GG Monzinger Halenberg - Riesling (20)

Riesling | GG Monzinger Halenberg | top grand cru | kwartsiet en blauwe leisteen | diepe mineraliteit | wijn die de komende 20 jaar alleen maar beter wordt | verfijning | precisie | mineraliteit | intens

Emrich-Schönleber

Frank en Werner Schönleber bottelen pas sinds 2001 onder hun eigen label en behoren sindsdien tot de absolute elite van de Duitse Rieslingproducenten van de afgelopen 10 jaar. Een mix van leisteen en quarzit, de warme zomerdagen en koude nachten, maken  de omstandigheden perfect om Riesling te verbouwen. Wat resulteert in wijnen met enorme precisie, diepte en een rijke mineralig expressie! Een prachtige aanwinst op het assortiment van Smaragd wijnen!

Review

The 2020 Halenberg GG is pure, precise and fresh on the nose that offers flinty notes of crushed stones, herbs and lemons. Crystalline, refined and juicy on the palate, this is a dense and intense, tightly structured and persistently salty Halenberg with fine tannins and great purity. Tasted from a bottle that was opened three days before, the bouquet is deep and intense but pure and salty with ripe lemon and crushed stone aromas. The palate is full, dense and tight, with serious tannin structure and lingering salinity. The combination of both wines is amazing and combines purity and freshness with complexity and elegance. The salty finish is the leitmotiv of all three versions. 12.5% alcohol. Tasted at the domain in July 2021. 96/100 Stephen Reinhardt

I came to the Schönleber winery the morning after the Ahr River had flooded, a few dozen kilometers further north, and floodwaters had engulfed and partly completely destroyed almost all of the wineries, including those of friendly colleagues. Werner Schönleber had just left with pumps and shovels after seeing the first SOS messages and photos on his smartphone. So, Frank Schönleber, who has been responsible for the wines for years anyway, conducted the tasting of the 2020s. He reported that the vintage "was totally problem-free from the vegetation and health point of view." The summer was again "mega sunny and hot, similar to 2019." The persistent drought, even after the last three years, caused brown forests and dried-up rivers, "but the vines stayed green"—and the grapes small. "The plants have conserved energy and developed little leaf mass. We recorded less drought damage than in previous years, which we found curious but also admirable how the vines fought through drought and heat." But what is also curious is that these conditions led to "a mega coolish type of wine," which is "similarly coolish in character to the 2019, but in comparison has less fruit but more mineral character. ... Until today, we didn't understand how this could happen," said Frank. "At the same time, we have actually not changed that much in the vines." Only young plants were irrigated by hand. "With 25-year-old vines, however, you don't see any damage even in the steep Halenberg and not in the Frühlingsplätzchen anyway. With low yields, it all fits together quite well, even when it's hot and dry." Harvest took place between late September and mid-October. Sweet wines were scarce in 2020, there is "one hard-won Auslese" from the Halenberg, otherwise only Kabinett and Spätlese but no higher predicates. Although there were light rain showers in the fall, the grapes were quickly dried again by the wind, so you could not achieve the concentration necessary for higher predicates," said Frank. The main Riesling harvest took place between September 24 and October 16, the Pinots were already harvested a week earlier when it was still very sunny and dry and the Oechsle degrees threatened to explode. Then the rain came, watered down the grapes and brought the Rieslings back to the ideal range of 12% to 12.5% alcohol" with super balanced acidity." The time on the mash is usually no more than five hours here. "The berries were very small anyway, and exaggeration is not our stylistic device." The 2020 Rieslings from Emrich-Schönleber are at a consistently high level but are topped by the three great GGs: Halenberg, Auf der Ley and Frühlingsplätzchen, which I see at the same quality level at this early stage. Another highlight is a late release of the 2018 Halenberg –R–.