The direction of German Riesling has changed dramatically over the last decade. There are lots of reasons. Part of it is market perception. In general, anything that is perceived to have any residual sugar is frowned upon by the new populace. Spätlese is viewed as ‘sweet’, even though the elevated acidity strikes an amazing balance with the complex hillside fruit of traditional German estate Riesling. Chardonnay is ‘dry’. Never mind that many of the Chardonnays the populace drinks have substantial sugars woven into their makeup, and much lower acidity.
The sommelier set, particularly those in Germany that have the ears of the vintners, claim that traditionally styled Rieslings don’t go with food. We’d love to debate that but the point is that they have been demanding searingly dry, skeletal trocken Riesling as the solution. Do they go better with food? Well some food, as long as you don’t care what the wine tastes like. The best examples of the genre are generally the ‘Grand Cru’ Trockens, designated as GG (großes gewächs). But while they have the peripheral fruit flesh that makes the style viable, they are erratic as a genre and typically cost $50 and up.
As we have stated many times, grapes should be made into the type of wine that best serves the varietal and the site. In this part of the world where it is colder, leaner structures and some sweetness are magic together. That may change with global warming, but it hasn’t yet. In the meantime some very talented German estates have figured out what we think is a way to please everyone. Over the years we have seen better and better examples of what are referred to as halbtrockens (literally ‘half dry’) a.k.a. feinherb, and this effort will be a game changer for a lot of folks.
The feinherbs have the firm backbone of great Riesling and, in concert with that acidity, have barely perceptible sweetness and finish dry. Perhaps more important is that, with just a bit more ‘fat’ on the ‘bones’, the palate feel is much rounder and there is a place where the remarkable fruit and complexity of some of these historic vineyards have a platform to express those qualities. To us, these are the answer to Riesling’s identity problem and a fantastic and versatile option for both food and non-food applications. We wouldn’t think of making a pitch like this unless we had a stellar example of the breed to make our case. This A. J. Adam Feinherb is uncommonly good for the genre and pretty sensational juice by any standard.
While we have been big promoters of German wines since the 1980s, and have worked with some producers for that entire stretch, we only became acquainted with A.J. Adam with the 2010 vintage. He has since become one of our favorite Häuser. The A J Adam Riesling Mosel in der Sangerei Feinherb 2017 can be considered a ‘best of breed’. Some folks might balk at a $40 fare for Riesling, but you can pay a lot more for wines that cannot touch this one. To us, this should be the future of the trocken movement…back off the trocken a little and make something that’s both enjoyable and food friendly.
Importer Terry Theise’s comments on this one are, “A cadaster parcel within the Hofberg, this has often been a beloved wine for me. This ’17 is quite serious, in the vintage way, not as suave as usual but with a different kind of grip and length. Half was lost to frost, so there’s just one Fuder, of an earnest, dark-toned mineral wine, with a pointed acidity that sucks up every one of the 25g/l RS.”
While perhaps less cerebral, Stuart Piggott’s comments on James Suckling’s website are certainly more to the heart of the matter, “Super peachy with great brilliance and refinement. This is a great Spätlese that’s dry enough for the finest lobster dish, but it is also powerful enough to cope with the spiciest curry. The very long finish keeps pumping out fruit and minerals. Drink or hold…96 points.”
This is the type of effort that will please people on both sides of the Riesling debate. By the way, if you are a fan of the more traditional Spätlese style, these guys make one of the best.