The visit at Martin Müllen in September 2009 gave us a chance to taste through his 2008-range. Included at the end was also a few
lder examples of his wse going back to 1992. The vintage 2008 gave wines of lower ripening and high acidity than any prevous of the
decade. Martin Müllens wines were indeed lighter than for example 2007. But the best had a very nice refreshing quality and they were
nicely low in alcohol. Among the top dry wines I suspect that there will be yet another cuvee or two from Müllen in 2008 that were
still in the vats and had not completely finished the fermentation.
Kröver Letterlay riesling kabinett trocken 2008
9,8% alcohol. Citrusy, slatey nose. Very light and crisp wine in the mouth. Towards a little thin. Citrusy and mineral. Some flowers. Medium acids. Still a refreshing wine. Fine for it’s lightness.
Trabener Würzgarten Riesling kabinett trocken 2008
10,3% alcohol. More aromatic nose. Spices, some blackcurrant-leafs. Flowers. A little more power in the mouth. Again highly aromatic. A note of blackcurrant mixed with the more ususal spicey and flowery notes. Simple. Quite elegant. Fine acids. Citrusy finish. Fine refreshing dry wine and better than the Letterlay.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling kabinett trocken 2008
10,5% alc. Pretty nose. Slightly aromatic with hints of apricot, some citrus and minerality. Almost a little salty, mineral in the mouth. Fine acidity and length. Good little Hühnerberg.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling qualitätswein trocken 2008
Fruitier nose. More apricot and flowers. Some minerality. A little sweeter wine in the mouth. Bigger, but simpler, rounder and milder Hühnerberg with a sweeter more flowery fruit. Less minerality. Milder acidity and a little shorter. Good.
Kröver Paradies spätlese trocken 2008
More spontaneous notes on the nose. Yeast, flowers, underripe. A quite mild Paradies in the mouth in a round and soft style for this vintage. Fine flowery fruit. Round acidity and medium length. Good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling spätlese trocken 2008
“Bigger” and riper on the nose with more intensity. Again spontaneous notes. Yeasty, flowery and hints of apricot. Pretty nose. Fullbodied 2008-riesling in the mouth. The fruit is a little closed. Not as giving as the nose. Typically good acidity. Give it time. Very good.
Kröver Paradies riesling kabinett* feinherb 2008
Slate and citrus in the nose. Light hint of flowers. Pretty win in the mouth. Great balance. Some residual sugar. The fruit remains quite simple. Slatey, flowery with hints of citrus. Refreshing and fine acidity. Good length. Tempting small wine. Very good.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese 2008
A little sweeter on the nose. Flowers, slate-notes. Typical more “lieblich” in the mouth. Still quite weightless and airy mouthfeel. Flowery fruit with some slate. Fine acidity and good length. Very good.
Kröver Paradies riesling spätlese* 2008
From the Deare-parcel. Sweeter flowers on the nose. Hints of honey, slate, minerality. A light touch of botrytis. Sweeter in the mouth. More spätlese-style with hints of sweet flowers, honey, slate. Finer minerality. Better depth. Quite typical Paradies. A bit on the light side. Fresh, fine acidity. Good length. Great wine.
Kröver Letterlay riesling spätlese* 2008
Less intensity on the nose. Closed? More underripe floweryness. Slate-notes and light botrytis on the nose. Sweet in the motuh and a little bigger than the Paradies. Sour-sweet mouthfeel. Milder and rounder than Paradies. Flowery, slatey fruit. But less interesting. Medium length. Very good.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg Riesling spätlese 2008
Very fine nose. Slatey, flowery. Botrytis. Minerality. Sweeter and quite big in the mouth. Lightly fat. Also a little spritz. Botrytis. Mineral and a lot of dark underlying notes. A little odd. Flowers and some blackcurrant. Fine acidity and good length. Potensially a great wine, but a little hard to judge right now.
Riesling auslese (#3022) 1992
From Kröver Letterlay. Complex and evolved nose. Honey, petrol, minerality. Fullbodied and sweetish riesling in the mouth. Quite mild and round mouthfeel. Evolved fruit. Honeyed, petrolly. Fine evolvment. Interesting and quite complex. Medium acids and length. Some dry-extract on the finish. Great wine.
Kröver Paradies riesling auslese 1992
Very pretty nose. Complex, some evolvement. More mineral. Hints of petrol, blackcurrant. A little lighter in the mouth and more refreshing mouthfeel. Fine and somewhat evolved fruit. Fine minerality, great depth. Petrol and honey-notes. Fine acidity and a citrusy finish. Evolves and opens up in the glass with some air. Great wine and to me better than the Letterlay.
Trarbacher Hühnerberg riesling spätlese* trocken 2005
Ripe nose. Hints of honey, sweet fruits. Spontaneous notes. Yeast, minerality. Fine complexity. Powerful riesling trocken in the mouth. Interesting fruit. Highly mineral. Spontaneous notes. Honey. Fine acidity. The alcohol is a little noticeable on the finish. Great wine that is still too young.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-09