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On the 28th of February 2015, the Saatchi Gallery opened its doors for a prestigious private event by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. On the three stories of the gallery, producing wineries presented their wines under the theme: “Icon Wines of the World” as part of the global “A Matter of Taste” tasting series by Robert Parker. The wines presented on this day had been awarded at least 90 Parker Points by the Robert Parker tasting team.

Immich-Batterieberg, among others from Germany, presented its Riesling wines from three different vintages. The doors at Saatchi Gallery opened at 11 am and the wine enthusiasts were able to taste and chat with the winemakers from all over the world until 6 pm.

Our stand was located in the „Riesling-Room“ were we shared space with Selbach-Oster, JJ Prüm and St. Urbans Hof. We were surrounded by art from Keith Haring, which created a modern and inspirational atmosphere for a wine tasting.

From our side, Gernot, as always, presented our wines while Fay and Roland introduced Immich-Batterieberg to a wider audience.

Our tasting had three different wines in stock:

• 2009 Batterieberg 93 PP
• 2011 Ellergrub 94 PP
• 2013 Ellergrub 93+ PP

We are very proud of the just released Parker Points for our 2013 vintage.

The Saatchi Gallery in combination with fantastic wineries from all over the world created a special day for all visitors. Even we could not resist temptation and took some time to try some of the many wines from our fellow winemakers.

We hope to see you soon in Enkirch or at the Prowein fair in Düsseldorf on March, 15-17th. Our whole team including Fay, Gernot, Roland, Ute and Volker will be in Düsseldorf on the 16th of March.

Datum: 29. und 30. August 2014

Ort: Weingut Immich-Batterieberg in Enkirch

5. Jahrgangspräsentation des Jahrgangs 2013

Germany’s universe of wine is difficult to understand even in the best of times. And these are particularly complicated times for German wines.

We have come to think of German Riesling, particularly from the Mosel Valley, as at least a bit sweet. Many, including some of the world’s best wines, are just that.

But if you believe the current structure of German wine rules, it is dry Riesling that the country does best. For about a decade, wines primarily known as Grosses Gewachs („great growths“) – the country’s equivalent of a grand cru – have been mandated to be dry.

This reflected a belief, not entirely accurate, that Germans prefer their Rieslings dry. Sweeter wines were primarily sent across the border.

But the world is not so simple. In this most traditional of wine cultures – Riesling has been grown near the Rhine since at least the 15th century – a growing roster of wines is defying easy classification. Often they exist in a complicated realm between dry and sweet. Certainly they can appeal to lovers of both.

What they are struggling with, like winemakers elsewhere, is that sweetness has become a bad word. It is why they often describe the slightly sweet nature of many Rieslings as fruchtig, or fruity. Even that comes with risk. Somehow, dryness has become a default.

„Unfortunately,“ says Johannes Leitz, who makes Riesling in the Rheingau area, „most people want to see the word ‚dry‘ on a label, even when the wine itself would taste better with 11 or 12 grams (of sugar) and they would like it more.“

Logical purpose

It may be disconcerting to consider a wine that’s neither dry nor sweet. But the purpose of such wines, at least in Germany, is utterly logical.

Thanks to a combination of climate and better farming, it’s now far easier to fully ripen grapes in northern Germany, even in regions like the valley of the Saar, a Mosel tributary known for wines that were alternately ethereal or sour.

The prospect of dry Saar wine, once considered tart enough to put Sour Patch Kids to shame, has been finessed by small producers like Erich Weber of Hofgut Falkenstein. Falkenstein’s wines, aged in old wooden casks, can flirt at the edge of dryness. The fully dry, or trocken, bottles are as bracing and deep as great Chablis.

These are complicated wines to understand, given Germany’s current wine laws, which presume a wine to be sweet unless marked otherwise – and set specific, and painfully complex, limits for what constituted dryness.

If a wine wasn’t fully trocken, it could be halbtrocken, or „half-dry.“ It could also be feinherb, which, just to confuse things, has no official definition but tends to indicate wines slightly further along the path to sweetness.

