What We're Drinking

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN ARCHIVED ARTICLE. THE WINES BELOW ARE SOLD OUT.

German Wines:
By Dr. I.
Question for all white wine drinkers: If Dr I offered to show you wines that contain barely half the alcohol of the chardonnays and sauvignons you're used to, yet have much more concentrated fruit, offer the tastes of range of distinctive terroirs instead of layers of generic oak, and cost much less, would you be willing to try a few? Then read on and learn about the superb values in the neglected wines of Germany. Let's start by answering a few basic questions and dispelling a few myths.

Why do you almost never see German wines here? Because the German wine law mandates labels that you need a doctorate to decipher. If you're not an expert, you're stumped. Lots of wine retailers don't understand these wines so they shy away from offering them.

If these wines have only half the alcohol, surely they're pretty short on flavor? Quite the contrary. Germany has the coolest climate of any major wine producer. On the one hand, this means that the grapes can -- indeed must -- be ripened on the vines much longer than in other regions (harvests starting in October and stretching into November harvests are the rule) . Long hang time is what produce grapes with great intensity of flavor while its opposite, short hang time explains why wines from very hot climates are usually so insipid. But even though German grapes reach perfect physiologic ripeness, the cool climate also means that they do so at much lower total sugar levels than grapes in hotter climates. The result are wines which have intense fruit flavors but much lower alcohol.

Aren't all German wines sweet? Absolutely not. Germany makes great sweet wines but most German wines are made in off-dry styles designed to pair with food. Many are so dry they make most popular chardonnays taste sweet. The key is striking the right balance between ripe acidity, sweetness and alcohol.

What foods match with these wines? Its easier to say what foods don't: lamb, dishes with tomato sauce, lots of garlic or olives. The lighter wines are wonderful with sushi, grilled fish, chicken, pork and veal, most vegetable dishes and young cheeses. The bigger ones are the perfect match for most oriental foods (Chinese, Indian and Thai all work well), for salty snacks (nuts, prosciutto, salamis, stronger cheeses), and for fish and white meats in cream sauces. Almost all are delicious to sip on their own: remember we're talking alcohol levels in the 7-9% range, not the 13-14% typical in the new world.

Isn't it true German wines can't age? Absolutely not. The acidity and ripeness in top German wines makes them very long lived. Like top reds, primary fruit dominates in young wines, terroir and secondary flavors in older ones. Dr I has many '90 German wines which still need time. Rudi Wiest, who imports most of the selections below, is drinking top 64s and 66s while waiting for his best 59s to peak!

What about those labels? Two basic rules: (the Dr. will be offering a class in the fall for those who'd like to learn more). Rule 1: The two most important parts of any wine label are the producer's name and the vintage: top estates almost always provide a top bottles and good vintages are rising tides which lift all ships). All the selections which follow meet both these tests. Rule 2: Be adventurous and trust your taste. You can't know if you'll like it until you try it; if you do like it, then try it again.

PJ's owner Peter Yi wants to have the best German wine department in New York but he knows how much work it will take to win you over to these wines so he has decided to build his list gradually and to concentrate wines that are tops in both quality and price. We've chosen to begin by offering a small selection of wines from Rudi Wiest, the most respected specialist importer of German wines for over two decades. Most are from the 1999 vintage which was excellent in most parts of Germany. Many are from the banks of the Saar river, a tiny tributary of the Mosel, noted for sleek racy wines. The Saar has Germany's most difficult climate --- only 5 top vintages since World War Two --- but the 1999 vintage has been universally hailed as the greatest in living memory. One of those annoying German label words is auslese. I won't give the exact definition but it's used to wines from the very ripest grapes. In many years, the Saar produces no auslese at all. In a top year, perhaps 20% of the harvest reaches this level. In 1999, the entire crop of the Saar producers we selected reached this level! However, these estates declassified much of the harvest: in essence, this gives you a never-again chance to buy grand cru wines at commune prices.

· Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett '99 $14.99
This wine is a contradiction in a glass: supremely light, with white flower and pear aromas, low alcohol and balanced sweetness and lemon-lime acid; but it's also intensely minerally (slate, limestone) with a fullness that belies its delicacy and great length in its off-dry finish. A masterpiece from one of the masters of filigree, yet terroir-rich riesling, from the greatest Saar vintage of our lifetime.

· Von Hovel `Balduin' Estate Riesling '99 $9.99
A great summer wine and an outstanding value. Buy at least 2 because if you pour yourself a glass to sip while you're making dinner, you'll have an empty bottle when you sit down to eat. Pale golden color, white flower and peach nose, delicate off-dry attack with a refreshing touch of spritz, peach flavors yielding to tangerine acidity, long clean mineral and citrus finish. Fabulous with Chinese food (black bean sauce or ginger and scallion), roast or grilled chicken.

