Here are my notes from the VdP-auction 21st of September in Trier. I was only at the pre-tasting and did not get the chance to taste all wines, so there will be some missing.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Schloss Lieser
Quite berryish nose with hints of currants, flowers, mineral and botrytis. Very pure and fine nose. Rich and thick wine in the mouth. It got fat to burn, but the structure is good and makes the finish refreshing. Fine botrytis here. This was a very fine wine and a favorite at the tasting. Very good selective work done here.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Willi Haag
Broader nose. Botrytis, red berries. More old-fashioned and broad style of riesling. Again very rich and lacking some of the focus in the fruit that you find in the Schloss Lieser. Making this loose some depth. Decent acidity and length. Nice.
Erdener Prälat riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Dr.Weins-Prüm
More Fruity and minty nose with hints of botrytis. Structured and a slimmer style for this year. But not the cleanest and most focused botrytis here. Fair quality and quite typical of too many 2006's.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr riesling spätlese #14 2006, Weingut Fritz Haag
Lean flowery and mineral nose. Fine focus. Quite sweet spätlese, but still there is a fine balance and one of the slimmer and better structured efforts. Very fine spätlese indeed.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Weingut Fritz Haag
Honeyed and botrytised nose. Fullbodied and sweet auslese with quite nice fruit. Highly botrytised and a little bit too raisiny fruit for me. Not the focus of the spätlese. Good.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Weingut Fritz Haag
Sweet and botrytised nose with some more flowers. Rich, thick and creamy style in the mouth. This needs to loose fat before it is enjoyable. Soft style. But a little finer fruit than the auslese GK.
Berncasteler Doctor riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Dr.H.Thanisch - erben Thanisch
Smokey nose. Intens. Hints of blackcurrants and honey. Rich and honeyed wine in the mouth with good structure and nice acidity. Lots of botrytis, fair focus in the fruit. Better on the nose.
Graacher Domprobst riesling spätlese 2006, Willi Schaefer
Fruity nose, lightly tropical and some botrytis. Fullbodied spätlese in the mouth. Young and structured. Very typical Willi Schaefer-style. Fruity and quite sharp focus. Good length. Very good.
Graacher Domprobst riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Willi Schaefer
More honey and botrytis on the nose here. Fullbodied and rich. Yet fruity and more on the elegant side for a 2006. Refreshing structure. Fine fruit and botrytis. Very good again.
Leiwener Laurentiuslay 1er riesling spätlese 2006, St.Urbans-hof
A little coarse nose, typical for the area. Blackcurrant, leafs, petrol. Sweet and some botrytis evident in the mouth. Fair structure. Decent.
Winninger Uhlen R 1er riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Heymann-Löwenstein
Smokey nose with some botrytis evident. Apricot. Very rich and concentrated style. Lots of botrytis, which seems a little unfocused to me. Needs to loose fat. Fine length. Decent quality. This was a lot better last year.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling spätlese 2006, Joh.Jos.Prüm
Typical JJ-nose of mineral, sulphure. Sweet spätlese in the mouth. But fine focus and mineral precision. Medium acidity. Fine standard and a very nice spätlese.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese 2006, Joh.Jos.Prüm
Again typical nose of mineral and sulphure, some botrytis. Rich and softer style in the mouth. Not as focused as the spätlese.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Joh.Jos.Prüm
More botrytis and raisins on the nose. But also fine minerality and sulphure. Sweet and rich in the mouth. Finer structure than the normal auslese with better focus. Very fine wine.
Graacher Himmelreich riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Joh.Jos.Prüm
Fruitier wine here. Also raisiny and botrytised. Sulhpure. Rich and thick in the mouth. Sweet. Got fat to loose, but this has a fine structure. Typical fruitier style. Botrytised. Could have better focus too, but a fine wine.
Piesporter Goldtröpfchen riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Reinhold Haart
Typical Goldtröpfchen on the nose; blackcurrant, honey, fine botrytis. Slimmer and not as fat wine for this vintage. Balance is better. Fruit is nice and curranty with quite fine botrytis. Very fine effort.
Ürziger Würzgarten riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Joh Jos Christoffel erben
Ripe nose with lots of botrytis. Also some spice and flowers. Very rich and thick style in the mouth. A little old-fashioned and not the finest botrytis. Quite creamy and soft style, still decent acidity. Fair quality.
Ürziger Würzgarten riesling spätlese 2006, Dr.Loosen
Earthy and botrytised nose. Sweet, some spice. Very big spätlese in the mouth. This is a monster. Rich and creamy. Sweet and huge. Medium acidity and structure. Needs to loose a lot. Balance is not fine. Not my style.