No surprise that many see the limitations of current law – as well as the strict rules imposed by the VDP, the country’s powerful winegrowers‘ association. This has led to a raft of producers making at least some wines that don’t fit comfortably inside the rules.

Among them are so-called estate wines. These bottles, meant as a winery’s everyday effort, are typically sourced from younger vines and less profound sites.

Because their labels rarely say anything about geography, ripeness or sweetness, they have become a chance for today’s winemakers to dabble in a bit of impressionism – often leaving just enough sugar to add charm without being distinctly sweet. This includes bottles from some of the country’s greatest producers, including J.J. Prum in the Mosel and Donnhoff in the Nahe. They are now considered an insider’s secret, one of the best unheralded values in wine.

Snapshot of a place

At the same time, there are more so-called village wines that show a snapshot of a particular town, if not a single vineyard, like the Dhroner Riesling from A.J. Adam. The tiny production focuses on the village of Dhron, which is a few miles from the famous town of Piesport but whose wines have been mostly forgotten.

Owner Andreas Adam focuses on sweet wines, about 60 percent of his production, but also makes a dry wine from his top site, the Hofberg. As for the Dhroner, it often hovers between dry and just short of dry, mostly because Adam would rather leave a bit of extra sugar than tinker with the wine’s acidity. The Dhroner serves a purpose to „show more than only the grape variety,“ he says – specifically, the „texture of the main soil from one village.“

Then there are wines like those from the recently revived Immich-Batterieberg estate in the middle Mosel town of Enkirch, including its CAI, a blend from several vineyards that flirts with dryness but doesn’t fully commit. Or those from Weingut Peter Lauer, in the Saar town of Ayl.

Lauer has gained an American fan base for its asterisks – like the Barrel X, its version of an estate wine, which often lands around 18 grams per liter of sugar (a typical dry wine would have half that). There’s also its Fass 6 Senior Riesling, made from the famous Ayler Kupp vineyard, which hovers in that no-man’s-land just beyond dry.

„You don’t force the wines to be bone-dry,“ says Florian Lauer, who makes the wines for his family’s property. „We accept a certain level of residual sugar, like my grandfather did in 1919.“

The long view helps to explain why sweetness has become so confusing. While we now often consider Germany’s wines to be sweet or fruity, those were an anomaly until modern winemaking arrived after World War II. When vintners relied on indigenous yeast in the cellar and vineyard, their great hope was to complete fermentation and have a dry wine.

Changing tastes

The introduction of commercial yeasts, and the ability to halt fermentation, prompted a midcentury thirst for sweet wines. In 1968, the book „Wines of the World“ noted the winemaking of the time yielded „a sweeter type of German wine than was known 40 or 50 years ago.“ Indeed, a precursor to modern wine law passed in 1958 limited the amount of sugar that could be left to 25 percent.

Back to our complicated relationship with „dry.“ In wine, the balance for sugar is acid, something German Riesling has in spades. It’s only reasonable, then, for wines like the Barrel X or the estate wine from Von Winning in the Pfalz to use sugar, quietly, to finesse a balance of tart and sweet. They can’t call themselves dry, but they have no reason to be considered sweet.

This extends to some top wines. Leitz’s bottling from his Kaisersteinfels vineyard, and back in the Mosel town of Zeltingen, bottlings by Selbach-Oster’s Johannes Selbach of single-vineyard parcels like Anrecht and Rotlay, simply don’t discuss relative sweetness on the label, even if they retain a small amount. The belief is that terroir trumps sugar.

In a way, these are more honest responses than the phantom sweetness that has crept into many American wines. Because so many wine lovers insist on loving „dry“ wines, despite revealing their sweet teeth, we have seen the rise of wines like Gallo’s runaway hit Apothic Red; with its 19 grams per liter of sugar, it would qualify as fully sweet if it were white wine. Indeed, if the German sugar judges descended on Zinfandel, many bottles would technically be halbtrocken.

