HotmailFrom Germany, a vintage to remember
The 2005 rieslings may be the best in a generation. They offer something for everyone, writes Jon Bonné
 Deutsches Weininstitut / Hoffman Along the riesling route in Germany's Rheinhessen region. For most German vintners, 2005 was a banner year. |
While “vintage of the century” is a ridiculous phrase, a year occasionally comes along when fortune truly smiles on winegrowers. So let's talk about 2005.
You might think I was ready to talk Bordeaux, and though that's a good guess, I’ve got Germany on my mind.
The German rieslings of 2005 are a wonder. Not every last one, of course, but the consistency and vibrancy of the wines — especially those from the Mosel region — makes it easy enough to say: Go. Go buy some. Now.
Still standing there, huh?
It’s no surprise that riesling remains a hard sell for many wine lovers, and German rieslings especially so. If you’ve tailored your palate to sinuous, dry red wines, it’s a leap of faith to suddenly uncork something lacy, white and often sweet, a bit of silk lingerie in a world of boxer briefs. Sommeliers especially seem to have taken on the challenge; their advocacy for riesling has reached a fever pitch, and blessedly so.
The 2005s are wines built for aging — potentially for decades — unmistakable products of their origins, masterfully made with balance and care. German rieslings are some of the finest wines in the world, and in a market where it’s a case of Bordeaux now costs about the same as a used Honda Civic, there is virtue to collectible wines that remain, even in a banner year, astoundingly affordable.
Great vintages are marked by nearly perfect sequences of weather, and while not every German growing region could claim that in 2005, most enjoyed a quiet, dry summer, with grapes starting to quicken their ripening pace in August. Harvests began early and finished quickly, with an Indian summer extending well into October and, for the most part, a minimum of rain in the final few weeks beforehand.
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Sugar levels in the grapes (which govern the wines' quality labels) ended up so high that winemakers frequently either had to either forego making some of their everyday wines or opted to “declassify” their wines to a lower level. Your bottle of kabinett may end up being a spätlese in disguise. (Translated: More luscious wine at a lower price.) Yes, that ripeness is a reminder global warming is no laughing matter for wine lovers; but in a year like this, the ripe fruit grew slowly enough for the wines to shine with freshness and acidity. Each region showed off its best traits — transparent terroir and sharp fruit in the Mosel, refined balance in the Rheingau, heady tropical aromas from the Pfalz — but highlights can be found everywhere.
Looking to the past
Great vintages can’t escape comparisons with the past, and Germans winemakers have been struggling to find the right ones. A common description of 2005 — one I heard from Katharina Prüm of J.J. Prüm, perhaps the country's most renowned winery — is that it combines the best aspects of two recent vintages: 2004 (stunning acidity, clear lines) and 2003 (lush, dense fruit). The cellarmaster at Egon Müller reached somewhat farther, comparing it to the benchmark vintage of 1976. Others gazed even further back, maybe 40 years or more.
Are they on target? Only time will tell; the wines are all still babies, needing time to settle down and develop in the bottle. But as importers Rudi and Brent Wiest wrote in their vintage report: “These ’05s will take your breath away.”
The only big concern is that there isn’t enough wine to go around — the grapes were gorgeous, but yields were low. Yet you can sample the vintage’s potential in $10 basic bottles. And it’s possible to buy collectibles without spending more than $30, something you’d be hard-pressed to say about Bordeaux. You can buy nearly any bottle from nearly any respected producer and feel comfortable that you’ve found a very good wine.
For those who fret about riesling’s sweetness, fear not. German winemakers are increasingly trying to convince Americans of the virtues of dry riesling, which has all the aromas but almost none of the sugar. It remains a hard sell — we seem to prefer our wines conceptually, if not literally, dry — and as Christoph Tyrell of the Karthauserhof winery put it, “I think it's sad not to see this very important face of this wonderful grape.”
Though dry rieslings serve a different purpose from their off-dry counterparts, they are no less enjoyable, and have even more versatility for food. Included in our picks are several dry rieslings.
No matter which style you prefer, the best German rieslings are all about tension — tension between fruit, mineral character, a refined texture and snapping acidity (German rieslings have about one-third more measurable acid than California chardonnay). All of it should be held in balance, but never should be smooth and easy.
They should be vibrant and alive, and that’s exactly what the ‘05s offer. So enjoy some now and tuck some away for a rainy day. With a vintage like this, it's hard to go wrong.
One final note: I've written this column since June 2004, and after tasting thousands of wines here, I'm leaving MSNBC.com to write about wine for the San Francisco Chronicle. It has been an amazing time. To those of you who have been reading along, my deepest thanks. You've taught me a ton about how people think about wine. I hope I've steered you to a few good bottles along the way.
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