Like Belgium during the forties, inexpensive German wines are a bit of a minefield. For every Donnhoff, you get some terrible muck that is almost as bad as an alcopop. The one thing I do like about the majority of German wines, good or bad, are the labels. They just scream 'GERMANY' like a Sausage and Sauerkraut sarnie, and unlike every other nation, they tend not to change them that much.Alfred Merkelbach's wines have a great label and hovering around the £11 to £15 mark, they are in a very competitive price point where they could be easily shown up by some great value wines. I was prepared to love or hate them, but my conclusion was something totally different!
2007 Alfred Merkelbach Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett had a clean, simple nose. Quite light and sprightly with a hint of tangerine and pencil coming off. The palate is all about minerals and gentle spice. There is a dull patch in the mid palate, and quite a bit of alcohol heat. The finish cleans up, is nice and aromatic, with little bits of lime zest and nectarine coming off. 7.5/10
Next up was the 2006 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese, a rich honey and lemon sweetness on the nose with more nectarine and lychee. The palate is oily, with a dry mineral style. Hot rocks covered in petrol too on the palate. Nice acidity, gentle fruit and a salty component coming through on the finish. A long, spicy finish, clean but short. 7.5/10
The 2006 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese is quite pretty, very floral with petrol mixed with rosewater. The palate has noticable sweetness, good depth and spice with lots of salty rocks. A vegetal finish, mixes with lime zest and peach. It is nice, but the finish is a little dirty. 8/10
My conclusion, which I wanted to be either brilliant or terrible, was that I had no conclusion! These wines were decent, did everything they were supposed to, but just didn't bring any passion to the table. There was always something spoiling the experience of these wines, and for that I just couldn't decide if I liked them or not. They may improve significantly with age, and I'd like to try old bottles one day, and even when young, they are certainly very drinkable, but given the option of Merkelbach or Donnhoff, I would go with the latter. Merkelbach has commited the worst crime - not making a good wine, not making a bad wine, but making an uninspiring wine.
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