Back in Germany, there are baby steps to untangle this thicket. After significant blowback from its insistence that Grosses Gewachs all be dry, the VDP unveiled alternative rules to allow sweet versions designated from those same top sites. Sound confusing? That might explain why those revisions have yet to be fully enacted.

But the real story behind this middle ground between dry and sweet is that it marks a return to the traditions of the past – namely, to the old-fashioned cellar work, with native yeasts and old wooden casks, that was once shunted aside.

It is why after a 30-year career, Florian Lauer’s father, Peter, gave up commercial yeasts in 2000 at his son’s urging, and allowed the wines to find their own balance between dry and sweet – a decision for the future guided by a lifetime of following the rules.

„In a winemaker’s life, there’s a certain point where you’ve seen everything, you’ve tasted everything,“ Florian says. „It was something decided by both my father and me together. I think my father was thankful I had this idea.“

From the notebook

Here are seven German Rieslings that flirt with sweetness but come across as perfectly dry.

2012 Von Winning Estate Pfalz Riesling ($22, 11.5% alcohol): This ascendant estate makes some of the best dry Grosses Gewachs in the Pfalz under the hand of Stefan Attman, but the estate wine is their secret treasure. Showing a ripe texture that’s the mark of the winery, it has perfect integration: cassia, talc, dried lime, verbena, pippin apple. The 14 grams of sugar come through more as weight than sweetness. (Importer: Terry Theise/Michael Skurnik Wines)

2012 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Feinherb Mosel ($20, 10.5%): If dry Saar Riesling sounds too trippy, this is a perfect example of feinherb’s charms – frothy and salty and showing a subtle nectary sweetness. Fuji apple, rose hip, talc and a lime-leaf exoticism, plus that remarkable Saar mineral bite. (Importer: Lars Carlberg Selections/USA Wine West)

2011 Peter Lauer Barrel X Saar Riesling ($19, 11%): Lauer wines are still rare on the West Coast, but keep an eye out for the forthcoming 2012. The Barrel X is as friendly a wine as you’ll find from the Saar; this vintage exudes jackfruit and strawberry flavors, and a sappiness to the texture that reflects deft work with that hint of remaining sugar. (Importer: Vom Boden/T. Elenteny Imports)

2012 A.J. Adam Dhroner Mosel Riesling ($28, 12% alcohol): Andreas Adam leaves about 12 g/l sugar in this village wine, which shows itself more as a fullness of texture (also aided by aging in cask). The style veers between austere and juicy, with a rush of yellow plum and tangerine fruit. (Importer: Terry Theise/Michael Skurnik Wines)

2012 Von Schubert Maximin Grunhauser Mosel Riesling Feinherb ($24, 11%): Carl von Schubert’s Grunhauser property, by the Ruwer tributary of the Mosel, has made iconic sweet wines for centuries. But the forthcoming release of its feinherb estate wine is both approachable and intense – chive, sweet lime, austere honeydew skin and citrus pith, and a hint of nectary sweetness for perfect balance. A beautiful example of feinherb. (Importer: Loosen Bros.)

2012 Okonomierat Rebholz Dry Pfalz Riesling ($19, 12.5%): The Pfalz is a stronghold for dry Riesling, and Hans-Jörg Rebholz one of its major proponents. But there’s surprising weight and richness here, thanks in part to the great 2012 vintage – sweet melon to balance the nutmeg spice, celery and peach. (Importer: Rudi Wiest/Cellars Intl.)

