On a recent trip to Germany I had the opportunity to taste the Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese* 2008 from Weingut Günther Steinmetz, which had just been bottled the week before. Wine maker Stefan Steinmetz warned me about bottle sickness, a phase of indisposition some wines go through - the shock of being bottled after months of peaceful rest on their fine lees in the cask. Bottle sickness can result in off smells. But Steinmetz's Brauneberger Juffer Spätlese* had no unpleasant smells. Quite the opposite.
I was immediately taken by the elegance of this young Riesling. An intense smell of wet stones, soft and warm, balancing the fruit notes of pear, peach, tangerine and quince. There is also a hint of spice, not the piercing white pepper that one can often detect in Riesling, but rather the smooth and gentle smell of the sumac. So I sat there, the nose in the glass and took great pleasure just smelling this Riesling brought to me from the Juffer. For quite some time I delayed tasting it. The intentional suspense can sometimes intensify the delight in the aromas even more.
The 2008 Spätlese is medium sweet. An exquisite sweetness balanced by crisp acidity, which itself is less noticeable as an acidic sensation but more like sense of vibrancy. That exactly is the beauty of this wine: the perfect balance within its complexity. The acidity is high, the minerality pronounced, yet the wine is round and elegant. The juicy peach and tangerine are met by a hint of nuttiness towards the finish of a medium(+) length.
Photo: Tobias Hannemann for Mosel Wine Merchant
But what about that little star on the label? Stefan Steinmetz uses a 2-star system to designate wines of a higher quality and different style although they come from the very same vineyard as the bottlings without the star(s). Within a vineyard some parcels may enjoy varying soil components or a different exposure to the sun, thus producing wines with a different character. Some wine makers choose to blend wines from different parcels, some decide to ferment those parcels individually thus preserving nature's diversity. In the case of the Brauneberger Juffer Spätlese the wine with a * is coming from parcels which are located at the top of the Juffer vineyard, where soils tend to be drier. These wines are lighter and more chiseled in style than the ** wines, which are from the lower part of the Juffer (known as the Brauneberger Hasenläufer before Germany's vineyard restructuring called Flurbereinigung in the early 70s). These parcels are at the foot of the Juffer hill, where they enjoy additional sunlight, reflected from the river Mosel directly onto the vines. The fruit here tends to be slightly riper and thus produces wines which are fuller in body.
Considering the remarkable elegance it displays at such a young age, the Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese* 2008 is a child prodigy with a very promising future. Drink now through 2025.
Reach out for the stars