Weingut Emrich-Schonleber R Monzinger Halenberg Riesling, Nahe, Germany

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The Schonleber 2010 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling R – a barely off-dry interpretation of this great site and normally slated for extended elevage – had already been bottled for more than four months when I tasted it in September, because the Schonlebers had determined that a portion of its already smaller-than-usual volume would make an ideal addition to the final blend for the Grosses Gewachs; and they did not want to disturb the remaining R by racking it into a tank of yet smaller capacity, especially given that cask maturation is part of the point of this wine. Whether or not on account of its modest – legally halbtrocken – residual sugar, it soars from the glass in an aromatic profusion that surpasses any of its dry-tasting siblings of the vintage. Musky, heady floral perfume; nut oils; diverse red berries, grapefruit and white peach all vie for attention, then launch taste-able proxies on a palate of satiny texture, flattering glyceral-richness, yet at the same time exhilarating buoyancy. (As with residual sugar, only a small increment of alcohol separates this wine from its trocken counterparts, and there is no way of telling whether that is, in itself, a prime factor conducing to relative levity.) An underlying sense of wet stone sets off the fruit, and this finishes with impressive length if less sheer energy than exhibited by the corresponding Grosses Gewachs. Look for at least 12-15 years of fascination and delight. (The 2009 “R,” incidentally, lives up in bottle to the upper bound of my Issue 198 projection; and the more buoyant, vivacious, no less profound 2008 impresses me now even more than it did when tasted just after bottling and reported on in Issue 187. It was Werner Schonleber’s plan for his “R” bottling from its inception that it should always need a few years in bottle to show its true meddle.) ”Look, the acid levels were almost this high in 1994 – though with much higher yields,” relates Werner Schonleber of 2010, “and yet 1994 was probably my most individual year of the 1990s,” a judgment in which, incidentally, I concur. Musts of extremely high acidity (a couple had pHs under 3.0) were de-acidified – “very cautiously,” notes Frank Schonleber, “l(fā)eaving plenty of leeway in case one or the other went into malo,” which several Riesling lots spontaneously followed the lead of the estate’s Pinots in doing. Despite high levels of potassium (not to mention, of course, tartaric acid) and a cold winter, there was relatively little precipitation of tartrates at this address. Early picking of the Schonlebers’ Auf der Lay parcel, already with significant botrytis, militated against there being an “A.de.L” bottling this year such as had been essayed – exclusively in magnum – in the two preceding vintages. This is really a year, chez Schonlebers, for Fruhlingsplatzchen as a site to shine, though neither they nor I can offer a hypothesis. Regarding the gap or jump in this year’s line-up from “regular” (though in fact, fantastic) Auslesen to Eiswein, Werner Schonleber commented that given the quality and the paucity of fruit available, “Attempts to segregate a gold capsule Auslese were going to make for (“regular”)Auslese in which something was missing. And we scarcely thought ourselves capable of a Beerenauslese this vintage; the attempt wouldn’t have gone well. We had lovely botrytis, but by no means such concentrated berries.”Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389- 9463

