Nahe - Schafer-Frohlich

Let's cut to the chase: Schafer-Frohlich's 2008s are near-perfect. This would be the one estate where I'd be inclined to say the 2008s are better than the 2007s - and the 2007s are incredible. They are wicked sharp, with a stinging detail of mineral and acid, with a transparency that is frightening. These are the most thrilling aspects of this classic vintage. What Schafer-Frohlich, however, achieved in 2008 that almost no one else achieved, is a monumental depth and concentration of fruit, certainly different from 2007, but more in type and not degree.

Tim too seems to think this is perhaps his greatest vintage and while I was blown away by the wines when I visited the estate in April, I was happy to have a few colleagues and friends taste the wines recently in New York at the Wiest tasting and have a similarly strong reaction.

I have no doubt these are among the absolute best wines from 2008 in Germany. While I have always personally preferred the style of Schafer-Frahlich's wines to those of Donnhoff, still, I can't help but believe in 2008 there is a noticeable quality difference - and I would have not said that in 2007 where I think both created just superb wines. Different, for sure, but of a similar quality. In 2008 I believe Schafer-Frohlich has significantly edged out Donnhoff.

But to the wines...

2008 Estate Trocken
The quality starts at the very first wine here; even the estate has an uncommon richness and even a fatness to it. This depth and heft though has a sort of raucous snap to it, green apple fruit studded with rock and salt.

2008 Schlossbockelheimer Trocken
So the majority of the visit was conducted in German, so I might be goofing some of his explanations, but the dry wines in 2008 are assorted on a hierarchy that goes from Estate, to "village" to "vineyard" and then finally the "Grand Cru" or Grosses Gewachs (GG). So in this hierarchy, this represents one of the two "village-level" dry Rieslings I tasted, along with the Bockenauer next. The fruit is sourced entirely from the Felsenberg vineyard - but again, it is only called "Schlossbockelheimer" as a way of suggesting a quality and/or specificity level. It is pure, with great fruit and the lemon-green apple profile so characteristic of 2008 gains complexity here, with citrus oils and spices. It has good force on the palate and good structure. A very good wine which I think suffers only because of the extreme quality surrounding it.

2008 Bockenauer Trocken
Bockenau is where the Frohlich's live - it's where the estate is located, along with their favorite vineyard, the Felseneck. Again this village-level wine is actually a single-vineyard: It is sourced entirely from the Felseneck site, but presumably from the least optimal parcels and youngest vines. It presents a considerable step up in elegance, in finesse. The nose is also much more expressive, with a complex detailing of slate on the palate and a creaminess that makes it also feel more substantial, more staining. No lack of mineral or acidity; a great wine.

2008 Monziger Fruhlingsplatzchen Trocken
The first of the "vineyard" wines I tasted, all of which can be considered "Spatlese Trocken" - harvested as they were all around 95 Oe. While Tim has for many years made a GG from Monziger's Halenberg site, I had never tasted a Fruhlingsplatzchen from him and was psyched to do so - as it's one of my favorite sites in the Nahe. Emrich-Schonleber's bottlings from the site are some of my favorite dry Rieslings out there, though maybe I just like its long goofy name and its sort of wonderful meaning: "Little piece of spring!" Tim makes only 2000 liters of this wine. It has that mineral core that for me is Fruhlingsplatzchen. If Halenberg is the more famous vineyard, the more complete wine, still, I can't help but love the fine, detailed mineral simplicity of this wine. The 2008 smells like mineral water, with faint dustings of lemon and peach. It is just super-fine in the mouth with a staining intensity that is sort of surprising. Great stuff.