2011 Immich-Batterieberg C.A.I. Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($22, 11.5%): The label would hint at its being sweet, but this is Germany’s new dryish side in a nutshell, from Gernot Kollmann’s revival of a historic Mosel site. The dense flavors burst, with tons of nectarine and key lime, lavender, and a sense of sharp-eyed Mosel minerality that’s vibrant without being stark. Keep an eye for the 2012, appearing soon. (Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections)

Presentation of the 2012 vintage

30./31.08.2013, special guest: Bosse

Presentation of the 2011 vintage

31.8./1.9.2012, special guest: Johannes Strate (Bandleader Revolverheld)

David Schildknecht via www.erobertparker.com:

Gernot Kollmann picked most of his best parcels in the third week of October, although botrytis pressure forced him to attack some vines earlier. Even with such a relatively late harvest and a vintage this ripe, he has been able to bottle wines with finished alcohol between 12-12,5%, in keeping with a continued goal of achieving levity. Vine age, genetic diversity, and lack of grafts have much to do, in Kollmann’s (and many another Mosel vintner’s) view, with their fruit ripening at relatively low must weights. These wines display the sort of balance thal long-time (and last family) proprietor Georg Immich adored, although I regret that one certainly cannot credit as prohpetic his belief that halbtrocken would, before the last century was out, become the sensible and aesthetically norm among „dry“ German Rieslings! (Perhaps one day still, though.) He has managed to secure significant numbers of wholesome used barrels of 300-liter capacity, substituting these increasingly for classic 225-liter barriques; but reports that, sadly, he cannot locate suitable used 500- or 600-liter demi-muids nor, for the time being, afford to introduce newly constructed fuders on the classic Mosel model. (For more on the recent evolution – indeed, veritable resurrection – of this venerable estate, please consult my reports in issues 199 and 192. The first, strikingly delicious Chardonnay-dominated wine has appeared from Weingut Rinke’s dramatically-steep and -restored mussel-chalk terraces on the Upper Mosel, a Kollmann project about which I’ll write further in future, though that arguably belongs in the context of covering neighboring Luxemburg, or even Champagne.)

Imported by Louis/Dressner Selections, New York; tel. (212) 334-8191

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling C A I

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 90

Fifteen in part geographically disparate contract lots informed the 30,000 bottles of Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Riesling Kabinett C.A.I., including – as in 2010 – a majority of Dhronhofberger from Kohl-Staudt Weinhofgut Amtsgarten, considerable Oberemmel and Wiltinger Riesling courtesy of Moritz Gogrewe, plus contibutions from Kinheim, Kröv, Wolf (all near-by) and Enkirch itself. Genuinely dry- though not labeled as such – this is consistent with the standards set by its two predecessors, emphasizing levity, precision of flavor, and genuine interactivty. The vividness and lusciousness of flower-garlanded white peach and lime are every bit as much Mosel archetypes as are this wine’s mouthwatering salinity, wet stone understone, and shimmering sense of transparency to nuances that can only – for lack of any better covering term – be called „mineral.“ This exceptional value should serve well for at least the next 3-4 years (The 2010 is even more exciting today than it was a year ago.)

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling Escheburg

A Riesling Medium Dry White Table wine from Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 89

The Immich-Battieberg 2011 Enkircher Riesling Escheburg – a mid-range cuvee drawn on this occasion from around 40% Ellergrub, 40% Batterieberg, and 20% Steffensberg, and not stinting on old, ungrafted vines – is, like the intro-level negociant cuvee „C.A.I.,“ legally dry, though not labeled as such. There’s also a rahter austerely stony, ashen understone, which sets-off the tropical ripeness of fruit flavors, favoring melons, passion fruit, mango and peach. Kollmann seeks to assure me that there was no botrytis in this fruit but it was extremly ripe. A slight majority of the vinification was in tank, which may have enhanced freshness but may also have underscored the wine’s austere side. The charm or interactivity and saliva-inducement of the ostensibly lesser „C.A.I.“ would be welcome here, too, but this is still an excellent and persistent performance that may with a few years acquire other, compensatory virtues.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Steffensberg Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Steffensberg, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 90+

