2006 Dalsheimer Hubacker Trocken Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
A great summer, but not with a happy ending, would sum up the 2006 vintage in short. A deluge just before the anticipated picking dates prevented what for a long time had looked like the perfect crop. Those who could muster enough harvesting power to bring in most of the grapes before the rain set in may have well been happy with the health of their fruit but would have preferred a few more days on the vines to achieve the desired ripeness. A notion of lanolin indicates that the Hubacker was close to that aim, but the expression of fruit has turned out a little greener than in other years. Yet being different can also be an attraction, and on the palate the 2006 certainly manages to impress with a full complement of smoky and stony minerality. The acidity, in contrast, lies surprisingly low which makes the further development of this wine a fascinating one to watch. (MS)
Critic scores
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
10-16 October with 2-3% botrytis. Difficult vintage with heavy rain in early October caused botrytis spread. Big variation between conscientious and not-so-conscientious vignerons. 29 hl/ha. A more subdued style on the nose. Meat and two veg. Very marked acidity. Fine and dry and chewy but still a bit awkward. Broad and muscular and not fine. Cuts off a bit suddenly on the end. A bit brash. (JR)
Very pale. Lively, spearmint, tart, cool as a mountain stream. Racy and lively. Very youthful. Still angular. A little light and tart. Very light on the finish. (JR)
Keller’s 2006 Dalsheimer Hubacher Riesling Grosses Gewachs is scented with raw almond, honey, and peach kernel. It offers a correspondingly bitter-sweet and piquant as well as creamy-textured palate impression and finish, its enhanced body and honeyed richness as well as bitterness reflecting the presence of botrytis by the time it was harvested – as the last of this year’s dry wines. Klaus-Peter Keller says his grapes weren’t soft yet when the August rain hit, and he harvested late by local standards – from 6th-26th of October – by which time the nights were cool, which in his opinion preserved the aromas, warded-off botrytis, and allowed him to achieve normal crop levels, expressive ripeness and dry wines in the 11.9-13% alcohol range. Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463
About the producer
Based in the Rheinhessen, Keller is one of the finest Riesling producers in the world, and has set the benchmark for German Pinot Noir.