Schafer-Frohlich Riesling Halbtrocken 2007
-
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Food Affinity: A wonderfully sculpted wine that will go well with lighter-styled entrees or hors d'oeuvres.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Schafer-Frohlich 2007 Riesling halbtrocken (entirely from Bockenau; largely from Felseneck, and reviewed at an earlier stage is issue 178) brims with white peach and honeydew melon accented by pungent herbs, tart berries, wet stone, and sea salt. Glossy in texture, and possessed of refinement, clarity, and length such as one can scarcely expect of a generic estate Riesling, this amazing value will remain a delight for at least 5-6 years, as the 2002 has already demonstrated. Incidentally, half of this fermented spontaneously, and half with cultured yeasts.
The soils in the area consist of Porphyr, Melaphyr, weathered vulcanic rock, and a mixture of red loess, red slate, and blue slate from the devonian age.
While the dry wines are representatives of great quality, the noble sweet wines are among the best of the region. The estate has achieved numerous awards with Gault Millau and other German publications.
The Schäfer-Fröhlich Estate is a member of the VDP Nahe.
Recognized as a top quality grape here since the Middle Ages, Germany retains its high reputation as a premier source of the finest Riesling. Heavily planted throughout the Rheingau and Mosel, Riesling responds splendidly to these regions’ extreme climatic and topographic challenges. Cold-hardy enough to survive freezing winters, and sturdy enough to withstand the warm sun, Riesling has enough natural acidity to maintain balance, even in wines with the highest levels of residual sugar. While high quality is possible in all points of the sweet to dry spectrum, Riesling typically produces wine with relatively low alcohol, high acidity, steely minerality, stone fruit, citrus, spice and floral notes. With age, Riesling can become truly revelatory, developing unique, complex aromatics, often with a hint of petrol.