June 4, 2021 | News | Issue Highlights | Mature Riesling
2011 delivered some remarkable noble-sweet wines. Few proved as elegant and racy as this Ruwer Auslese from Maximin Grünhaus – von Schubert.
The Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 56 (April 2021) features a comprehensive retrospective of the 2011 vintage including for fruity and sweet Riesling.
The roundness and richness of 2011 yielded little real Kabinett and Spätlese. It did however reward wine lovers with some absolutely remarkable noble-sweet wines such as the gorgeous 2011er Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Auslese 15 by Maximin Grünhaus - von Schubert.
The Maximin Grünhaus Estate has been owned by the von Schubert family since the late 19th century. It is arguably one of the greatest sources of fine Riesling in the world. Its reputation did not come about recent: Already in the 18th century, when the Estate was in the hands of the monks of St. Maximin, merchants paid way over the odds for top casks from this Estate.
The merchants of the 18th century knew their classics as we have found out for ourselves. At its finest, Maximin Grünhaus can be a truly unbelievable experience driven by cut, precision, freshness, and, above all, incredible finesse. These qualities become particularly evident with age as we reported numerously over the years.
The pride of the Estate is its solely owned 30-ha, essentially south-facing wall of vines overseeing the Estate buildings. The Herrenberg forms the backside and upper side of the hill which is on iron-rich slate terroir (which gives it a reddish color). This part of the hill yields particularly aromatic wines infused with cassis and minty flavors.
2011 proved quite a unique vintage at the Estate, as Carl von Schubert explained us back then (see Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 19 – July 2012). The Estate harvested late, almost a month after its neighboring Weingut Karthäuserhof. He stressed the need to be particularly meticulous regarding botrytis as the high nighttime temperatures cause quite a bit of rot.
This attention to detail could not have be clearer in the Herrenberg Auslese 15 when we retasted it in the context of our 2011 retrospective. This wine was already one of our vintage highlights when we published our first report on the vintage back in July in 2012. It has now developed more depth without losing any of its stunning sense of cassis zesty freshness. The combination of energy and finesse are really to die for.
Readers who followed our glowing reviews back in 2012 can now look forward to some grandiose moments of Ruwer Riesling!
The full retrospective on 2011 fruity-sweet Riesling
was published in the upcoming Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 56 (April 2021).
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2011er
Maximin Grünhaus - von Schubert
Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 15
32 12
95+
The 2011er Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 15 offers a gorgeous nose of cassis, mint, apricot, fine spices, and herbs. The wine is beautifully animating on the palate, where only a touch of sweetness still needs to integrate. The finish is hugely precise, fresh, and juicy. A touch of candied lemon adds pep to the after-taste. This is a truly remarkable sweet wine of epic dimension. It really only needs another decade to absorb its sweetness and deliver these classic flavors of fresh cassis and mint paired with apricot and honey which have made the success of the Estate over the decades! 2031-2061
© Text by Mosel Fine Wines "The Independent Review of Mosel Riesling ... and beyond!"
Disclaimer: Mosel Fine Wines is an independent publication and has no commercial relationship with any Estate, association or organization featured in this article.