2008 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Trocken
If the Felsenberg GG is the Grand Cru, think of this as the 1er version from the same vineyard? This shows all the exotic fleshiness that can so often be Felsenberg - and the 2008 is damn near showy, especially in the context of the vintage. The fruit is sweet and perfumed, ripe apples, peach and apricot. It has tremendous stuffing and very good purity; one of the richer wines of the lineup - softer and rounder than most of Frohlich's wines, though again this is meant gingerly and to be taken in the context of the vintage. None of these wines is anything less than quite angular. Still, I can't help but feel like the Felsenberg is one of the more undistinguished of the great sites of the Nahe, except the sub-parcel "Felsturmchen" bottling by Donnhoff, which counters the belly-fat of the vintage with a fighter jet acidity. But I digress.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck Trocken
An animal of a wine; wild, raucous. Great complexity of fruit, green apple, lemon, peach and a whole melange of stone fruits - serious extract. Tim told me the yields, even for just this wine, were at a maximum, about 40 hectoliters per hectare! As great as the depth of fruit is (again, a signature of the 2008 Schafer-Frohlichs) this is so meaty and salty - with such a wickedly complex expression of earth and soil and funk. Pure, pounding acids that just clamp down on the back end. Awesome.

2008 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg GG
The big four. All spectacular monuments of German wine. Harvested at 100 Oe with maximum yields of 23-30 hectoliters per hectare. If I hold a lower opinion of Felsenberg, this wine could be enough to make me reconsider. The wine has incredible concentration, a big, bulging midpalate of clearly layered fruit - peach, apricot, orange and even lime - though it is needle-fine on the palate and one of the most convincing, defined and elegant Felsenberg I've ever had. The aromatics here are just explosive and fresh, dappled with minerality and flowers. The midpalate also has interesting metallic notes woven in to the wine perfectly, adding complexity. A just awesome wine, even though it's not the best of the GGs.

2008 Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube GG
Another one of those crazy sites in the Nahe I love. The Kupfergrube is the biggest of the 08 GGs at Schafer-Frohlich. A dark, rich profile of deep fruit, ripe peach, dark notes of melon and orange skins, soil tones, dappled minerals and steel. A bruiser whose heft will most likely need a bit of time to really express itself but has the potential to be just a glorious dry Riesling.

2008 Monziger Halenberg GG
A very expressive and complete nose that if not as deep and dark as the Kupfergrube, has a similar fullness to it. The fruit here is ripe though with just great clarity and detail - peaches and melon, delicate bitter nuances, earth and even a light dusting of tobacco in the mix. Again, this massive concentration though the palate itself is a bit more muscular, more finessed and energetic on the palate than the Kupfergrube. Just about perfectly proportioned.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck GG
A wild and sponty nose with mind-boggling complexity. I think this is without a doubt the greatest of the GGs - but that said I think it is also the most difficult to comprehend, especially when young. It is like the Halenberg just beautifully complete - yet is has more tension, a denser muscle to it paired with more force, more raw power and thundering potential. It has just about everything, a freak-show melange of fruit, from green apply, oily apple skins, peach, apricot, stone fruits orange and lime zest - incredibly clarity and precision here. It is just explosive on the palate, absolutely staining and if anything its power, especially at this young age, is unnerving. Still, there is no wine in 2008 I've tasted with such power AND focus. An absolutely great wine and without a doubt one of the top dries of the vintage.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck Halb-Trocken
A jamming little wine, again for me the logic of the halb-trocken shines with the oh-so-natural balances they pull off with ease. As you'd maybe expect by this point, this wine is very serious, a great soaring nose of flowers, lemons, green apple skins and a slate and steal combo playing out across the midpalate. Very impressive concentration for the general lightness of the wine. Very good.