Drink: 2013 – 2017

Peppermint, cassis, and struck flint pungently inform the nose of Immich-Batterieber’s 2011 Enkircher Steffensberg Riesling; then join hints of spice from barrel as well as grapefruit and kumquat oils in accenting a juicy reserve of white peach. Palpably dense and phenolically pronounced, this, nonetheless, serves for ample refreshment, and its prolonged, wet stone-underlain finish offers a welcome sense of buoyancy. It seems to me quite easy to imagine that were only another half percent of alcohol present, this wine’s bitter elements would be too reinforced and its sense of buoyancy compromised. I am inclined to anticipate this being best drunk over the next 3-4 years. Kollmann cautions me, though, that Steffensberg was more expressive before as well as immediately following bottling than the corresponding wine from the Batterieberg, and that it might well be suffering more from its recent bottling. As for the wine’s pungently reductive cast, I can testify from my experience in the 1980s with Georg Immich’s wines that it is at least partly associated with Steffensberg terroir.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Batterieberg Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Batterieberg, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany.
Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 92

A greenhouse- or florist’s-like amalgam of laefing and flowering things joins with intimations of alkalinity and wet stone in the nose of Immich-Batterieberg’s 2011 Enkircher Battierberg Riesling. Its juicy lemon and lime brightness enlivens a complex matrix of white peach, apricot and crabapple suffused with fruit pit, diverse flower petals, crushed stone, mustard seed and freshly-milled grain on a subtly satiny palate. This finishes with lift and shimmeringly interactive intensity of floral, herbal, fruit and mineral components. I would expect it to perform well for a least 15 years.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Ellergrub, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 94

The Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling is fascinatingly and alluringly floral, incorporating musky narcissus and peony, chamomile and lavender, as well as sweet scents of honeysuckle and apple blossom. These, along with mint and hints of citrus oils, garland succulently juicy white peach which – like the impression of liquid floral perfume itself – is beautifully underscored by a subtle hint of sweetness from 17 grams of residual sugar on a seductively silken yet invigorantingly juicy palate. A cyanic hint of peach kernel, nutty bitter sweetness of almond, kiss of wet stone, and saliva-drawing salinity help intriguingly extend a buoyant, kaleidoscopically-interactive, and refreshing finish. This beauty should dazzle for at least two decades.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling

Riesling Dry White Table wine from Zeppwingert, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany.
Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 93

From old vines immediately adjacent to the Batterieberg yet always giving distinctly different vinous results, the 2011 Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling is the only „dry“ wine in its collection whose fruit was influenced by botrytis. Quince, white peach and bittersweet liquid floral perfumes cavort against a background of wet stone on a silken, expansive, deeply rich, yet still-refreshing palate, nuances of peach kernel, almond, black tea, and ginseng adding to the dynamically interactive finish of a Riesling that manages to at once sooth and enervate. As one has come to expect from Kollmann, this wine is adroitly-balanced, its 22 grams of residual sugar entirely supportive yet leaving behind only the subtlest impression of sweetness per se. Look for at least two decades of satisfaction.

David Schildknecht via www.erobertparker.com:

Gernot Kollmann picked most of his best parcels in the third week of October, although botrytis pressure forced him to attack some vines earlier. Even with such a relatively late harvest and a vintage this ripe, he has been able to bottle wines with finished alcohol between 12-12,5%, in keeping with a continued goal of achieving levity. Vine age, genetic diversity, and lack of grafts have much to do, in Kollmann’s (and many another Mosel vintner’s) view, with their fruit ripening at relatively low must weights. These wines display the sort of balance thal long-time (and last family) proprietor Georg Immich adored, although I regret that one certainly cannot credit as prohpetic his belief that halbtrocken would, before the last century was out, become the sensible and aesthetically norm among „dry“ German Rieslings! (Perhaps one day still, though.) He has managed to secure significant numbers of wholesome used barrels of 300-liter capacity, substituting these increasingly for classic 225-liter barriques; but reports that, sadly, he cannot locate suitable used 500- or 600-liter demi-muids nor, for the time being, afford to introduce newly constructed fuders on the classic Mosel model. (For more on the recent evolution – indeed, veritable resurrection – of this venerable estate, please consult my reports in issues 199 and 192. The first, strikingly delicious Chardonnay-dominated wine has appeared from Weingut Rinke’s dramatically-steep and -restored mussel-chalk terraces on the Upper Mosel, a Kollmann project about which I’ll write further in future, though that arguably belongs in the context of covering neighboring Luxemburg, or even Champagne.)

