On September 23d VdP held a presentation of their members wines at the Kurfürstliches Palais in Trier. This was a part of the celebration of VdP's 100-year birthday. Most producers presented their new line-up, but in addition to this there was a table where each producer presented two older wines. As this tasting was very croudy we did not stay long. We tasted through most of the older wines and from some producers. Here are the notes:


Weingut Clemens Busch

Riesling vom grauen schiefer 2009
Quite sweet and pretty nose. Flowery. Quite dry Mosel-riesling in the mouth with a slight rustic edge. Nice fruit and style. Not too warm. Medium acids. Nice.

Riesling vom roten schiefer 2009
Rounder and more sweet flowers on the nose. Some slate. More sweetness in the mouth. Yet it seems slimmer in style with fine acidity. Young and slatey fruit. Nice and simple.

Marienburg riesling grosses gewächs 2009
Riper notes on the nose. Flowers and slate. Dry and fuller in the mouth. Sweeter, more ripe fruits with better depth. But again this shows a little rustic character. Medium acidity. Good.

Marienburg "Rothenpfad" riesling grosses gewächs 2009
Bigger, more intense and sweeter on the nose. More minerality and depth. More concentrated and finer minerality in the mouth. Finer balance, although still acidity is round for a Mosel-riesling. Again it has a slightly rustic feel about it. Very good. The best wine from Clemens Busch this day.

Marienburg "Falkenlay" riesling 2009
Slatey and flowery nose. Feinherb-style in the mouth. A balance which I think fits the wine better. The rusticness is gone. Fine balance. The fruit is simpler than the Rothenpfad. More slatey and flowery and less mineral depth. Fine.

Marienburg riesling spätlese goldkapsel 2009
A little closed on the nose. What is there is very pretty. Sweet slate-notes, some flowers. Sweet and fullbodied in the mouth. Slight creamy with some young fat showing right now. This needs more time. Fruit is again not too open. Quite slatey. Sweetness and flowers. Medium acidity. Give it 5 years. Good.


Weingut Fritz Haag

Brauneberger riesling trocken 2009
Stoney, mineral on the nose with a sweetish touch. Dry and quite slim 2009 in the mouth. Again a slightly sweetish touch in the quite simple and stoney fruit. Touch of rusticness. Medium acidity and length. Fair quality.

Brauneberger Juffer riesling trocken 2009
Slate, minerality and a touch of sweet flowers on the nose. More concentrated in the mouth and also seems a tad more sweet. The fruit shows better depth with fine minerality. Sweet flowers and slate notes. Medium acids, good length. Good.

Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr riesling grosses gewächs 2009
Riper nose here. Rounder and more polished. Very fine depth. Florality, minerality. Salte. Typical of the vineyard from a riper year. Fuller in the mouth. Dry. Fine depth. Again slightly rustic in style, but interesting fruit indeed. Medium acids and good length.

Brauneberger Juffer riesling feinherb 2009
The nose shows more sulphure. But also a beautiful racy character. Minerality and slate-notes. Fine in the mouth. Good balance. Fine slatey and mineral fruit. A little simpler than the previous wine. Fine acids and good length. Very good.

Brauneberger riesling kabinett 2009
Again some sulphure on the nose. Minerality, slate. Fuller and sweet-sour mouthfeel. Not too deep fruit. Slate and minerality. Sweet flowers. Fine acids and length. Tempting and very good glass to drink right now.

Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr riesling spätlese 2009
Riper on the nose. More sweet fruits, and a finer minerality. Slate notes. A bit creamy in the mouth. Lots of fruit. Sweet and round mouthfeel. The acids a little low in the balance right now. Very good wine that needs some time to loose some babyfat. Great.

Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr riesling auslese goldkapsel 2009
Sweet and honeyed nose with a touch of botrytis-notes. Sweet flowers and slate. Sweet and creamy in the mouth. Still very focused and pure fruit. Slatey and mineral. Touch of botrytis. On the creamy side right now with medium acids. Great wine for it's purity and precision. Give it some time.


Weingut Reinhold Haart

Piesporter riesling trocken 2009
Spicey nose and a slight rustic earthiness here. Fullbodied for a modest quality dry Mosel-riesling. Dry and simple in style. Still quite earthy and with a slight rustic feel. Fine acidity. Dry finish. Fair quality.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling grosses gewächs 2009
Again spicey and quite rustic on the nose. Earthy, slight blackcurrant-leafs. Better depth here. Dry, but rounder and finer in the mouth. Yet it remains quite a rustic peace of riesling. Lacking elegance. The fruit is interesting and shows some typicity. I just don't agree that this is the right packaging for a Mosel-riesling. Fair quality.

