93 David Schildknecht - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Both blending from two casks and bottling of Steinmetz's dry (10 gram), 12% alcohol 2011 Veldenzer Grafschafter Sonnenberg Riesling Alte Reben, had taken place only a week before I first tasted it in September, because it had only three weeks before finished fermenting! (It was not picked until well into the first week of November.) That said, on re-tasting it, there was little to add to my initial amazed delight. Cooling, haunting, high-toned evocations of mint, roux, green tea and chamomile perfectly complement the luscious honeydew melon fruit and soothing texture found on a polished palate. Nutty, earthy, positively vegetal notes suggestive of walnut, squash and squash seeds lend intrigue, and the finish combines stony grip with mouthwatering salinity that really reels you back in for the next sip, featuring a dynamic sense of fruit, herb, and mineral interchange rare for the vintage and a delightful sense of levity and infectiously juicy refreshment. Enjoy this spectacular value over the coming decade (and quite possibly beyond). Incidentally, Steinmetz was able last year to acquire a new parcel of mature vines in this little-known but manifestly outstanding east-facing site."

"Before singing the praises of the latest Steinmetz collection, I have the sad duty to report that the estate’s namesake, Stefan Steinmetz's father - who has for several years now not been actively involved in the vineyards and cellar - died less than a week after I last saw him in September. Stefan Steinmetz reported a normal harvest in Muhlheim and the healthiest grapes - albeit fewer than normal - that he has yet seen in Veldenz, both of which count as among the villages most notoriously stricken by August 2011's nearly apocalyptic hailstorm. To understand how that could be possible one has to bear in mind first and foremost the general circumstances I described in issue 205. Huge stones were more damaging to buildings than vine foliage and apt to remove clusters with a single hit, or not as the case might be; and whatever was cut down was washed-away by an accompanying torrent of rain, so that wasps and rot got no purchase on the remaining bunches. Additionally, the precise orientation of slope and vines made a significant difference in impact, and in that regard, Steinmetz appears simply to have gotten lucky. Picking and vinificatory decisions were made this year, he notes, to avoid what he saw early-on as a potential for elevated alcohol in wines of low extract and hence low buffering-capacity. 'Paradoxically,' he notes, 'most of the fatter wines were picked earlier - around mid-October - while the lither, brighter ones came from sites where I could afford to wait, in some cases into November.' There are fewer outright sweet wines in this year’s collection, 'and candidly,' says Steinmetz, 'I wish those had at least a bit more acidity.' But, truth to tell, nothing he bottled last year really disappoints. With his 2011s, Steinmetz proves himself not just a sensitive and tireless explorer of the old vine and site-specific potential trapped in little known and or out-of-the-way Middle Mosel places, but also a master of stylistically-distinctive and ridiculously under-priced gems, including several for which the word 'intro-level' cannot be used without scare quotes. These wines are also noteworthy for the frequency with which they combine leesy richness and textural allure with alcoholic levity and perfectly-integrated hidden sweetness. Some of their nuance is without doubt encouraged by Steinmetz's preference for cask fermentation or at least cask aging, which even his liter bottlings usually receive in small measure. (That said, several top bottlings - particularly in low-acid 2011 - are raised solely in tank.) Incidentally, Steinmetz is carrying-through on his intention to adopt a convention noticeable for some years at a number of Saar addresses and just beginning to get a toehold on the Middle Mosel of dropping the word 'trocken' (much less 'halbtrocken') from labels, so as to discourage the entrenched prejudice among German consumers that only legally dry wine is an acceptable table beverage and a dry-tasting halbtrocken bottling is not. Designations of Pradikat, too, are gradually falling-away from Steinmetz labels other then when applied to late-harvested and/or unapologetically sweet wines."

90 Mosel Fine Wines

**Only one case available in retail stores!
"This wine, made from 60 year-old vines, went through a long fermentation and was only bottled in August. It offers superb herbal and flowery flavors and comes over as light and soft on the palate thanks to some nice creaminess. The finish is more structured and powerful, a feeling reinforced by a highly spicy side. 2013-2016."