Maximin Grunhaus Herrenberg Riesling Superior 2007
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The for all intents and purposes dry-tasting 2007 Maximin Grunhaus Riesling Herrenberg Superior exhibits a creamy texture and slightly oily feel in striking contrast with the wines that preceded it in this year’s collection. (For more about the style and name of von Schubert’s Superior – of which around 5,000 bottles are rendered per site – please consult issue 179.) But for all of the additional richness and caressing texture here, the luscious, lip-smacking primary appeal of ripe red berries (not just currant but strawberry); melon; pit fruits (not only peach but apricot); and citrus is by no means sublimated. Furthermore, this finishes with a sense of transparency to myriad subtle herbal and smoky, saline mineral nuances. I suspect it might be worth following for as long as 20 years (like off-dry Grunhaus Spatlesen of the mid-‘90s and before) and in retrospect constitute a prime exhibit in the turn around of Grunhaus after its brief qualitative slump in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
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Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Following the Mosel River as it slithers and weaves dramatically through the Eifel Mountains in Germany’s far west, the Mosel wine region is considered by many as the source of the world’s finest and longest-lived Rieslings.
Mosel’s unique and unsurpassed combination of geography, geology and climate all combine together to make this true. Many of the Mosel’s best vineyard sites are on the steep south or southwest facing slopes, where vines receive up to ten times more sunlight, a very desirable condition in this cold climate region. Given how many twists and turns the Mosel River makes, it is not had to find a vineyard with this exposure. In fact, the Mosel’s breathtakingly steep slopes of rocky, slate-based soils straddle the riverbanks along its entire length. These rocky slate soils, as well as the river, retain and reflect heat back to the vineyards, a phenomenon that aids in the complete ripening of its grapes.
Riesling is by far the most important and prestigious grape of the Mosel, grown on approximately 60% of the region’s vineyard land—typically on the desirable sites that provide the best combination of sunlight, soil type and altitude. The best Mosel Rieslings—dry or sweet—express marked acidity, low alcohol, great purity and intensity with aromas and flavors of wet slate, citrus and stone fruit. With age, the wine’s color will become more golden and pleasing aromas of honey, dried apricot and sometimes petrol develop.
Other varieties planted in the Mosel include Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), all performing quite well here.