Piesporter Grafenberg riesling kabinett 2009
Some sulphure on the nose. Hints of flowers, blackcurrant-leafs, slate. Very typical. Fullbodied and sweet-sour kabinett in the mouth. Fine balance. Lots of fruit and slight fatness. Lots of blackcurrant-notes, leafy notes, sweet flowers. Fine acidity and length. Great kabinett.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling kabinett 2009
More mineral, blackcurrant on the nose. Not as sweet as the Grafenberg. Seems more undderipe. Perhaps also a little closed. Fullbodied and definitely more closed in the mouth. Structured style. Mineral and fine fruit, that does not show it's best today. Fine acidity and length. Will perhaps be the better of the two kabinetten, but needs more time.

Wintricher Ohligsberger riesling spätlese 2009
Mineral style. Slightly more earthy than the Piesporter-rieslings with a touch of blackcurrant. Sweet-sour riesling in the mouth. Fullbodied and nice concentration. Not as expressive today. Fine acids and length. Very good, if a little anonymous today among Haarts other wines.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling spätlese 2009
More racy character. Mineral and intense. Yet a touch more underripe. Nicer aromatics - I like it that way. More precision. Again fullbodied sweet-sour riesling in the mouth. Fine blackcurrant, flowers and mineral notes. Typical. Decent acidity and good length. Great wine.

Piesporter Domherr riesling spätlese 2002
Some sulphure on the nose. Slightly reductive. Shows slate and minerality. Good evolvement and interesting style. More open in the mouth. Sour-sweet and somewhat evolved spätlese. Mineral approach. Gaining in complexity. Still on the young side. Fine acids and length. Very good. Keep it for another 3-4 years.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling auslese 2009
Sweeter and more honeyed on the nose. Sweet flowers. Fuller and riper in the mouth. Not too rich for an auslese in this vintage. Mineral approach. Blackcurrant-notes in the fruit. Typical. Good acidic backbone. Great stuff, although perhaps only slightly more interesting than the spätlese.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling auslese goldkapsel 2009, Grosser ring-auction-cuvee AP:17 10
Intense nose. Honeyed and with noticable botrytis. Rich wine in the mouth. Quite creamy and lots of botrytis. Needs some time to smooth out. Fine fruit. Typical. The acidity a little low in the balance right now. Will show better when the baby-fat is lost. Great wine, but not that much more impressing than the auslese.


Weingut Schloss Lieser

Schloss Lieser riesling trocken 2009
Slatey nose with some sweet flowers. In the mouth it is surprisingly powerful. Clean and slatey fruit. Quite simple. Dry style. Good standard dry Mosel-riesling with fine acids and length.

Lieserer Niederberger-Helden riesling grosses gewächs 2009
Great nose. More racy and a finer minerality. Clearly a step up in quality. Fullbodied and concentrated. Light sweetness. Young fruit. Minerality, sweet flowers. Great wine and not as rustic as many of the other trockens.

Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr riesling grosses gewächs 2009
A slimmer and more mineral style here. Slatey notes. More structured style in the mouth. Slatey and mineral. Does not shows as much today. Some sweet flowers. Clean and pure style. Good concentration. Mild acids. Will be better, but the Niederberger-Helden drank better today.

Brauneberger Juffer riesling kabinett 2009
More sulphure on the nose. Slate, minerality. Simpler style. Sweet-sour in the mouth. Quite big and sweet kabinett. Much fruit. Fine style. Simple, slatey and flowery. Very temting drink right now. Very good.

Lieserer Niederberger-Helden riesling spätlese 2008
Great and transparent nose. Mineral, snow-feeling. Very crystal clear. Elegant and much lighter in the mouth than these 2009's. Clear and precize aromatics. Very mineral style. Slate. Touch of anise. Great wine showing it's stuff surprisingly well right now.


So to the notes from the table of older wines that were available for tasting. Please note that the wines were not tasted in the order that they appear here.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling beerenauslese 2007, Weingut Studert-Prüm
Young and botrytised riesling with fine an transparent style. Lots of slatey notes. Pretty botrytis. Sweet and thick in the mouth for a BA. Fine acidity and style. Great wine.

Pündericher Marienburg riesling beerenauslese 2005, Weingut Clemens Busch
Very rich and big BA. Clear and very fine botrytis. Honeyed fruit. Pretty fruit, but for today - very one-dimensional. Very thick BA in the mouth. Highly botrytised, but again very transparent and fine style. Needs time to gain some complexity. Fine acids and long taste. Tremendous quality.

