TN: '98 Grünhauser Herrenberg Kabinett

[jrufusj]

• 1998 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Ruwer (11/23/2005)
  Very light, slightly grassy but bright yellow with the just the most minute amount of visible spritz. Nose is slightly reductive and requires about 20 minutes to clean up, initially yielding a good dose of flint, moving into slate, smoke, and a tiny petrol hint as it begins to oxegynate and open up. Fruit on the nose is primarily crisp but round apple, with essence of sweet white field flowers growing throughout the hour and a half that it is open. Palate is not spritzig at all, but shows sweet apple and crisp pear fruit up front. Initially, the mid-palate is light and a little weak, but fills out nicely over the first 30 minutes or so. The flinty, smoky, slatey mineral is a nice energizing streak from entry to finish. Initially, this seems a little unbalanced toward the sweet side, but time seems to cure all. As the mid-palate picks up weight, the acid perks up and this takes on a refreshing, cool water aspect. Don’t mistake me; it’s not watery, just refreshing like kabinetten should be. Not a blockbuster, but not scrawny. Lithe and dancerlike so that you don’t notice that there is a bit of real sinew underneath the sweet freshness. Just entering its drinking window, I think this will continue to blossom and would benefit from a few more years of sleep. Again, not a showpiece but a beautiful light romp down the slopes and into the meadow where a little field grass joins the surprisingly long finish.
  

Posted from CellarTracker

[MaxH]

What does that mean, "is it ready?"

Often such Rieslings are among the most accessible wines young -- 1998 no exception in that run of strong vintages I think -- and yet, they are among the longest lived wines too. Did it seem unready? Your opinion is valuable.

Cheers -- Max

--

“Avec une complaisance sans limites, M. le Baron Pichon a bien voulu mettre à ma disposition les trésors de sa bibliothèque ...”

-- Vicaire (not from online)

[jrufusj]

What does that mean, "is it ready?"

Often such Rieslings are among the most accessible wines young -- 1998 no exception in that run of strong vintages I think -- and yet, they are among the longest lived wines too.  Did it seem unready?  Your opinion is valuable.

Cheers --    Max

←

Max:

Good question.

I agree with you that good German riesling can be lip-smackingly delicious when young and can also go on almost forever adding complexity. At either stage they are delightful. Recently had a baby of a WS Auslese that was a joy to drink but didn't show 20% of the complexity it ultimately will.

While I recognize/agree that the wines can be delightful at either end of the spectrum, I also believe that ageworthy riesling can shut down hard in between. To my mind, the '98 is well past its first blush of youth and just beginning to emerge from its tight/closed period.

It is a pleasure to drink now, but will go on for a very long time and I believe it will get appreciably better over the next few years (at least). I'll be letting the rest of them sleep for a couple of years but have no regrets over drinking this one last night.

Thanks,

Jim

[budrichard]

Kabinett wines are not long lived and are generally enjoyed best when fairly young. Your wine is among the best vineyards and produced but it is not a long lived wine. The higher the grade ending with BA and TBA are usually longer lived but even these wines unless held in constant temp limestone cellers may only last 20-30 years. After drinking and collecting German wine for almost 40 years and having enough failures in the BA and TBA claasification due to age along with some very sorry Kabinett's held too long, I err on the young side now. My long time friend sells German Wine and has a celler that occupies his entire basement. He also experiences failures with German wine held too long as well as degredation in quality. -Dick

[jrufusj]

Kabinett wines are not long lived and are generally enjoyed best when fairly young. Your wine is among the best vineyards and produced but it is not a long lived wine. The higher the grade ending with BA and TBA are usually longer lived but even these wines unless held in constant temp limestone cellers may only last 20-30 years. After drinking and collecting German wine for almost 40 years and having enough failures in the BA and TBA claasification due to age along with some very sorry Kabinett's held too long, I err on the young side now. My long time friend sells German Wine and has a celler that occupies his entire basement. He also experiences failures with German wine held too long as well as degredation in quality. -Dick

←

Dick:

Several points of agreement --

(1) Well balanced BA and TBA wines will certainly outlast wines from lower pradikat levels.

(2) Kabinetten can be absolutely delicious when young.

(3) There is certainly a risk of finding tired or oxidised or otherwise degraded wines when they are held for a long time.

(4) Most German riesling (like most wine in the world) is made for drinking young.

(5) Von Schubert is a great producer and Herrenberg is one of the great vineyards of the Ruwer and of Germany in general.

However, I would have to disagree that Kabinetten "are not long lived and are generally enjoyed best when fairly young." I'll agree that they can be enjoyed young and I realize that different people have different preferences. However, from strong producers/einzellagen/vintages, Kabinetten can live a very long time. I've had enough twenty to thirty year old examples to be confident of that.

The Herrenberg in question here was clearly just barely emerging from a closed up period. An hour and a half after opening, it was still showing new elements and picking up weight and balance. A glass left on the counter overnight was still fresh, balanced, and complex the next day. This one has a long time to live and a lot of development is in store.

In summary -- Agree with your comments for the vast majority of wines produced in Germany or elsewhere, but to my palate the better wines absolutely demand age. I find the best Kabinetten to be at peak somewhere between ten and fifteen years of age. As the pradikat levels go up, so does the ability to age and the need for age to show full complexity.

Again, enjoy your wines when you like them best. You've got a lot of experience and I can't argue against your preferences. But if people new to these wines are led to drink them all up young, they are missing something glorious.

Regards,

Jim

[budrichard]

Jim, certainly if the Kabinett wines are properly cellered, not moved, they can last but the only conditions that i know that exist are in limestone caves which do exist in Germany and some of the world's greatest white wines are cellered that way.

The average collection is subject to temperature variation, humidity variation, vibration and moving. My Auslese, BA and TBA are kept in a controlled temp and humidity environment but my Kabinett, Quality Wines and Spatlese are kept in thier orginal cases in the celler because of the number of cases does not justify the expense to create a controlled environment for that large a collection. My French, Spanish and others are also kept in the celler. Even though the celler is always cool, the temperature does vary over the year along with the humidity. My buddy has the same type of storage. So unless you have stoarge conditions like a limestone cave with relatively steady temp and humidity year round, Kabinett wines will simply reach a peak and then decline. The same is true of Auslese, Spatlese, BA and TBA. It is quite something to open a bottle of 1969 Niersteiner Reback TBA and find it maderized, knowing that the rest of the case is probabaly off also. -Dick

[jrufusj]

Dick -

Agree that they will reach a peak and then decline...the question is when. And I agree that the rate of maturation and onset of decline are heavily influenced by storage conditions. I guess the only place I would take issue with you is that I find good German riesling (even Kabinetten) to be relatively longer lived than most wines.

So...yes, their development is dependent on storage conditions...yes, those without good (or at least fair) storage should enjoy them in their blooming youth.

However, I would suggest that anyone who has any good storage make the space to stick at least a few bottles in and see what they do with time. I think Kabinetten and Spätlesen represent one of the most affordable ways to see the glories that age can produce.

I would also suggest that anyone without at least good passive storage be careful about aging anything too long.

So...your advice rings true to me and should probably be well heeded by all...but I actually think German riesling is one of the more sturdy wines.

Thanks,

Jim