· Von Hovel Oberemmler Riesling Spatlese '99 $17.99
Spatlese literally translates as late harvest but reserve captures its meaning better. Rich complex nose blending pear fruit, smoky mineral notes and a hint of botrytis, intense but filigree flavors of ripe nectarine fruit and lemon-lime acidity, pure, long finish. A masterful combination of finesse and intensity. Intense enough to stand up to Indian vegetarian and fowl dishes, but delicate enough to be a perfect foil for simply grilled swordfish or halibut.

Bert Simon is another of Saar's top growers based in Serrig where he is the sole owner of the near vertical Herrenberg vineyard whose slatey soil stamps his wines with its minerally terroir.

· Bert Simon Seriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese * Goldkapsul '99 $21.99
Think of auslese as special selection, the wine that, in most regions, would be the top cuvee. Not in Germany where the best individual barrels are bottled separately! This Goldkapsul is just such a top barrel. The fruit that went into it has a level of concentration only achieved by selecting not the best clusters but the best individual grapes!! --- yes, the German's have a word for this too, beerenauslese. The first time Dr. I tasted this he wrote "massive nose of slate, pear fruit, botrytis; in the mouth layers of poached pear, lime cordial, and minerals; rich, honeyed, almost eternal finish of great purity" and almost cried when he had to spit and move on. The second time he just wrote "Wow" and spit backwards. Drink now on its own or with a milder blue cheese like a Maytag or a torta mascarpone or cellar for a decade and serve with venison or boar in a fruit and demi-glace reduction. This level of quality from any other region comes with three-digit price tag.

Schloss Lieser has long made good but not great wines from the best vineyard site in the town of Lieser next to (but overshadowed by) Brauneberg on the Mosel. A few years ago, Thomas Haag, the son of Brauneberg's most legendary grower Fritz Haag, took over as winemaker at this estate and since the Schloss Lieser's wines have on a rapid ascent.

· Schloss Lieserer Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Spatlese '00 $17.99
At first the nose of this wine seems to be a fruit basket of peach, apricot and delicious apple aromas, then lightly smoky, petrol notes of ripe riesling and Mosel slate provide counterpoint and lead into a spicy citrusy finish with just enough sweetness to make you reach for another glass.

Pfeffingen is a top grower in Rheinpfalz, sunniest wine region of Germany where Doris Eymael has acquired the reputation for making world class scheurebe as both a table and dessert wine in a style that highles the characteristic richness of the Pfalz with crisp elegant fruitiness.

· Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Spatlese '00 $18.99
A delicious German wine that's not a riesling. Scheurebe is a cross which lives to make sweet wine: when ripe, as in this bottle, it offers spectacular aromas of flowers, currants and exotic citrus (mandarin orange and kumquat), with delicious matching flavors and a spicy clean finish. This is simply the best scheurebe spatlese Dr I has ever had.

Robert Weil, the major owner in the top Rheingau site of Kiedricher Grafenberg, has become, in the last decade the most highly regarded producer of dessert wines in the Rheingau. A half-bottle of one of his legendary TBAs (like the '98) will cost you about $500 if you can find one. The rest of us can be glad that all his wines are crammed with dried fruit, honey and spice.

· Weil Kiedricher Grafenberg Riesling Spatlese '99 $29.99
Though only a spatlese, this wine has botrytis in the nose on top of custardy cooked white fruit and fresh peach, rich on the palate but full and spicy rather than cloying with notes of anise and minerals in the long swallowtail finish. Perfect for roast pork or ham and applesauce.

Hermann Donnhof, is simply one of the world's greatest winemakers. Year after year, from a range of sites on the Nahe he makes wines in which elegance duels with aromatic intensity, and refinement with expression of terroir. To the old debate, "Are his Oberhauser Brucke wines better than those of Niederhauser Hermanshohle?" we must now add the claims of Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube (he recently purchased a section from the German State). A few truths are clear: these are the 3 top sites in the Nahe; Donnhof preserves the personality of each; it's easier to say all three names quickly than to find a better winemaker. We've made it possible for you to make your own ranking.

· Donnhof Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese '99 $29.99
This wine is a contradictory blend of taut restraint and creamy richness. The nose is still dominated by pure pear juice, the palate seems at first all tight slatey cream, then dense mineral flavors, rich yet delicate fruit, and sparks from the noble acidity emerge. Still a very young wine.