Trittenheimer Leiterchen riesling spätlese 2003, Weingut Milz-Laurentiushof
Smokey and slatey nose. Young and fruity. Creamy and fullbodied spätlese in the mouth. Quite interesting fruit. A bit ripe, but fine smokiness and hints of minerality and slate. Round and very mild acidity. Kind style.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling spätlese*** trocken 2003, Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt
Evolved and pretty nose. Smokey and complex. A bit honeyed. Ripe. Rich style in the mouth. Again ripe with low acids and alcohol showing on the finish. Quite nice fruit though.

Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg riesling spätlese 2003, Weingut Kartäuserhof
Typical notes of forest floor and slate. Ripe, but fair aromatics. Fullbodied spätlese in the mouth with again typical and lightly ripe spätlese. Low acids in the balance. Fair enough 2003, but a little boring wine.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling trockenbeerenauslese 2003, Weingut Studert-Prüm
Fine nose. Fruity and honeyed with some botrytis-notes. In the mouth it is rich and thick. Again fruity style for a TBA with some botrytis-notes. Medium acids. Good, more than great TBA from this vintage.

Ürziger Würzgarten riesling trockenbeerenauslese 2003, Weingut Christoffel-Erben
This has more honeyed notes and richer botrytis-notes. Hints of apricot. In the mouth it is very rich and thick in style. Young and also fruity, but with more botrytis. More depth in the fruit here. Also nicer acids making the wine crisper and more structured on the finish. Great wine.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling spätlese 2002, Weingut Wegeler
Mineral and slatey nose with a light touch of green leafs. Fullbodied and quite sweet spätlese in the mouth. Young and mineral. Slatey notes. Nice, but lacking a little refinement. Good.

Berncasteler Doctor riesling auslese 2001, Weingut Wwe. Dr.H.Thanisch - erben Thanisch
Pretty nose. Mineral, tobacco-notes. Fine style. Quite slim and structured riesling auslese in the mouth. Underripe and fine fruit. Typical lightly tobaccoish. Mineral style. Fine depth. Great acidity and length. Great wine still on the young side.

Ockfener Bockstein riesling auslese*** 1999, Weingut Dr.Fischer
Steely, typical Saar-riesling. Hints of earth and some petrol. Fullbodied and concentrated wine in the mouth. Quite big auslese for Saar. Nice fruit. Sttely, mineral. Fine acids and length. Very good showing.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling auslese goldkapsel 1999, Weingut Reinhold Haart
Typical nose. Lots of minerality and blackcurrant-leafs. Sweeter notes, hints of botrytis. Very rich and sweet auslese in the mouth. This is a big riesling with more botrytis than I expected from the nose. Fine fruit. Young. Mineral and with the typical notes of blackcurrant-leafs. Round acids. A bit creamy still. Give it another 5 years. Tremendous wine.

Leiwener Laurentiuslay riesling spätlese 1998, Weingut St.Urbans-hof
Smokey, sulphury nose. Fine minerality. In the mouth his is a quite big spätlese. But it lacks a little refinement. Fine fruit with some depth. A bit typical rustic style of the area. Medium acids and length. Very good.

Schieferterrassen riesling eiswein 1998, Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein
Smokey fruit. Still fruity and sweet. Hints of honey and some botrytis. Sweet, pure and fruity in the mouth. Fine eiswein, although not the biggest from this producer. Typical fruity, zippy acids and refreshing finish. Very good.

Ockfener Bockstein riesling eiswein 1998, Weingut Dr.Fischer
Steely eiswein on the nose. Lots of minerality. Typical Saar-feel. Sweet-sour riesling in the mouth. Lots of sweetness, great acids. Very structured style. Fine fruit. Typical fruity with lots of minerality and steelyness. Long taste. Tremendous wine. Great showing from this producer.

Graacher Domprobst riesling spätlese 1997, Weingut Willi Schaefer
Mineral style. Pure. Hints of currant. Slight tropical element. Sweet and pure in the mouth. Great structure. Fine fruit and minerality. Great depth. Fine acidity and refreshing finish. Great spätlese.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese goldkapsel 1995, Weingut Joh.Jos.Prüm
Typical nose. Smokey and precise minerality. Also with added Sweet and honeyed top-notes. Sweet in the mouth and a touch creamy in style with round and kind acids. Fine fruit and great mineral depth. Again a lot of honey-notes are found. Medium length. Great wine.