Imported by Louis/Dressner Selections, New York; tel. (212) 334-8191

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling C A I

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 90

Fifteen in part geographically disparate contract lots informed the 30,000 bottles of Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Riesling Kabinett C.A.I., including – as in 2010 – a majority of Dhronhofberger from Kohl-Staudt Weinhofgut Amtsgarten, considerable Oberemmel and Wiltinger Riesling courtesy of Moritz Gogrewe, plus contibutions from Kinheim, Kröv, Wolf (all near-by) and Enkirch itself. Genuinely dry- though not labeled as such – this is consistent with the standards set by its two predecessors, emphasizing levity, precision of flavor, and genuine interactivty. The vividness and lusciousness of flower-garlanded white peach and lime are every bit as much Mosel archetypes as are this wine’s mouthwatering salinity, wet stone understone, and shimmering sense of transparency to nuances that can only – for lack of any better covering term – be called „mineral.“ This exceptional value should serve well for at least the next 3-4 years (The 2010 is even more exciting today than it was a year ago.)

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling Escheburg

A Riesling Medium Dry White Table wine from Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 89

The Immich-Battieberg 2011 Enkircher Riesling Escheburg – a mid-range cuvee drawn on this occasion from around 40% Ellergrub, 40% Batterieberg, and 20% Steffensberg, and not stinting on old, ungrafted vines – is, like the intro-level negociant cuvee „C.A.I.,“ legally dry, though not labeled as such. There’s also a rahter austerely stony, ashen understone, which sets-off the tropical ripeness of fruit flavors, favoring melons, passion fruit, mango and peach. Kollmann seeks to assure me that there was no botrytis in this fruit but it was extremly ripe. A slight majority of the vinification was in tank, which may have enhanced freshness but may also have underscored the wine’s austere side. The charm or interactivity and saliva-inducement of the ostensibly lesser „C.A.I.“ would be welcome here, too, but this is still an excellent and persistent performance that may with a few years acquire other, compensatory virtues.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Steffensberg Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Steffensberg, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 90+

Drink: 2013 – 2017

Peppermint, cassis, and struck flint pungently inform the nose of Immich-Batterieber’s 2011 Enkircher Steffensberg Riesling; then join hints of spice from barrel as well as grapefruit and kumquat oils in accenting a juicy reserve of white peach. Palpably dense and phenolically pronounced, this, nonetheless, serves for ample refreshment, and its prolonged, wet stone-underlain finish offers a welcome sense of buoyancy. It seems to me quite easy to imagine that were only another half percent of alcohol present, this wine’s bitter elements would be too reinforced and its sense of buoyancy compromised. I am inclined to anticipate this being best drunk over the next 3-4 years. Kollmann cautions me, though, that Steffensberg was more expressive before as well as immediately following bottling than the corresponding wine from the Batterieberg, and that it might well be suffering more from its recent bottling. As for the wine’s pungently reductive cast, I can testify from my experience in the 1980s with Georg Immich’s wines that it is at least partly associated with Steffensberg terroir.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Batterieberg Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Batterieberg, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany.
Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 92

A greenhouse- or florist’s-like amalgam of laefing and flowering things joins with intimations of alkalinity and wet stone in the nose of Immich-Batterieberg’s 2011 Enkircher Battierberg Riesling. Its juicy lemon and lime brightness enlivens a complex matrix of white peach, apricot and crabapple suffused with fruit pit, diverse flower petals, crushed stone, mustard seed and freshly-milled grain on a subtly satiny palate. This finishes with lift and shimmeringly interactive intensity of floral, herbal, fruit and mineral components. I would expect it to perform well for a least 15 years.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling

