Piesporter Goldtröpfchen

Recently, I found myself drinking with friends who were discussing which type of vegetable they would like to be. When I asked them how they would rate me, Charlotte suggested I could be a squash. Unfortunately I never really found out why she classified me in this way, partly because she went on to say she would quite like to be a courgette. Today's wine, luckily, is not like a vegetable. Instead it is very easy to describe in terms of fruit: take the most deliciously juicy peach you can imagine, add passion fruit, and caramelise it with lots of sugar and some gold, sprinkle finely with herbs and serve in a stony cup with a dash of menthol, spice and lemon juice. As you can see this description really does not work in relation to vegetables, but I can tell you that if this wine were a human being it would have to be the young Liv Tyler - just in blond.

On a glorious, sunny day (or, in this case, quite a few hours after the sun went down after such a day), not much beats a glorious, sunny Riesling, in particular if it is so very quaffable and yet elegant as this one. Yes, I am again drinking one of the fruity Rieslings made by Theo Haart, this time a lighter wine in 'Kabinett' style.

If you ask me to name a winemaker who has really impressed me with consistently, year for year letting the quality (let's avoid the word terroir here, shall we) of an outstanding vineyard shine, well, then I would probably name Theo Haart. Sure, there are others, but I have now tasted his late vintage Rieslings from the famous Piesporter Goldtröpfchen for the vintages 1999 and 2001-2008 (the 05 though is still sitting here, waiting for its day), and not only are they all first class wines, they are also very distinct and consistent in style. The '08 is no exception and, boring as it may sound when I write about Haart late vintage Riesling, just a lovely wine.

It has been a while, way too long, actually, since I reported on a wine made by the lovely people from the Haart winery. The winery is based in the village of Piesport, a name that is infamous in the UK for cheap wine, but famous among wine lovers for the Goldtröpfchen (little drop of gold) vineyard, one of the best at the Mosel. The Haart family has been making wine since the 14th century and the sweet Rieslings of Theo Haart, who runs the family estate with his wife and son, have an excellent reputation. For me they are also the embodiment of what I love about the Mosel style of winemaking.

Three bottles. I managed to get my greedy hands on three bottles of this wine last year - regular readers of the Wine Rambler will know that I am a big fan of the lovely wines Theo Haart creates at the Haart family estate overlooking the Mosel river. Most of the wines are sweet, but every year there are a few bottles of dry wines. This is the first Haart Großes Gewächs I ever tasted - Großes Gewächs is German for "great growth" and indicates that you are drinking a dry wine from a respectable vineyard as certified by the German Association of Premier Winemakers (VdP). Basically, think of it as a dry Spätlese (late vintage). So three bottles. One went down the drain last weekend because it was corked - it tasted of burnt smoke and vinegar. This means I am now down to two. [read the full post...]

If you like aged Riesling, if you want a perfectly balanced, well rounded wine, if you crave the sensation of a wine that makes your palate feel smooth and peachy - go for this gem from the Mosel. Followers of the Wine Rambler will have noticed that we do tend to like the fruity Rieslings Theo Haart makes and this one is no exception. It is, in fact, the oldest Haart we have tasted for the Rambler and it demonstrates the potential of these wines. [read the full post...]

Is there anything better than a nicely aged, excellent Riesling? I am not sure, but drinking this late vintage from winemaker Haart makes me think there may not be many things that would be better.

Not many things in life beat a late vintage Riesling from the Mosel - sweet, yes, but usually well balanced with acidity and mineral that combine to a perfect sensation that is way too elegant and vibrant to be simply considered a sweet dessert wine. On top of that many of these wines are low on alcohol too. My favourite producer of these sweet Riesling is called Haart and based in the old winemaking village of Piesport, with the small family estate overlooking the Mosel river. [read the full post...]

If to me the recent Weißburgunder from Rebholz was an acid handgranade, this Riesling here is the 80mm shell. Dry, edgy, green apple with a hint of nut. And a clearly defined core of steely acidity with just enough fruit flavours decorated around it to give you a proper punch.

If, like me, you sometimes shy away from too much acid, make sure to have this wine with food - and do not be afraid, it can take it, even meat. Or put it in the decanter - even after three days in the open bottle it was still sharp as a blade.

If you have either strong food or a stomach of steel, this is a nice, crass Riesling to go for, especially for the price.

Looks quite fizzy, lots of small bubbles, greenish colour. Fresh in the nose. Everything about this wine is very fruity at first, almost like an exotic fruit explosion. Also, it seemed to me somewhat unbalanced at first, going through various stages in a short time, sometimes emphasizing fresh lemony acidity, a little mineral, then suddenly grapefruit. [read the full post...]

This Kabinett comes with a very easy to open and nice to look at glass cork, a cork that comes off with a noticeable "plopp" - the wine is quite fizzy, young and fresh. In the nose a certain freshness, a hint of mineral and a bitter-sweet symphony. In the mouth mineral, melon, a hint of green apple - and then some grapefruit with a bitterness that gets stronger over time; also quite fruity. Fresh, edgy, nice and easy to drink, rough - the wine gets more balanced over time.

The right wine for a glass or (better) two at a summer party in the garden. Good, but feels a little uneven, not (yet?) properly integrated/balanced - give it half a year more perhaps. But good value and fun to drink.

Golden colour with a nice green shimmer; stone fruit, apple, citrus fruit and peaches in the nose - a full bodied yet very elegant bouquet. In the mouth very juicy, sweet, well-balanced acid, quite smooth. Peaches, green apples, citrus fruit with a hint of spiciness. Smooth mineral. Nice finish. Deep and complex with potential to improve over the years - I think Theo (Haart) nailed this one!