2008 Bockenauer Kabinett
I tasted this quite early in its development and it was still showing considerable yeast - creamy tart notes that at the moment overwhelmed the fruit. The palate has considerable energy, a little whiplash of acidity and Tim told me he stopped the wine with an extra 5 grams of sugar as compared to 2007 just to deal with the significant acid of this wine. Tasted the "Estate" Kabinett in New York in June and while I'm fairly sure this wine was sourced entirely from Bockenauer, I'm not sure the two are the same wines. In any event, the bottling tasted in New York had developed nicely, with a lazer-like palate, awesome minerals and a wildness that was somehow volcanic. Great acids.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck Spatlese
This is year in and year out, one of Germany's best Spatlesen and it will be a great wine in 2008, if a bit more serious and intellectual than the 2007. Harvested at around 96-97 Oechlse, another monster wine for 2008, yet with all the electricity of this vintage. This wine definitely shows some funk - "sponty" as the Germans say - on the nose, though this does blow off after the bottle is opened and it will incorporate with time. It is surprisingly rich and creamy on the palate with a nose that is meaty and salty and mineral more than it is fruity. This is as about as transparent as wine can get - if it were any more so you'd just be spooning rocks and dirt into your mouth. I don't think it's as complete as the 2007, yet for you rock heads this will prove to be one of the most challenging and compelling wines of the vintage, without a doubt. Eager to follow this as it develops.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck Spatlese GK
This wine had finished fermenting 3 days before I tasted it. In fact, I was the first non-Frohlich to taste the wine. Tasting wine this young and this raw is not something I'm terribly accustomed to, and this wine was overwhelmingly lemon and cream - tart. Way too young to know but based on my experiences with the 2006 and 2007 I have VERY high hopes. If it turns out to be as ruthless and rocky as the Spatlese, could be a masterpiece. We'll see.

2008 Bockenauer Felseneck Auslese
If Tim Frohlich has a weak spot, for me it is at this category. His Auslesen are very good, no doubt, but they just don't have the purity, the ruthless exposure of rock and mineral, the angry, sinewy cut of his dry wines. They tend to be riper and creamier, as if all the fat he's able to cut off the dry wines and the Spatlesen end up here. That said, the 08 is one of my favorites thus far; a super-ripe profile, ripe melons and even mango dappled with fresher more delineated stone fruits, great clarity and in 08 it is less billowy and considerably more precise. It also has a damn riveting length to it with howling acids that bark up at the end and linger for quite a while. Compelling.

Nahe - Donnhoff

Helmut Donnhoff is probably the most respected producer in the Nahe and a figure that nearly every German wine lover admires and in some way worships - as they should. As stated, I am not a card-carrying devotee of Donnhoff's wines, though there is just no denying that when he is on, these are some of the most polished, stylish, beautifully proportioned and simply breathtaking Riesling on the face of god's great earth.

I think the 2007s were just amazing, nearly across the board, and when I look at my Cellar Tracker I'm sort of shocked and embarrassed by how much I bought. But I'm not worried, they're great. Though 2006 was trickier there are some glorious bottlings of just uncommon luxury. For 2008 the range is again excellent, though I have to say I don't think they are at the peak levels of 2007. They are very good, they are pure and have great energy, but they are just not as complete as they have been in previous years. In my opinion it is a very good, but not a great, vintage for Donnhoff.

2008 Estate Trocken
This is all sourced from the Felsenberg and it does have great class to it - a seriousness above it's entry-level position. It has very good purity, simple fruit though well integrated and proportioned. Good fine minerality and a nice lean framework. A good dry Riesling no doubt.

2008 Tonschiefer
This is essentially the Leistenberg Kabinett Trocken - "Tonschiefer" means gray slate in German and speaks to the soils of the site. Another very nice bottling and it does show a bit of that "perfect elegance" that I find in Donnhoff's wines. Really floral, a fresh detailed nose of fruit and mineral. The fruit is brisk, lemon pith and apple skin, but it is finessed and impressive elegance.

2008 Felsenberg Trocken
This is basically the GG - Donnhoff has declassified it in 2008 and calls it just plain old Trocken. He says this is simply because he needs a single-vineyard dry Riesling. If this is a strategic move in these tightly budgeted times, all the better for us. I haven't seen pricing for this wine, but if it's significantly below the price of the GGs this could prove to be one of the crazy values of the vintage because to me this drinks superbly. I don't know, I don't usually like the wines from the Felsenberg that much, though maybe 2008 is its vintage? Somehow the opulence and fat that the wines can't control is restrained in 2008? Whatever it is, this wine has just a stunning movement and grace on the palate. I liked this bottling a lot - a beautiful perfumed fruit with an exceedingly elegant nose if that makes any sense. Good power and concentration on the palate, but again, its shows great restraint, proportion and elegance. This was just a beautiful wine and maybe winemakers do this all the time, but after I sniffed and sipped this wine I put it down and gave Donnhoff a smile, acknowledging the quality of the bottle. He smiled back and said too he *really* liked this bottle in 2008. Maybe he was just playing me, but I think this is a wine to watch in 2008 for Donnhoff.

