There are lots of ways to present a wine and we thought that, over all the time we have been doing this, we had probably done all of the possible permutations at one point or another…until today. But then offer like this have never came along before. We had the opportunity to purchase two different Rieslings at great discounts, from one of the greatest vintages in Germany in this century and from one of the most storied vineyards in the Mosel. Same price, same pradikat levels, both knockout deals, but the wines are from two different producers. You talk about wine being made in the vineyard? You will never have a better chance to see that it action, and get some pretty wicked spatlese in the bargain.
We’ll start with the vintage. As we have said on multiple occasions, the 2015 vintage in Germany (OK, a lot of places in Europe for that matter) was special. It stands alongside the 2001 as the icon vintage of the 21st Century (thus far anyway). The wines have unique power and cohesiveness to the fruit and surprising palate length. Wine after wine has exhibited the same vintage personality as we have tasted through probably 200+ examples.
The vineyard? Maybe Brauneberger Juffer isn’t quite as well known to the broad market as Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, and Bernkasteler Doctor because producers like Prum and Thanisch have been here much longer promoting them. But among those more tuned in to great Mosel vineyards, Brauneberger Juffer is one of the great ones. We have come to appreciate the vineyard a lot over the last three decades as we have been presented several striking examples from the likes Fritz Haag and Schloss Lieser. More specifically the Sonnenuhr part of the Brauneberger Juffer is the best part, the ‘sweet spot’ if you will.
Given those similarities, and the strong characteristics of both the site and the vintage, our ‘tale of two Juffers’ would seem to come down to the producers. Or does it? That is what makes this exercise so exciting. Besides the fact that the producers are different, and presumably the grapes came from different plots in the vineyard, we don’t actually know the harvest must weights. There is a range to qualify for spatlese designation, including declassified auslese. The alcohols are .5% apart (8% vs 8.5%), but that is all we know.
Both the Karp Schreiber and St Nikolaus Hospital labels boast long histories, the Karp Schreiber tracing its roots back to 1664 and the St. Nikolaus Hospital winery having existed for more than 500 years as the money-raising arm of the foundation that runs the actual hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, the hospital itself founded in 1458. As we opened these two side by side, they started in different places. The Karp Schreiber Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2015 shows a more delicate, filigreed profile, with whiffs of slatey minerality to the peach and pear fruit, a livelier, more active mid-palate and an airier finish of spice and slate. It is a bit higher pitched on the palate with a more evident mineral element.
By contrast, the St Nikolaus Hospital Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2015 is a more centered wine that shows a more direct, pronounced element of peach and pear, with a little hint of apricot possibly as a result of a greater must-weight (this is the one that is the .5% higher in alcohol), but not necessarily. The sweetness level seems slightly more overt out of the gate and the palate is more concise.
As we sat there going back and forth and between the two, it was fascinating to watch them change in the glass, and certainly even more intriguing to watch as they began to show a much more familial streak that we have to presume is the vineyard talking. The Karp got more mid-palate-focused as time passed while the St. Nikolas more high-pitched minerality and lift than it had presented early on. In short, as they developed they became much closer to each other as the elements of one of the middle Mosel’s best terroirs took hold of the proceedings.
While there were still slight differences in line with their original profiles, it was Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr that won the day with the strongest voice. As to our preference, it was not unanimous and way too close to call. We highly recommend taking the opportunity to experience this unique comparison yourself. As to predicting a winner, the winners would be those that take advantage of these two exciting spatlesen from a great vineyard in an epic vintage for a good 40% less that you would typically find anything from this esteemed dirt. These are steals for under $20, the educational/geeky opportunity merely a special bonus here!