The Saturday afternoon program at the German Wine Society national conference was a presentation by Nik Weis of Weingut St. Urbans-Hof. Laura and I had met Nik at the winery in September, and he gave us such an enjoyable visit that we were really looking forward to seeing him again. (If you get to Germany I would put St. Urbans-Hof at the top of any visit list.)

The tasting was also another chance to sample a few wines from the new 2003 vintage. The 2003s Nik presented were bottled in March, so read those notes as a little preliminary.

2002 Estate Riesling QbA
This wine was mostly sourced from vineyards surrounding the estate in Leiwen, but with additions from the Wiltinger Schlangengraben in the Saar. It took quite a lot of swirling to get the leesy, yeast aromas to blow off, but once they did all kinds of green aromas (limes, grass, apple, leaf) came rushing out, accented with peach. Crisp and refreshing acidity joined the fruit on the palate, with the lime taking center stage. Really tasted more like a Saar wine than one grown mostly of flat land around the estate. This was a great value in 2001, and so again in 2002.

We then launched into a series of four 2003 Rieslings, and also a 3 flight comparison of the Mosel and Saar through the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen and Ockfener Bockstein. All four of the 2003s were somewhat obscured by sulphur. Swirling helped a lot, but never really cleared it up.

2003 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett
Green apple, lemon and a bitter grapefruit finish. The fruit was bright but not really crisp. Significant minerality in the finish, but overpowered by the bitterness in my opinion.

2003 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett
Typical of the Goldtröpfchen, this was in a much sweeter fruit style. Nectarine, tangerine and cherry aromas and flavors, but once again a rather bitter finish. This time it was bitter almond.

2003 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Spätlese
Apples and limes with a distinct leafiness (classic Saar in my opinion) and tons of minerals on the finish. Still had a touch of bitterness, but nowhere near the level of the Kabinett. I liked this wine quite a lot.

2003 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese
Similar to the Kabinett, only in a candied sense. Presumably low acidity has rendered this wine a touch fat in its palate impression. Really ripe, but with very little sense of lift.

I miss the “brightness” of the best Mosel Riesling here, and I’m rather disappointed, as I expect these wines to overcome any difficulty of the vintage. Perhaps time will clear up any bottle shock, or bring greater clarity, but I don’t really have any frame of reference for where this style of wine may go. Based on the total of seven 2003s in my book, I’m not ready to either jump on the 2003 bandwagon or run screaming from the vintage. Judgment reserved.

Continuing the comparison of the Mosel and Saar, we then had two wines from the 2001 vintage. I’ve found most 2001s closed lately, and these were no exception, but the class of the wines still showed through.

2001 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Auslese
Smells very creamy, even buttery on the nose. Lots of buttery apple flavors on the palate. This is so yummy! Give it some time, and it will be glorious. The creaminess is something I associate with the best of 2001.

2001 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese
Honeyed, but not cloyingly so. Also quite creamy, but with site-typical peach flavors and a hint of cassis in the background. Truly classic Goldtröpfchen Auslese. (Though I will admit I preferred the Bockstein.)

A brief aside on the Bockstein. This is a large Saar vineyard with a middling reputation, but within the expanse of the site are some parcels that produce excellent wine. If you have been put off this site by other wineries I would urge you to try a St. Urbans-Hof Ockfener Bockstein. They are fine German Riesling (my reservations about 2003 notwithstanding).

And then we were on to the special treats:

2001 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Eiswein
Honey, almonds, brown spices and a touch of horseradish bite. Lots of baked apple flavors with a finishing nip of acid. Excellent Eiswein.

Nik hand carried a final wine for us to try:

1979 Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Auslese
The estate no longer makes wine from this site, as the lease on the parcel ran out some years ago & they chose not to continue with the vineyard. At 25 years old, this was not for fans of fruit-forward Riesling, but for me it was at a perfect stage of maturity. Golden color sparkled from the glass, and the aromatics were nearly all in the secondary category. Butter, smoke and minerals led to nuts, spiced citrus peel and a touch of baked apple. I sat there sniffing this wine for a long, long time. It was just captivating. All the aromatics came through on the palate, with the smoke and baked apple coming to the front. There was still a touch of sweetness left, balanced by fine acidity. This was an excellent auslese, and for me a great inducement to patience in the cellar.

While I still do not have a big database of experience with the wines of St. Urbans-Hof, I am generally impressed with the results they achieve from their Mosel and Saar sites. (I was sad to not get to taste some Leiwener Laurentiuslay wines, but Nik reiterated that he does not export them.) I will watch the 2003s carefully, and I’m sure in a more “normal” vintage that I’ll be able to buy blind with confidence.