A Riesling Dry White Table wine from Ellergrub, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 94

The Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling is fascinatingly and alluringly floral, incorporating musky narcissus and peony, chamomile and lavender, as well as sweet scents of honeysuckle and apple blossom. These, along with mint and hints of citrus oils, garland succulently juicy white peach which – like the impression of liquid floral perfume itself – is beautifully underscored by a subtle hint of sweetness from 17 grams of residual sugar on a seductively silken yet invigorantingly juicy palate. A cyanic hint of peach kernel, nutty bitter sweetness of almond, kiss of wet stone, and saliva-drawing salinity help intriguingly extend a buoyant, kaleidoscopically-interactive, and refreshing finish. This beauty should dazzle for at least two decades.

2011 Immich-Batterieberg Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling

Riesling Dry White Table wine from Zeppwingert, Enkrich, Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany.
Review by David Schildknecht eRobertParker.com
# 199 and 192 (April 2013)
Rating: 93

From old vines immediately adjacent to the Batterieberg yet always giving distinctly different vinous results, the 2011 Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling is the only „dry“ wine in its collection whose fruit was influenced by botrytis. Quince, white peach and bittersweet liquid floral perfumes cavort against a background of wet stone on a silken, expansive, deeply rich, yet still-refreshing palate, nuances of peach kernel, almond, black tea, and ginseng adding to the dynamically interactive finish of a Riesling that manages to at once sooth and enervate. As one has come to expect from Kollmann, this wine is adroitly-balanced, its 22 grams of residual sugar entirely supportive yet leaving behind only the subtlest impression of sweetness per se. Look for at least two decades of satisfaction.

Stephan Reinhardt via www.weinwisser.com

SR. – Das Enkircher Weingut wurde im Jahre 911 erstmalig urkundlich erwähnt und war zwischen 1425 und 1989 im Besitz der Familie Immich. Seit 2009 gehört es zwei Hamburger Familien, die Gernot Kollmann zum Betriebsverwalter und Kellermeister machten.

Die kleine Gemeinde Enkirch verfügt über vier erstklassige Lagen, die bereits in der preussischen Kartierung von 1868 herausgehoben wurden: Steffensberg, Ellergrub, Grub Zeppwingert und Batterieberg. Immich-Batterieberg hat in allen vier Lagen Besitz, insgesamt 5 Hektar, nichts als Riesling, 90 % davon sind wurzelechte Reben. Die Böden spielen sämtliche Schieferfarben von Grau bis Rot durch. Im Batterieberg kommen Quarzite dazu, den feinsten Schiefer aber findet man in der steilsten Lage, der Ellergrub.

Kollmann bewirtschaftet seine Flächen ökologisch, die Ertragsreduzierung erfolgt allein mit dem Anschnitt im Winter. Im Jahrgang 2009 betrug der Gesamtertrag lediglich 35 hl/ha, jahrgangsbedingt (verzettelte Blüte), aber auch wegen der alten Reben, die im Durchschnitt mindestens 60 Jahre alt sind. Die Lese erfolgt in kleinen roten Bütten, nach der Mühle kommt die Maische für 2-24 Stunden auf die Presse, der Most geht dann per Falldruck für 3-24 Stunden in Edelstahltanks zum Klären. Klärhilfen und Schönungsmittel wie andere Zusätze werden nicht verwendet. Die Vergärung erfolgt spontan im Edelstahl sowie in gebrauchten Barriques, da die alten Fuderfässer nicht mehr zu gebrauchen waren. Wir haben Kollmann Ende September besucht, die meisten Weine waren da gerade erst abgefüllt.

