On September 24th 2009 we tasted through Daniel Vollenweiders lineup of the 2008-vintage. The vintage was very difficult in the Mosel.
Lower Oechsle-weight in many years it snot necessarily that bad. It inspired winemakers to wait with the harvest. But for those who
waited too long there was rain and rot. So it was all about timing. For Vollenweider the auslesen was picked too late and the quality
did not meet Daniels standard. So with the exception of one auslese from the Kröver Steffensberg there will be no higher prädikats in
2008 than spätlese. The good thing about the 2008-vintage is a comeback to smaller wines with lower alcohol and brighter acidity. A
style we rarely see these days. Daniel Vollenweider has made many good wines this year. To me the kabinett is a great wine. It is
sweeter with a higher degree of residual sugar than normal, meaning also lower alcohol. This is due to the acidity that is higher this
year. Among the spätlesen the Goldgrube goldkapsel really shines. But to me the two schimbocks, both the trocken and the spätlese, are
the stars of the vintage. Wild, complex and with that great balance that one finds in all wines from Vollenweider in 2008. Here are the
datailed notes:
Wolfer Goldgrube riesling kabinett trocken 2008
AP: 08 09. 11,5% alcohol. Lightly aromatic flowery and slightly spicy nose. A light trocken in the mouth with fine concentration. Dry with a fine lightly aromatic flowery fruit. Acidity is quite high and leaves a cleansing finish. Yet this seems round and kind in the mouth. Fine little trocken.
Wolfer Golfgrube Riesling 2008
13% alcohol. Pretty nose. Clearly spontaneous and more complex. Some flowers, minerality, yeast. More powerful wine in the mouth. Sweeter than the kabinett. Pretty fruit. Again flowery, but with more depth and minerality. Milder acidity. Good length. Very good wine.
Wolfer Golfgrube Riesling 2007
22 months spontaneous fermentation. 9,5 g/L residual sugar, 14% alcohol. Yellow colour. Aromatic and riper nose. A little sweet and honeyed. Hints of flowers, lightly spontaneous notes. Powerful in the mouth. Again quite aromatic Riesling with young flowery fruit. Some minerality and yeasty notes. Fine fruit, riper than the 08. Medium acidity. The alcohol shows a little on the finish. Good, but I like the 08 better.
Vollenweider Riesling 2008
AP: 10 09. Grapes from Enkircher Steffensberg. 12 g/L residual sugar, 12% alcohol. Simpler fruit here. Sweet flowers, slate-notes. Crisp and dry-tasting Riesling in the mouth. Fresh and flowery fruit. Young and refreshing. Fine acidity and citrusy length. Very fine food-wine.
Schimbock Riesling 2008
12% alcohol, 12,5 g/L residual sugar. Spontaneous fermentation. Wilder on the nose. More spontaneous. Mineral, yeast. Some flowers. Very pretty Schimbock in the mouth. Elegant and seemless with great minerality and complexity. Young fruit. Fine acidity and good length. Great wine and my favorite among the trockens.
Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling spätlese feinherb 2008
AP: 09 09. 11% alc, 23 g/L residual sugar. Slatey and a bit wooly on the nose. Flowers. Quite seemless and crisp wine in the mouth. The balance is more to my liking than many of the trockens. High cleansing acids paired with a slight sweetness. Flowery, slatey fruit. Not the deepest wine. Great balance and length. Good.
Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling kabinett 2008
AP: 01 09. 7% alcohol. Flowery, slatey nose. Clear bright citrusy fruit. Fullbodied kabinett. Crisp style with young clear fruit and much sweetness (almost 70 g/L residual sugar). High and cleansing acids (8,5 g/L). Great balance. Very good length. Great kabinett.
Kröver Steffensberg riesling spätlese 2008
AP: 06 09. 7,5% alcohol. A little more subdued on the nose. Slate-notes, riper notes of flowers, light earthiness and some sulhpure. Sweet Riesling in the mouth. Creamier style. Perhaps a little simpler than the Goldgrube kabinett. More sweet flowers and slate. Fine acidity and length. Good wine.
Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling spätlese 2008
AP: 03 09. 7,0% alcohol. More aromatic and open on the nose. Citrus-notes, sweet flowers, slate. Clear and brighter style. Fullbodied, sweet and round Riesling in the mouth with a crisp and cleansing acidity. Citrusy, flowery fruit. A little more depth than the Kröver Steffensberg. Very good.
Wolfer Goldgrube Reiler Riesling spätlese 2008
AP: 04 09. 7,5% alcohol. From the parcel Reiler. The nose here is a little more stinky. Yeast and sulphure and did not show it’s best this day. More complex wine. Flowery fruit. A little riper and bigger in the mouth. More depth in the fruit. More complexity. Finer minerality. This has the stuffing, but seems closed. Again great balance. Very good wine that will be even better with time.
Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling spätlese goldkapsel 2008
AP: 05 09. 7,5% alcohol. From the parcel Sonnenuhr. Fine nose of ripe flowers with honeyed notes. Fine depth. Fuller and sweeter in the mouth. Honeyed fruit. Sweet flowers. Good concentration. Some depth. Again great balance. Crisp acids. Great wine. Vollenweiders best spätlese from Goldgrube in 08.
Schimbock Riesling spätlese 2008
Sulphure on the nose as this was recently bottled. Tropical notes. More fruity with some sweet flowers. Some botrytis and minerality. Sweet, fullbodied and crisp Riesling in the mouth in a different style. A little stinky right now. Fine minerality, slightly spontaneous. Tropical notes. Complex wine. Again very fine balance. The finish shows some dryness. Great wine and my favorite of the day.
Kröver Steffensberg Riesling auslese 2008
AP: 07 09. 7,5% alcohol. 110 g/L residual sugars. The only auslese from Vollenweider in 2008. Quiet slatey and botrytised nose. Some sweet flowers. Fullbodied and sweet in the mouth. A lighter auslese for this producer. Again a greatly balanced wine from Vollenweider with very fine and clear botrytis-notes. Steffensberg seems to produce fine wines with clear notes of slate and sweet flowers. Yet this is not the deepest wine. Fine crisp finish. Great wine.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-09
