Halenberg R

Unlike the previous wine, I have the privilege of owning another five bottles of this specimen. Good job, because it needs at least another five years, I would say.

 



Weingut Emrich-Schönleber, Monzinger Halenberg, Riesling - R - 2009, Nahe, Germany
The 2009 vintage was picture book. By way of anecdote, I recall the glorious warm, sunny weather here in Basel at the end of September 2009 when Jenny and I first moved in together. Perfect weather for grapes, I remember thinking at the time. A bit hot to be lugging sofas and wardrobes around.

The effects of those halcyon days of late summer/early autumn are evident here. This wine shows a vivid, ripe yellow hue. Nevertheless it is reticent on the nose. Eventually, some orangey hints emerge along with maybe some stone fruit.

It's a whole different story on the palate. Altogether a lot more expressive with finest Seville oranges and juicy peaches. A creamy sensation coats the teeth, making the wine seem fuller bodied than it probably is. Like the 2011 Halenberg GG, this is complex juice and the finish is long, though maybe not quite as long.

Analytically on the off-dry side of dry, this is the type of wine they used to produce in abundance back in the day when yeasts often failed to ferment the must to bone dryness. Fermentation would end naturally at around the medium-dry point instead. This "reserve" (released in September 2012, hence the "R") is hailed as a luxury accompaniment to food, and I would wholeheartedly agree. However, it's crying out for years of cellar time to gain greater precision and balance. While the 2011 GG stepped up to the mark immediately and focused the senses thanks to its no-nonsense dry transparency, this "R" still needs to shed its puppy fat. Once it does, it will be spectacular.