Carmina Vinifera
by Tim Gaiser, MS
September 2002: Fritz Hasselbach's favorite piece of classical music
is Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I know this because we've discussed the
piece several times and I've even given him my two favorite recordings
of it. First performed in 1937, the Carmina is a colossal composition
calling for expanded orchestra, three vocal soloists, children's chorus
and mixed chorus. It's an explosive orchestral tour de force based on
a collection of songs penned by vagrant clerics and students in thirteenth
century Bavaria. The themes of the songs are universal: spring and the
renewal of life, love, sex, death, drinking, gambling, more sex, and
most importantly: the concept of Fortuna, the goddess of fate (Pat Sajack
and Vanna White, where would you be without the cruel Fortuna?).
Though Fritz loves music in general, his infatuation with Carmina
Burana comes as no surprise to me. In the Carmina, Carl Orff attempts
to cram everything primal and visceral in life into a single musical
event. I'm convinced that Fritz tries to do the same thing with every
bottle of wine, and his tireless efforts have put him and the Gunderloch
Rieslings at the very top of German wine.
But a winemaker's true worth can only be assessed in difficult vintages
and no vintage could have been more difficult than 2000. Rains were
unrelenting from September on and not surprisingly, many of the Rheinhessen's
(and Germany's) 2000's lack concentration and are tainted with rot.
With the simultaneous onset of numerous strains of different mold (the
phrase "botrytis growing on botrytis" comes to mind) Fritz
took drastic steps: he had his team go into the vineyard and remove
any tainted fruit, taking the rotten bunches far away from the vineyard
and burning them. Other local producers laughed at his crisis approach.
They too, removed the stricken fruit but chose instead to simply leave
it in the vineyard. Their wines are tainted with rot. Fritz's 2000's
are outstanding--some of the best wines made in that treacherous vintage.
His 2001's are even better. Practically all hail from the Nackenheimer
Rothenberg, the finest vineyard in the Rheinhessen and without doubt,
one of Germany's grand crus. The Rothenberg is a steeply inclined band
of 30-odd acres just off the Rhein between Nackenheim and Nierstein.
It has a southeastern exposure that takes full advantage of the long
hours of summer sunlight. The soil has a distinctive red-clay and slate
base giving the wines great depth and complexity. The Hasselbach style
is Carmina Burana in a glass: powerful, seductive, and hedonistic. Knowing
him, Fritz wouldn't have it any other way.
In early May, I visited Agnes Hasselbach and daughter Stephanie at
the estate (Fritz was doing a road show in Vancouver). We tasted a collection
of wines from the superb 2001 vintage and some older wines as well.
It was a fantastic flight of Rieslings. Here are my notes on the wines.
Once again, in place of useless and ludicrous numerical scores, I have
used a tasting chart created by Peter Granoff, MS. It creates a profile
of a wine using seven criteria: intensity of flavor, sweetness/dryness,
body, acidity, tannin, oak, complexity. The tasting chart also makes
use of a one to seven scale, one being lowest and seven highest, and
breaks down as follows:
Tasting Notes:
Intensity: simple 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very intense flavors
Dryness/sweetness:dry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very sweet
Body: light-bodied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very full-bodied
Acidity: soft, gentle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very crisp, bracing
Tannins: none 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very tannic
Oak: no oak 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very oaky
Complexity: direct 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very complex
1. 2000 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Dry "Grand Cru"
S: Medium straw green. Very bright.
N: Pear drop, roasted grain, lemon-citrus, earth.
P: Racy, concentrated, pepper/mineral and lemon curd from mid-palate
through the very long finish. Superb.
5/1/4/6/1/1/5+
2. 1997 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Dry "Grand Cru"
S: Pale lemon yellow. Very bright.
N: Pronounced petrol, pine, dried apricot, savory herb, earth.
P: Rounded. Toasty. Bright citrus and mineral finish. Seamless. Will
age for another 10 years easily.
5/1/4/6/1/1/6
3. 2001 Estate Riesling Dry
S: Very pale straw green. Brilliant.
N: Green apple essence, floral and mineral.
P: Rounded, full, quite dry.
4/1/3/6/1/1/4
4. 2001 "Jean Baptiste" Riesling Kabinett (bottled with
screw caps)
S: Very pale straw green. Star bright.
N: White peach/pear, floral, earth.
P: Juicy, mouthwatering. Spätlese ripeness. Long.
4/2/4/6/1/1/4+
5. 2001 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese
S: Very pale straw green. Star bright.
N: Orange blossom, peach, lime zest, mineral.
P: Juicy, succulent. Lime sorbet in a glass with a handful of red slate
thrown in. Wonderful texture.
5/3-4/34/6/1/1/5
6. 2000 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese
S: Pale straw green. Very bright.
N: pink grapefruit, white pepper and earth.
P: Much earthier than 2001 and bit higher in acidity. Wonderful depth.
Very long and persistent.
5/3/4/6-7/1/1/5
7. 2001 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Auslese
S: Medium straw green. Very bright.
N: Honey, pineapple-nectarine, pepper, mineral.
P: Deceptively dry-high acidity masks residual. Juicy and succulent
but tightly wound. Needs time.
5/5/4/7/1/1/6
8. 2000 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Auslese
S: Pale straw green. Very bright.
N: Tangerine-peach with floral, lime zest and mineral notes.
P: Lighter on the palate than the 2001 but still bordering on rocket
fuel. Orange-spice and mineral finish.
5/5/4/6-7/1/1/5-6
9. 2001 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
S: Straw green. Bright.
N: Orange marmalade, honey, oolong tea and mineral.
P: Weightless-powerful but not heavy or cloying. Intense, laser-like
finish. Very long and powerful. Decades ahead in the cellar.
6/6/5/7/1/1/6-7
10. 2000 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
S: Medium yellow with hit of green.
N: Honey, gingered orange peel, Calvados, apricot preserve, mineral.
P: Jet juice but elegant at the same time. Remarkable balance for such
a sweet wine.
6/6/3-4/1/1/6
11. 1999 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
S: Pale yellow green. Bright.
N: Honey butter, roasted malt, stone fruit preserves.
P: Unctuous, silky texture. Honey/bitter lemon and mineral on the long,
powerful finish.
6/6/4/6/1/1/6
12. 1999 Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel
S: Medium yellow. Bright.
N: Caramel, orange honey, maple, roasted hazelnuts, mineral.
P: Eleven on the Spinal Tap amp. Blast of orange honey butter and mineral
on the finish. Stunning concentration without a trace of heaviness.
7/7/4/6-7/1/1/7
Copyright © September 2002 Tim Gaiser, MS
Rudi Wiest Selections
by Cellars International, Inc.
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