Riesling is, to me, the greatest grape. I grant you, I may love Bordeaux, I am passionate about port, but if I had to pick my favourite grape, I'd pick Riesling, simply because, when grown in Germany, you can do pretty much anything to it and still get a decent wine!I attended a masterclass with Christian Witte, domain director of Schloss Johannisberg. This producer's vineyards are one of the oldest documented wine regions in the world, with the region having a viticultural history of over 1200 years. We started off with two wines from challenging years. A 'first growth' wine from 2006 that is outstanding despite heavy rain just before harvest and a 40 year old basic Riesling.
2006 Schloss Johannisberg Silberlack Erstes Gewachs Riesling (Silver Seal, First Growth)
This means "1st Growth", stemming from the fact that a couple of hundred years ago, Berry Bros imported these wines in barrel and marked them with the phrase 'First Growth', to rank these wines alongside the top wines from Bordeaux. It had a fresh lemon mixed with honey note, some fresh lemon juice too coming off and lots of delicious grapefruit pith. Some salty aromas came out as well with a richness that I can only assume came from its time spent in old oak. The palate is creamy in texture, again an indication of the oak, but without any oak flavour. There is a spice, a stunning minerality with all parts of the lemon coming through. A beautiful wine from a year that was hit by heavy rain just before harvest. 8.5/10
1970 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Gelback (Yellow Seal)
What is staggering about Riesling, and particularly Schloss Johannisberg, is that their wines last forever! This wine is a perfect case in point. Firstly, the yellow seal, or 'Gelback', wines are the entry level wines. To put that into context, that is a wine that would cost you around £15-£20 today. Secondly, 1970 wasn't a good year for Germany, with lots of rain. So we were presented a cheap, forty year old wine from a rubbish vintage, and it still tasted outstanding! It had a musty nose at first, with a touch of kerosene coming through, mixed with a lot of citrus fruit. There was almost a touch of burnt wood about the nose as well. The palate was rich, again with a musky element, but with warm, dark lemons and spice. Savoury flavours, mixed with honey and lime, with a wonderfully soft palate. Caramel on the long lasting, dry finish. 9/10
Schloss Johannisberg is best known as the company that discovered Spatlese wines. Meaning 'late harvest', Spatlese was discovered by accident when, in 1775, a courier was sent to the owner of the vineyards, Prince Abbot of Fulda, to get permission to start the harvest. By the time the courier returned, late, the grapes had been infested with Botrytis and had gone bad. Rather than make no wine, the cellar master decided to make bad wine, and when he tried it the following year, he found that the dehydrated grapes had produced a sweet, and delicious, style of wine. Nowadays, Schloss Johannisberg don't use botrytised grapes for their Spatlese, preferring a cleaner style of wine that the use of rotted grapes doesn't allow. The result is a superb, late harvest wine with purity of fruit, without the phenolic nuances botrytis brings.
I tried four vintages of their green sealed Spatlese wines, spanning 43 years and they were uniformly stunning!
1964 Schloss Johannisberg Grunlack Riesling Spatlese
Again a wine from a vintage that was decent, but nothing exceptional. This wine had old, dried honey, and an aroma as if you had cooked lemons and then squeezed the concentrated, sweetened citrus juice into sawdust, with just a touch of fresh lime cutting through the sweeter aromas. The palate had lots of burnt wood, dark caramel and then brightened up by grapefruit. Pencil shavings came through, with a never ending fresh, citrus dominated finish. 9.5/10
1975 Schloss Johannisberg Grunlack Riesling Spatlese
This was a very, very good year. Initial aromas of chlorine, mixed with lots of lime and lemon, led onto a peach nectar fragrance with pork fat cut with lemon. There was a little sweetness up front on the palate, and then some beautifully rich honey, lemon marmalade and lime zest. Wonderful freshness on the palate, the acid matching the remaining sweetness of the wine perfectly, with just a few sherbet notes dusting dried, charred limes. The mouthfeel was like honey, and the finish lasted so long I was still tasting it half an hour later. One of the best wines I have ever tried. 10/10
1996 Schloss Johannisberg Grunlack Riesling Spatlese
Fresh green peas on the nose, with a bit of citrus mixed with oyster water and grapefruit. There is lots of citrus flavours ranging from marmalade, through bitter orange to fresh lemon. The palate has a honey note, some sweeter, lemon tart flavours, with an orange seed flavour. The acid grips you and battles a bit with the sweetness, but then it becomes harmonious after a small tussle. the finish is beautifully balanced, with delightful pithy notes all the way through. A wine that is emerging as a more mature wine but with the playfulness and youthfulness of a wine a decade younger. 9.5/10
2007 Schloss Johannisberg Grunlack Riesling Spatlese
This wine is superb. At the perfect point of its youth, this wine has some gentle honey and lemon aromas, a bit of salty rock and grapefruit pith on the nose. A very sweet palate, lots of honey and lemon coming through, but more lemon zest and juice than anything else. It is very lively, some darker flavours emerge, but are livened up by the fresher elements of the wine. Beautifully balanced, but then it mellows just before the finish. Talking of which, the finish of this wine is unlike anything I've experienced before. It rises and falls like a wave with every breath you take! As you breathe in it gets richer, more honey flavoured, and then as you breathe out it develops more of a pithy note! I have secured 6 bottles of this wine - I love it that much. 10/10
This masterclass not only showed the Riesling grape at its finest, but showed the elegance and quality of Schloss Johannisberg. I have long been a follower of these wines and prefer their gentler style over other bigger, bolder producers. A perfect wine for me is one that gives you an emotion rather than just a series of tasting notes, and with every one of these wines an emotion was provoked.
They were beautiful.
Post script
I also tried the current releases from this producer, and despite some of their youth, they were exquisite wines.
2009 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Red Seal
Some gutsier citrus aromas, floral with a touch of marmalade. There is just a touch of sweetness, some lemon but again minerally. Needs some time to settle down as it is a bit youthful. 7.5/10
2009 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken Red Seal
Very crisp, citrus, lemon and grapefruit. Minerally, crisp, lovely acid and minerality. A gorgeous lime pith and lemon flavour. A wonderful dry wine that would rival some of the great dry Alsatian producers. 8/10
2009 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Spatlese Green Seal
Sweet citrus, honey and lots of lime. The palate is honeyed, stunning balance with citrus notes coming through with lovely spiced finish. Too young, with not a lot of harmony yet, but it will come. 8.5/10
2008 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Silberlack First Growth
Some richer fruit, a lot of clean minerally aromas with lovely citrus notes. Very clean and with a gorgeous freshness. Again, stunning balance, and a super youthful wine. 8/10
2008 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese
Loads of honey, lemon, lime and with some floral notes, some pencil too. The palate is honeyed, lots of lime, lime skin and lime juice. A fantastically elegant wine that will only get better. 8.5/10
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