Joh. Bapt. Schafer Dorsheim Goldloch Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2017
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Succulent, concentrated and polished, this has an extremely attractive apricot aroma and excellent balance on the medium-full palate. Really impressive length. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From 32- to 45-year-old vines on quartzite conglomerate soils, the 2017 (Dorsheim) Goldoch Riesling trocken "GG" opens with a delicate and flinty-crystalline bouquet. Vinified entirely in stainless steel until April 2018, this wine opens with an intense and lush, well-concentrated and perfectly ripe Riesling aroma. Crystalline and mineral on the palate, this is a tight and complex, very firm and sustainable dry Riesling with remarkable grip, finesse and elegance. Good tannin structure and mineral vibrancy. Tasted at the domain in July 2019.
Other Vintages
2020-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
The Joh. Bapt. Schäfer estate is located in Burg Layen, along the lower Nahe, (the winery is across the street from Schlossgut Diel, and they share the same crus). Sebastian Schäfer took over from his father Johann Baptist in 2002, and is the fourth generation of the family to run the estate, (the first vintage was the glorious 1921).
Sebastian is yet another conscientious young winemaker that wants the vineyard to do the talking, and feels the best method of vinification is that which stays out of the way of terroir. That being said, there is no one, continuous recipe for any wine, so whether the wine is aged in steel or wood (as the case with the Grosses Gewächs bottlings), with indigenous or cultured yeast, is decided on a case by case basis each vintage.
Following a long time of hard work to reach this milestone, in 2013 the winery finally became a member of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter – VDP), the first estate from the Nahe region to become a new member in twelve years. However, the fact that Sebastian has successfully joined the ranks of Germany’s top producers certainly does not mean that he is going to rest on his laurels.
Many of the vines here are over 40 years-old, (their sites in Dorsheim have been classified top sites for more than 200 years), and root deeply in the steep, weathered, south-facing slopes.
Sebastian has two main vineyard sources, both are Grosse Lage (Grand Crus). The Dorsheimer Pittermännchen (“Pittermännchen” is a 16th-century German expression for a silver coin) impresses with its clay soil, interspersed with slate and gravel. Riesling from this vineyard are characterized with citrus and peach aromas, herbal-spicy notes as well as a mineral character. The other vineyard is Dorsheimer Goldloch. The word “Goldloch” most likely refers to a buried gold mine tunnel. The rock-dominated loam soil with quartzite has its origins in the 280-million-year-old desert landscape of the Nahe region. The soil gives the Riesling ripe peach notes and exotic fruit aromas as well as a juicy, rather opulent but nevertheless delicate character.
With great vineyards, and a winemaker with the grace and touch like Sebastian, the resulting wines are complex and thrilling. Almost all wines are dry, but luscious, sweet rarities are produced when conditions allow.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