2009 CAI Kabinett: 11,5 Vol.-%. Von jüngeren, etwa 40-jährigen Weinbergen. Helles Strohgelb. Saftige Rieslingfrucht mit würzigen Sponti-Noten und zartem Schieferton. Vollmundiger Gaumen mit feiner Schieferrasse und salzigem Finale, deutliche Restsüsse, intensiver, recht nachhaltiger Geschmack. Sehr guter, recht fülliger Kabinett. (9 EUR) 16/20 trinken -2020

2009 Steffensberg: Gemischter Schiefer mit höherem Anteil von rötlichem Schiefer, tieferer Boden als sonst. Die Lage wurde flurbereinigt, allein die unterste Parzelle blieb verschont, daher gibt es hier noch wurzelechte Reben. Ausschliesslich von deren Trauben stammt dieser Wein, während die anderen Trauben im Escheburg oder CAI verarbeitet werden. Nur 4 g Restzucker, 12,5 Vol.-% Alk. Holzfassvergärung und -ausbau in fünf alten Barriques. Kräftiges Gelb. Tiefe, substanzreiche, würzig-mineralische Nase mit satter, saftiger Stein- und Kernobstfrucht, reife Birnen, mit mehr Luft feine Kräuternoten vom roten Schiefer. Stoffiger , aber gnadenlos trockener Gaumen mit leichtem Hefeschmelz und zarter Barriquewürze, besitzt viel mineralische Substanz und eine noch zurückhaltende Frucht. Im Ende fehlt die Länge. Dekantiert besser? (22 EUR) 16+/20 2013-2022

2009 Batterieberg: Je zur Hälfte im Edelstahl und in gebrauchten Barriques ausgebaut. 12 Vol.-%, 16 g Restzucker. Recht ausgeprägte Sponti-Würze, kühle Mineralik, helles Kernobst, Knäckebrot, mit mehr Luft immer feinduftiger werdend, getrocknete Apfelringe. Am Gaumen mit spürbarer Fruchtsüsse und angenehm mineralischer Fülle, elegant, reife Säure, pikant, schöne puristische Länge, ausgewogen. (22 EUR) 17/20 2016-2030

2009 Ellergrub: 80 % Barrique, 20 % Stahl. Extrem flachgründiger Schieferboden, stark verwitterter grauer und blauer Schiefer, nur wenig roter und wenig Quarzit. Klares helles Gelb mit grünlichen Reflexen. Sehr feines Rieslingbouquet, kühle, klare Schiefermineralik mit deutlichen Kräuternoten und feiner reifer Frucht von weissem Kern- und Steinobst. Am Gaumen schlank, aber fest, komplex und nachhaltig. Zeigt einen tollen Purismus mit feingliedriger Rasse, delikater Mineralität und einer bemerkenswert feinen Fruchtausprägung. Geradlinige Eleganz. (24 EUR) 17+/20 2018-2030

2009 Enkircher „Escheburg“: Dieser Wein ist die Synthese aller Toplagen, aber eben deren B-Selektionen. Doch auch für diesen Wein werden nur Trauben verwendet, die von wurzelechten Reben stammen. 90 % Edelstahl. 11,5 Vol.-%, 29 g Restzucker. Kräftiges Gelb. Satte, gelbfleischige Frucht mit feiner Schieferwürze, wild. Saftiger, mineralisch strukturierter Gaumen, leicht salzig, reifer und getrockneter Apfel, schöne Länge, sinnlich. Spassig und komplex zugleich. 4 000 Flaschen. (14,50 EUR) 17/20 trinken -2030

2009 Batterieberg Auslese: 100 % sauber ausgelesene Botrytis, 128 g Gesamtalkohol, 100 g Restzucker, 10 Promille Säure, 9 Vol.-% Alk. Kollmann: „Ich will etwas Weiniges im Süsswein haben. Diese Schmerzen an den Zähnen brauche ich nicht. Auch nicht diese in der Gärung gestoppten Fruchtkörbe.“ Sehr helles Gelb. Sehr klare und feine Frucht. Am Gaumen delikat und vornehm, dichtes, fein strukturiertes Fruchtfleisch, feinste Rosine, sehr klar und angenehm rassig, filigraner, hochfeiner und eleganter Typ, enorm trinkig. Delikater Nachhall. (48 EUR/0,375 l) 18/20 2020-2040