Wine of the Week Profile 03/19/07
2005 Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Spätlese “Bockenauer Felseneck”

’05 Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Spätlese “Bockenauer Felseneck” $27.99
The Schäfer-Fröhlich family has been making wine since the 1800s and over the last few vintages their winery has gnarled loads of positive ink and has been readily acknowledged as a rising star in the storied Nahe region. With father Hans maintaining the vineyards, his wife Karin and son Tim are the dynamic winemaking team in the winery. They limit their yields dramatically, averaging just under 50 hl/ha per vineyard, and harvest at maximum ripeness. Their winery is well on the way to challenge the top estates in the region such as Dönnhoff and Schönleber.

This dry Spätlese is a staff favorite, and we are quite pleased to be offering you this rare gem. Only 50 cases were imported, and once this vintage is gone it will not be available again. It has a beautiful pale greenish straw color in the glass with loads of ripe melon and super ripe tropical fruit aromatics that bound out of the glass. The buoyant stone fruit and juicy citrus flavors play off silken folds of dazzling acidity while the wine’s underlying minerality provides a stunning backdrop. The soil in their vineyards consists mainly of weathered volcanic rock, and a mixture of red loess, red slate, and blue slate that dates all the way back to the Devonian age. The wine’s dramatic duality between sweet white fruits and round mineral components are carried along to its stupendous finish that lingers for a long minute. Enjoy this stellar expression of German Riesling with mild curried duck, seared tuna with a spicy wasabi sauce, twice smoked pork, and seared squab.

—Donald

“Pale golden yellow with a greenish hue. Subtle aromas of melon, pineapple and sweet lime.The silky-sweet fruit and pure mineral salts unfold with an almost sensuous tactility. Nicely balanced, elegant finish.” —IWC 91