The Emrich-Schonleber 2009 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling R was still in barrel when I tasted it; not due for bottling until late spring, 2011 along with the 2010s; and Schonlebers were talking about perhaps holding it for two years in bottle rather than one before release. However they play it, this is going to be one amazing and worth waiting-for wine! A luscious abundance of quince, pear, lime, pineapple, blood orange, and white peach mingles with almond and pistachio oil while a profusion of inner-mouth honeysuckle and buddleia perfume casts a ravishing spell over the entire proceeding. This possesses a seductive creaminess of texture that is only likely to be enhanced by its additional fine lees contact. “We wanted to achieve precisely this sort of creaminess,” notes Werner Schonleber, “and for that reason included 10 or 15% of very finely botrytised fruit.” Yet, at the same time, there is no less striking a sense of levity, transparency, shimmering interplay, or sheer, fantastic refreshment here than in the corresponding Grosses Gewachs (which came from the same parcel.) At around 15 grams of residual sugar, this is already for all intents and purposes an impeccably-balanced dry-tasting Riesling, and I certainly can’t agree with Werner Schonleber’s contention that precisely this small amount of residual sugar renders his “R” uniquely in need of bottle age. That said, I fully expect that one will be rewarded for at least two decades by one’s choice to cellar some of it. Werner and Frank Schonleber harvested through nearly the entire month of October, and noted that levels of sugar and total acidity remained fairly constant, while flavors kept improving and malic acid diminishing in favor of tartaric. Speaking of improving, it’s hard for these two vintners to much-improve their by now phenomenal batting average, but no Riesling lover is likely to suffer the least disappointment by buying bottles of Emrich-Schonleber 2009s. Especially at its dry end, this is a collection to describe which seems to call for an extended mineral vocabulary that doesn’t even exist in English or German! And in nobly sweet echelons, the small amount of Riesling the Schonlebers rendered is strikingly successful and informed by an ample if mysterious measure of sheer juiciness. About the absence of Eiswein, Frank Schonleber notes: “We had the feeling that ripeness had simply advanced too far in 2009 to justify leaving any grapes hanging in anticipation of frost.”Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389- 9463

In effect the halbtrocken counterpart to the Grosses Gewachs – and slated, as has become the norm for this bottling, to be released in this, its year after bottling – the Emrich-Schonleber 2008 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling R smells of red currant preserves and grapefruit marmalade. A dynamic interplay of citrus, tea, red berry concentrates, nut oils, honey, and mineral elements takes place on a creamy yet buoyant palate. The sense of things mineral is both more emphatic and diverse than in the corresponding 2007, suggesting not only a saline, savory side, but also fusil and crushed stone notes, with the finish positively fugal in its intricacy and endless return. This will be a treat on the table over the next two decades, I predict – and let’s see how the Grosses Gewachs shapes up alongside as time passes. Werner and Frank Schonleber are another Nahe dream team whose amazing performance in 2007 has been equaled in 2008. “I wouldn’t call it a vintage with the emphasis on fruit,” says Werner Schonleber, “but rather on a pronounced, saline minerality. And there was no great selection of nobly sweet wine this year, because every three or four days it would rain at least a little bit.” He offers as “a very simple explanation” of this pronounced minerality the classic one adduced by growers (whether or not scientifically supportable) that the vines better “assimilate mineral stuff” when mild weather and plenty of moisture grease – as it were – the wheels of plant metabolism. And such vintages always boast measurably high levels of dry extract; the question remains, has that – as most growers believe – anything to do with their expression of flavors for which we feel compelled to employ mineral vocabulary?Importers: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463

Given the fact that it was only recently released, and that it showed a bit differently but even better last September than it had the year previously, I take the liberty of offering a new tasting note on the Emrich-Schonleber 2007 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling R on which I first reported in issue 185. This smells unforgettably of kirsch, almond extract, and rowan. Satiny and glyceral-rich in texture, if offers a gorgeous meld of almond cream, honey, and vanilla studded with contrasting tart red currant and cherry, and with a saline, marine savor serving for saliva inducement in the finish. Follow it for the next 12-15 years if you can. Werner and Frank Schonleber are another Nahe dream team whose amazing performance in 2007 has been equaled in 2008. “I wouldn’t call it a vintage with the emphasis on fruit,” says Werner Schonleber, “but rather on a pronounced, saline minerality. And there was no great selection of nobly sweet wine this year, because every three or four days it would rain at least a little bit.” He offers as “a very simple explanation” of this pronounced minerality the classic one adduced by growers (whether or not scientifically supportable) that the vines better “assimilate mineral stuff” when mild weather and plenty of moisture grease – as it were – the wheels of plant metabolism. And such vintages always boast measurably high levels of dry extract; the question remains, has that – as most growers believe – anything to do with their expression of flavors for which we feel compelled to employ mineral vocabulary?Importers: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463