Erdener Prälat riesling auslese lange goldkapsel 2006, Dr.Loosen
Sweet and botrytised nose. Some flowers, apricot. Again very thick and rich style in the mouth. It is soft and round style, but balance is better than the spätlese. Quite fine botrytis. Good and typical.
Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg riesling spätlese #51 2006, Karthäuserhof
More leafy, underripe style. Fine, some currants and sulphure too. Quite slim style in the mouth. Still round and sweet. Fine balance. Fruit is fine, but not the most exciting. Decent quality.
Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg riesling auslese goldkapsel #31 2006, Karthäuserhof
Sweeter, more botrytised nose. Still fine hints of wet forest, blackcurrant. Sweet and quite intense wine in the mouth. A little bit raisiny fruit. Could have more focus. Better on the nose. Fine structure and acidity. Good.
Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg riesling beerenauslese #39 2003, Karthäuserhof
Botrytis and blackcurrant on the nose with fine hints of wet forest-floor. Fine fruit in the mouth. Some fat and botrytis. Structure is soft and acidity a little low. Still a fine wine.
Saarburger Rausch riesling spätlese 2006, Geltz-Zilliken
Underripe and leafy nose. Fine and typical. Hints of petrol and minerals. Slimmer and very mineral spätlese in the mouth. A bit sweeter than normal, but a slim wine in this company. Fair acidity and length. Very fine spätlese.
Saarburger Rausch riesling beerenauslese 2005, Geltz-Zilliken
Pure, fruity and slatey nose with hints of blackcurrant. Clean and refreshing BA in the mouth with very fine fruit and structure. Some botrytis. Notes of blackcurrant and honey. Concentrated and refreshing style with good length and an interesting future. One of the best wines of the day. Great wine.
Wiltinger Braune Kupp riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Le Gallais
Mineral, light earthy fruit with fine botrytis and fruit-notes. Fullbodied and sweet, yet refreshing style in the mouth. Fine balancing act for this vintage with fine acidity and length. Very fine wine and one of my favorites.
Scharzhofberger riesling spätlese 2006, Egon Müller
Mineral nose with some apricot and light botrytis. Quite intense and mineral style. But easier and more leafy style than the 05 and lacking the razor-cut and greatness of last vintage. Good, but nothing more.
Scharzhofberger riesling auslese 2006, Egon Müller
Mineral and steely nose. More scharzhofberger-like. Rich and botrytised in the mouth. Thick and honeyed fruit. Fine fruit, but lacking a little in the structure. Perhaps better when some fat is lost.
Scharzhofberger riesling auslese goldkapsel 2006, Egon Müller
Fine nose. More mineral, honey and botrytis. Fine indeed. More elegance for this vintage. Thick and rich. Yet fruit is quite mineral. Sweet style with medium acidity. Very fine and one of the best wine of the day. Still a huge step behind the quality of the tremendous 05.
Scharzhofberger riesling eiswein 2004, Egon Müller
Fruity nose. Some botrytis and light hints of paint. Rich and acidic in the mouth.A bit rustic eiswein with some raisiny notes in the fruit. Fine structure and acidity. Very good, but again not the finest eiswein from Egon Muller.
Oberemmeler Hütte riesling beerenauslese 2005, von Hövel
Broader nose. Red berried. Fine botrytis. Hints of earth. Fullbodied, broad and a little fat and soft style in the mouth. Fine fruit and botrytis. Fine BA from 2005, but overshadowed by Zilliken's version.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling trockenbeerenauslese #28 2005, S.A.Prüm
Fruity TBA on the nose with some hints of paint and botrytis. Old-fashioned style. Rich, thick and concentrated wine in the mouth. Berryish fruit with botrytis. Soft structure. Good, but not great.
Josephshöfer 1er riesling trockenbeerenauslese 2005, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt
Intense nose. Fruity, fine botrytis, some smoke. Concentrated, sweet and intense in the mouth. Very rich style. But also good structure. Fine acidity. Great TBA and one of the best wines I have tasted from Kesselstatt.
All in all I was a little underwhelmed with the wines at the auction this year. There were some very good ones, especially those from the 2005. But also some wines from 2006 are very fine indeed. But the tasting shows that the quality in this vintage is highly uneven - even at a level like this. Few wines do reach the quality-level of last years auction. The largest problem I have with the 2006-vintage (generally speaking) is too rich style for the structure and botrytis is not that fine. The last thing is perhaps especially worrying for the future.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-07