The last visit this year went to Martin Müllen were we also tasted several wines from the 2006-vintage. Included were also a couple
of late released wines from the 2005. As Martin Müllen only uses spontaneous fermentation some of the wines from 2005 used up to 15
months to finish the fermentation.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett trocken 2006
Nose is quite sweet and fruity with hints of flowers and apricot. In the mouth this is a rather largely built kabinett trocken. Ripe
in it's fruity style with hints of apricot. Round style with medium acids and nicely balanced alcohol. Decent.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese* trocken 2006
Also quite sweet on the nose with more flowers and a better minerality showing. It is a fullbodied and large spätlese trocken in the
mouth with a touch of sweetness. The fruit shows some depth and a fine minerality. Also some apricot. Again quite round acids and
medium length. This needs a little time. Good.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese** trocken 2006
This wine shows some botrytis on the nose, but also more interesting minerality and better depth. It is fullbodied and concentrated
style in the mouth. Light sweetness and again round and kind style with soft acids. The minerality is interesting. Some alcohol
showing on the finish. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling spätlese trocken 2006
Mineral and quite fruity on the nose. But another type of fruit than in the Paradies. Some apricot, botrytis. Good concentration and
a little more elegance and finer acidity here. There is a fine minerality and lots of interests. In the finish is a slight bitterness
which is my only consern. Very good.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett halbtrocken 2006
Some sulphure on the nose with slate underneath and some apricot. Round style in the mouth and fruit seems quite simple after the
Hühnerberg. Medium acidity and length. Decent, but forgettable.
Trabener Würzgarten riesling spätlese halbtrocken 2006
Spicy and aromatic nose. Sweet flowers. Typical of the Würzgarten, hints of apricot. Aromatic and expressive riesling in the mouth.
Round and kind style with soft acids and medium length. A slight bitterness in the finish. Good wine.
Kröver Steffensberg riesling auslese 2006
Intense nose of peach and tropical fruits. Flowery and quite sweet. The botrytis is finer and more fruity/citrusy and there's a
slight mineralic touch. Fullbodied, tropical and fruity riesling in the mouth. Some slight minerality showing, but not the greatest
depth. Fine acidity and structure from this vintage. A different Steffensberg. Very good.
Kröver Letterlay riesling auslese 2006
More raisins, botrytis and apricot on the nose here with some slate-notes. Thick and fatter style in the mouth with a more obvious
botrytis-feel. But the botrytis here is quite fine. The acidity is soft and rounds off this wine nicely with no bitterness on the
finish. Concentrated and creamy but clean style. Very good.
Kröver Letterlay "Häsje" riesling auslese 2006
From a sub-plot in the Letterlay. Flowers and slate on the nose. Shows a finer minerality, but not as intense. Again quite a lot of
botrytis on the nose. In the mouth it is not as thick and concentrated as the "normal" auslese from Letterlay. There is a lot of
botrytis here, but also some interesting mineral notes. But today this seems a little closed and reserved. The structure is fine
with a touch of dry extract on the finish. Very good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling auslese 2006
The nose shows again more pronounced minerality with more interesting notes. But also here there is a lot of apricot-notes and
raisins from the botrytis. It is fullbodied, yet not as heavy as the auslesen from Letterlay. The structure is better with higher
acidity. There is a slight bitterness on the finish that is a bit worrying. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling auslese* 2006
This wine shows a better focus on the nose. That is more focus on the minerality of this vineyard and hints of fruit and slate. Also
some botrytis-notes. Thicker wine in the mouth with more pronounced botrytis here. Yet this is a more elegant wine with finer fruit
and a fine structure and acidity. Very good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling auslese** 2006
Sweeter and riper nose here with more raisiny fruit and again more botrytis. Thick, raisiny and BA-like auslese in the mouth. A lot
of botrytis. Fruit shows apricot and raisins. Decent acidity and a slight bitterness on the finish. Good, but I like the one-star
better.
Trabener Würzgarten riesling beerenauslese 2006
Even with fruit as ripe as this the aromatic and spicy character of this vineyard shows very well. Flowery, spicy with hints of
botrytis and apricot. Aromatic and expressive BA in the mouth. Spicy fruit with lots of botrytis. Round medium acidic structure and
some bitterness on the finish. Good, drink young.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling beerenauslese 2006
This has a fine nose, quite fruity, but with lots of botrytis on it. Hints of apricot, raisins. Thick wine in the mouth. Ripe fruits
with botrytis-notes. Good acidity, but some slight bitternotes on the finish. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling beerenauslese* 2006
More focus on the nose here. Fruity and with a cleaner botrytis. Some minerality. Thick and sugary in the mouth. Fat and creamy right
now, this has a fine fruit with a fine botrytis-character. Finer acidity and no bitter-notes on the finish. Great wine.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese** trocken 2005
Then we tasted a couple of the late releases (because of long fermentations) from 2005. Fermentation for this wine lasted 13 months.
This wine had a flowery nose with hints of ripe fruits and some minerality. In the mouth this is a fullbodied and dry riesling.
The fruit is very fine and elegant after tasting all those 2006's. Fruity and focused with a fine underlying minerality. Good
acidity. Slight hotness on the finish. Very good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling spätlese* trocken 2005
The fermentation here stopped after 15 months. The nose here has a quite unique sur lie-like nose with lots of minerality, peach
and roasted dark coffee. It is a dry and fullbodied riesling with a highly unique character. Sur lie-notes, roasted notes and
bursting with an interesting minerality. The acidity and crisp and very gine. The balance is great. Good length. This is a great
and highly unique riesling that will be very interesting to follow.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett 2002
Complex and evolved nose. Petrol, peach and minerals. Medium bodied, mineral and a more slim wine in the mouth than expected from
the nose. Quite citric feel with crisp acidity. Good for this vintage. Good length. The fruit shows an interesting and fine
development and this wine drinks nicely now. Very good kabinett.
The wines from Martin Müllen always shows a lot of vintage-characterisitcs. So does the wines from 2006. There has been done a lot
of good work in vineyards and selection here, but the wines does not hide the weaker sides of this vintage. The wines are a bit on
the heavy side and lacks a better balance between the fruit and the structure. Together with the slightlty coarser character of
the fruit in 2006, the wines come across as a little un-elegant and heavy. The highlights for me are the wines from the Trarbacher
Hühnerberg, which seems to have made a better balance and even from a vintage like this it can not hide it's minerality. The
Hühnerberg spätlese trocken 2006 is a very fine effort and the BA* 2006 is beautiful and well-balanced. Yet there is not doubt that
2005 is a better vintage for Martin Müllen. The two late-released dry 2005's are extraordinary wines that one should not miss.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
notes: Sep-07