Von Schubert, Maximin Grunhauser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese, Mosel 2005

The 2005 Maximin Grunhauser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese smells of ripe peaches and presents a rich but surprisingly single-mindedly peachy, honeyed palate impression. Kraml indicated that this was only around 20% botrytized but I would have guessed much more. Satisfyingly creamy, peachy, and honeyed in finish, and not without a hint of wet stone slate character, this nonetheless lacks the clarity or refinement – at least on today’s showing, which surprised Kraml as well – of the better wines in this year’s Grunhaus group. Still, taken in itself this is excellent and would have qualified as one of the most successful bottlings in any number of other recent Grunhaus collections. Stefan Kraml met me well before eight o’clock on a mid-August morning with an air of quiet confidence and near nonchalance that tipped me off to what would follow: a display of Grunhaus quality such as practically went without saying a decade or more ago. He and owner Carl von Schubert have regained their footing, despite a year in which what von Schubert described as nature’s eventual “turbo-autumn” was preceded by severe hail and an unprecedented tornado that felled 200-year-old trees and a portion of the vineyard walls – to say nothing of the toll it took on vines! The harvest began October 10 and – like many a successful one this year – was finished in a mere two action-packed weeks. Up to the level of B.A., incidentally, all of the wines fermented spontaneously. Also recommended: 2005 Maximin Grunhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spatlese feinherb (unknown; 84+?). Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424

• Reviewer Name: David Schildknecht
• Review Date: February 2007