See our guides to our extensive coverage of
Germany's toothsome 2009s – and don't forget the more
classical German 2008s.
I was going to wait before publishing these notes on German 2009s currently being offered by The Wine Society in the UK in order to give myself time to include wines in another, later offer from Tanners of Shrewsbury. But Nick and I bumped into The Wine Society's head buyer Sebastian Payne MW at a reception last night and he told me that their German 2009s had proved so popular that they are selling out fast. Hence this rather brief but, I hope, useful collection of very specific tasting notes. The image is taken from The Wine Society's online
2009 German Riesling offer. Notes on about a dozen of Tanners' wines will follow, and today we are also publishing these
tasting notes on 2009s from two exciting producers in the Nahe.
Sebastian was also keen to point out that they are on the point of offering 2009s from that eminent Mosel producer J J Prüm, who used to be always one vintage behind everyone else. Alas neither I nor Michael Schmidt has tasted their 2009s – bring back the annual Grosser Ring tasting in London!
MOSEL
White
Fine and pure and racy – etched. Doesn’t taste at all sweet because of the acidity. Very racy! Good stuff. Aperitif style. (JR)
Alcohol: 8.5%
Drink:
2010
–
2015
Price: £13.95 The Wine Society
White
Big and round and currant. Very flattering. Racy but with obvious fruitiness too. Racy and tingly. Well made! Lime marmalade notes. (JR)
Alcohol: 8%
Drink:
2012
–
2018
Price: £13.95 The Wine Society
White
Light but tight, confident, very mineral nose. Real tingle and texture – and great balance and purity. A new name to me but one I will be looking out for. Member of the Bernkasteler Ring. Off dry to medium dry. (JR)
Alcohol: 9%
Drink:
2010
–
2015
Price: £12.50 The Wine Society
White
Pale. Light but nervy with attractive full-blown smoky fruit. Very juicy and relatively forward. Good persistence and presence. Off dry and full bodied but very well balanced. Though I was aware of the sulphur. Asthmatics, beware! (JR)
Alcohol: 10%
Drink:
2010
–
2015
Price: £12.50 The Wine Society
White
Complex, sophisticated. Somehow a cloud of complexity. Racy but with real depth. Should have long life. Off to medium dry at the moment. Smoky. (JR)
Alcohol: 8.5%
Drink:
2010
–
2020
Price: £12.50 The Wine Society
White
Screwcap. Thomas Haag’s name is on the label. A bit of reduction evident on the nose. Pure fruit on the palate – like elderflowers. Very light and blossomy. Just aerate it a bit to maximise the pleasure. Very chewy end. Wait! (JR)
Alcohol: 8.5%
Drink:
2012
–
2017
Price: £12.50 The Wine Society
White
Light and appley. No great tension. Light bodied with a little texture but pretty low key. (JR)
Alcohol: 9%
Drink:
2010
–
2014
Price: £9.50 The Wine Society
White
Note the C in Berncasteler, and Doctor, on the label. A bit of sulphur here on the nose. Big and bold. Firm. This does not seem ethereal, though there is certainly ripeness – and it’s more embryonic than most. It does taste a teensy bit old-fashioned. (JR)
Alcohol: 8.5%
Drink:
2013
–
2020
Price: £20 The Wine Society
MITTELRHEIN
White
Screwcap but actually rather soft on the nose – like being stroked by a feather. Medium dry with some mineral chewiness. Reasonably bright fruit but no great intensity. Actually pretty punchy lime juice... (JR)
Alcohol: 9%
Drink:
2010
–
2015
Price: £12.50 The Wine Society
RHEINGAU
White
Fluted green bottle à la Schloss Vollrads. Smells quite evolved. Lots of lemon scent. Off-dry impression thanks to the fearsome acidity. Still some chew on the end. Unsettled for the moment. (JR)
Alcohol: 9.5%
Drink:
2012
–
2017
Price: £11.95 The Wine Society
White
Screwcap. Very fine, electric, intense, ripe white peach aromas with tingling acidity on the finish but quite enough fruit weight to counterbalance it. Lots of energy here. Bone dry and extremely vital. Ideally, I’d wait until next year before starting to enjoy its explosive fruit. (JR)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Drink:
2011
–
2014
Price: £12.95 The Wine Society
PFALZ
White
Lightly funky nose and lots of youthful fermentation aromas. Piercing acidity, no heaviness at all. In fact quite a bit of richness on the end. But a little suppressed aromatically at present. Should open out into something rather splendid. (JR)
Alcohol: 13%
Drink:
2011
–
2015
Price: £11.50 The Wine Society