Lieserer Niederberg Helden riesling auslese goldkapsel 1995, Weingut Schloss Lieser
Somewhat developed forest floor-aromatics found here. Minerality and lightly anise-notes. Sweet, but crisp and structured wine in the mouth. Fruit is starting to get evolved notes. The acidity is very fine and making the finish crisp. Very good.

Berncasteler Doctor riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 1995, Weingut Wwe.Dr.H.Thanisch - Erben Thanisch
A bit muted nose right now. Some tobacco-notes, some botrytis-notes. Quite rich auslese in the mouth. Again quite a lot of botrytis. Not the most pretty botrytis, and leaving a slight bitter note on the finish. Good complexity and lots of stuff here. Still this lacks a little bit of purity. Good.

Serriger Schloss Saarstein riesling eiswein 1995, Weingut Schloss Saarstein
Evolved and complex nose. Smokey, steely notes, besides the typical fruitiness. Sweet and quite fullbodied in the mouth. Typical great acidic and refreshing finish. Fruit is starting to get some evolved notes and this eiwswein is drinking fine right now. Great wine.

Graacher Domprobst riesling spätlese 1994, Weingut Dr.Weins-Prüm
Fine intensity and purity on the nose. Mineral approach. Slight tropical hints. Medium bodied, yet finely concentrated spätlese in the mouth. The fruit is great. Noble, mineral style. With the typical tropical hints one often finds in this vineyard. Refreshing acidity. Good length. Great spätlese drinking well now.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese 1994, Weingut Joh.Jos.Prüm
Typical underripe, mineral approach of Prüm. Hints of blackcurrant-leafs. Fine style and good intensity. Young and structured wine in the mouth. Again underripe, mineral. Perhaps not the most giving and biggest auslese from JJ Prüm. Still quite tight and young. Fine acidity. Good length. Very good.

Scharzhofberger riesling beerenauslese 1994, Weingut Vereinigte Hospitien
Rich and smokey nose. Some steely elements. Yellow fruits. Fine nose. Seems simpler in the mouth. Sweet style with some botrytis showing. Nice enough fruit and fine acidity. Not the biggest of BA's and not the deepest Scharzhofberger, but a very good glass drinking well now.

Saarburger Rausch riesling auslese 1993, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken
Fine nose. Mineral and lightly underripe auslese. Hints of blackcurrant-leafs. Sweet-sour auslese in the mouth. Quite slim style. Yet intense and mineral. Structured and fine acidity. Good length. Great wine.

Ürziger Würzgarten riesling auslese 1990, Weingut Dr.Loosen
Quite ripe on the nose. Yellow fruits, spices. Opulent style. Powerful and loaded with fruit. Spicey notes. Ripe yellow fruits. Big for this vintage. Not the deepest wine. Fine acids and great structure. Very good wine. Try giving it a little more time.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese 1990, Weingut Dr.Weins-Prüm
Intense nose. Smokey and mineral. Racy style. Structured and slim auslese in the mouth. Again mineral and pure style. Great acidic backbone and length. Great wine from Weins-Prüm.

Saarburger Rausch riesling auslese goldkapsel 1990, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken
Pretty nose. Mineral, smokey and the typical hints of blackcurrant-leafs. Sweet and rich auslese in the mouth. Structured style. Pure and focused fruit. Mineral, great depth. This is singing. Tremendous quality. Still young.

Wiltinger Braune kupp riesling auslese 1989, Weingut Le Gallais/Egon Müller
Intense nose. Mineral, complex nose. Hints of blackcurrant-leafs. Fullbodied Saar-auslese in the mouth. Lots of fruit and concentration. Very pretty fruit. Complex and fine depth. Good acidity and backbone, but perhaps not the most structured '89 from Saar. Still a very interesting wine. Great.

Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg riesling auslese halbtrocken 1989, Weingut Karthäuserhof
Fine nose. Evolved Ruwer-riesling with hints of forest floor, minerality. Some complexity. Dry style in the mouth. Quite round and kind wine with medium acids. Fruit is evolved and lacks some of the complexity that I find on the nose. Dry, mature and ready. Drink now. Good.

Trittenheimer Apotheke riesling spätlese 1986, Weingut Grans-Fassian
Fine intensity on the nose. Typical Apotheke with it's slightly rustic style. Lots of blackcurrant-notes, minerality and smoke on the nose. Evolved. Sweet spätlese in the mouth. Fine minerality. Evolved, tertiary fruit. Fine and great depth. Medium acidity and a little short on length. Mature. Drink now. Very good.



Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-10

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