2008 Dellchen GG
A joyful, bouncy wine - a veritable cornucopia of peach, pear, orange, tangelo and even dusting of lime. The 08 Dellchen is very expressive, richly perfumed and very fruity on the palate. While I think it suffers a bit from integration and elegance, it's definitely a fun bottle to drink with good depth and power.

2008 Hermannshohle GG
This wine was showing tense and closed; extreme minerals. It is currently brooding and seriously structured, though the natural strengths of the Nahe shine here in 2008 because this wine has significant concentration and depth. It feels rich and creamy on the palate and you just can't miss the grace of the Hermannshohle, even this young. This wine has a big future ahead of it and while I doubt it will ever be as good as the 2007, it's still an awesome bottle of dry Riesling.

2008 Estate
Creamy yet with good intensity and nerve; pear and melon with a fine mineral mid-palate. Very pretty and a solid sipper.

2008 Krotenpfuhl Kabinett
One of only two Kabinetts Donnhoff has made in 2008. A fun, peppy nose of grapefruit, tart green apple and some darker notes of raspberry - feels even sort of spicy. The Krotenpfuhl always shows a goofy soil expression and it's here again. While it's in fine balance, the acidity doesn't quite feel as sharp as it could be.

2008 Leistenberg Kabinett
A significant step up from the Krotenpfuhl; comes off as extremely slinky and elegant next to the Krotenpfuhl. This is a more serious bottling and was showing more closed, as you'd expect. Still, very nice concentration with that hallmark spectrum of creamy stone fruit that Donnhoff does so well. Very, very elegant with great acidity and I think this wine has a big potential. When this begins to open up, for you classicists this might very well prove to be one of the sharpest and most compelling Nahe Kabinetts in 2008.

2008 Kupfergrube Spatlese
Donnhoff and Schafer-Frohlich share a parcel of the Kupfergrube that has as its backdrop, a massive wall of rocks. These rocks of course reflect the light but they also hold the warmth and so the wines often have considerable size and heft. As with the Schafer-Frohlich Kupfergrube, this is a massive and deep wine. It is big and fleshy with dark ripe fruits, massive complexity and if it loses something for all its depth, it's still a damn impressive Spatlese.

2008 Kirschheck Spatlese
The Kirschheck is always quick to develop and is very approachable at a young age. While it isn'ta vin de garde, I'm not of the opinion that to be a great wine it must develop with age. That's fun and these are the wines that we all want to cellar - but what's wrong with coming out of the gate looking pretty and serving up the treats of the vintage? Nothing, that's what. So make a note - this bottling is usually under-priced and drinks well young. Especially after the Kupfergrube the Kirschheck shows bright and vibrant, with peppy peach and even - yes - some red fruits. While the wine is not terribly elegant, there's something about the energy, verve and life of the wine that is very appealing. I dig it.

2008 Brucke Spatlese
Showing closed but still, you can't mistake the power and muscle of this wine and the concentration here is MASSIVE. In riper vintages this wine is a rich, decadent, Baroque masterpiece - while there's no denying the breadth of this wine, sometimes it's a lot of flesh and flowing gowns for me. It will NOT be this opulent in 2008, but for you purists, this might prove to be one of the more compelling and chiseled Bruckes to come around in a long time. Like the Leistenberg Kabinett, there's a tension here that I find way compelling and if they develop as I think they will, these two bottlings will be a dream for the classicists. In 2008, Brucke might even thrill the rockheads out there? I for one am *very* excited by the prospects of this wine.

2008 Hermannshohle Spatlese
Way clamped down - again - though already showing so, so elegant. Again, this is likely to be a beautiful Hermannshohle.