Country: | Germany |
Region: | Mosel |
Winery: | Richard Bocking |
Grape Type: | Riesling |
Organic: | Yes |
Vintage: | 2014 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Gessinger Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Alte Reben Caldo Infernale made from 100 percent Riesling.
The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Caldo Infernale was produced from over 100-year-old ungrafted vines in the Gewann “im Kalk,” the original part of the vineyard. This is a typical Devonian slate Riesling with fruity elegance and great durability.
Although riper elements of yellow peach, coconut, Victoria pineapple, and almond cream directly capture the attention, the nose maintains a fresh character with minty and zesty notes. The wine shows ripe and sweet elements on the palate, and has quite some creamy and juicy elements such as canned yellow peach and pineapple. The finish brings the right amount of zest to lift up the aromatics and adds focus and tension, while there is an almost Eiswein-type of acidity in the aftertaste. This is a gorgeous Auslese.
Hansen Lauer Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling is a nice Mosel-Riesling with a lot of minerality and a hint of stewed apple, cantalope and dried orange flavors. The finish is long and clean, which make it very easy to drink.
This is coming from grapes grown on 100% Devonian slate soils. After harvest, the grapes are sorted in order to keep only the best quality. It is then aged on the lees for more than 6 months, giving the wine richness and depth.
The Hansen Lauer Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling goes well with turkey and seafood
Matheus Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett is made from 100 percent Riesling.
This Goldtröpfchen ranks as an unofficial "Grand Cru" delivering light floral and fresh Kabinett style wines.
Their later harvest wines, Spatlese and Auslese, tend toward apricot flavors, honeyed notes and superb intensity. All grapes are grown on Devonian slate.
Enjoy with slightly spiced sushi or moderately spicy Indian cuisine such as chicken Vindaloo.
Inspired by the historical winemaking techniques of Erni Loosen’s great-grandfather, the Appassionata Riesling GG is made in the same way as the Dr. Loosen Grosses Gewächs (“Great Growth”) Rieslings he produces in Germany. The GG designation indicates a dry-style wine from a vineyard of special distinction — in this case, the old-vine Medici vineyard, planted in 1976. We farm this exceptional site, which is just a few miles east on the Chehalem Mountain ridge.
The fruit for this wine was harvested from old Rieslng vines (planted in 1976) in the Medici Vineyard, which is also in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, just a few miles from the winery. We lease this vineyard and have been farming it organically since 2015. The wine was fermented in a 3,000-liter German oak cask, and rests on the full lees for 12 months before bottling. The extended lees contact allows the wine to clarify and find its own harmonious balance naturally.
Production notes:
Whole-cluster pressing; natural fermentation in a neutral 3,000-liter oak cask; matured on the full lees for 12 months; no bâtonnage.
Review:
If you prefer a thinking person's wine you'll run out of superlatives to describe this Riesling from Dr Loosen's Oregon project with J Christopher Wines. From a personal favourite, the old vines of the Medici Vineyard, the winemaking shows serious patience and determination. Fermented in a 3,000-liter, neutral oak German Fuder cask. It rests on the full lees for two years and is then held in bottle for three to five years before release. Aged, savoury and delicious. Aromas are savoury and saline. Lanolin, dandelion, seafoam, and beeswax with hints of fresh herbs and dried lemon peel. The palate is brilliant, savoury and bright and complex. Energetic flavours of wet slate, savoury bee pollen, white tea and lanolin notes. The finish offers crushed stone vibrancy.
-Decanter 93 Points
Inspired by the historical winemaking techniques of Erni Loosen’s great-grandfather, the Appassionata Riesling GG is made in the same way as the Dr. Loosen Grosses Gewächs (“Great Growth”) Rieslings he produces in Germany. The GG designation indicates a dry-style wine from a vineyard of special distinction — in this case, the old-vine Medici vineyard, planted in 1976. We farm this exceptional site, which is just a few miles east on the Chehalem Mountain ridge.
The fruit for this wine was harvested from old Rieslng vines (planted in 1976) in the Medici Vineyard, which is also in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, just a few miles from the winery. We lease this vineyard and have been farming it organically since 2015. The wine was fermented in a 3,000-liter German oak cask, and rests on the full lees for 12 months before bottling. The extended lees contact allows the wine to clarify and find its own harmonious balance naturally.
Production notes:
Whole-cluster pressing; natural fermentation in a neutral 3,000-liter oak cask; matured on the full lees for 12 months; no bâtonnage.
Bastgen Berncastel-Cueser Weisenstein Riesling Spatlese Trocken is made from 100 percent Riesling.
Bright, clean, fresh and zesty. Grapefruit like flavors. Fruity aromas and a nice minerality, typical of the Riesling grape grown on blue slate soil. Round, rich and a very long finish. The grapes for this wine are vigorously selected. Botrytis is not tolerated. At harvest the grapes are fully ripened, have a golden color, and a soft tartness. After a long spontaneous fermentation in a traditional 1000L barrel, the wine just reaches the dry stage. This gives the wine a creamy structure that interplays with ripe yellow and exotic fruit aromas.
They meticulously tend 4.5 ha (11.11 acres) of which 80% is Riesling. The soil is made of slate. Their vineyards are located in Kesten and Brauneberg, on a steep terrace, and planted to 50-year old vines. Fortunately for Bastgen, they own part of the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr. The vines produce very small, ripe berries that are very tasty.
The Devon Riesling, from our Heritage Collection, is the basis of our wine pyramid and is created as a drier wine with grapes picked during mid-harvest. The is dry, crisp and clean with an animating acidity. Showing great aromas of kiwi, green apple, white peach and lime. This balanced, fresh Riesling shines with notes of citrus and slate, typical of the Mosel appellation.
Alcohol: 11% vol
Residual sugar: 14 g / liter
Acidity: 7.9 g / liter
The Weingut Richard Bocking Winery
Our story embraces Classic Viticulture on the steep slopes of the Mosel River Valley with a 15-generation family tradition.
The extremely steep, slate-laced hillsides in the central region of the Mosel River offer optimal conditions for producing great Riesling wines. Since 1624 the Böcking Family has been devoted to producing wines of the highest quality – crisp, fruity wines that are the finest a Riesling enthusiast could desire.
The roots of the Böcking family can be traced to the early 17th Century, when the family was appointed regional treasurer under Prince Pfälz-Zweibrücken. Soon thereafter, the family became active in the budding wine production and trading business in Trarbach, purchasing what may be the oldest Riesling vineyard on the Mosel, the Trabacher Ungsberg. The Trarbacher Schlossberg vineyard was acquired soon thereafter.
The Böcking family has lived, loved and passed down the tradition of winemaking, along with portions of four steep-slope vineyards, to successive generations. It is their experience and dedication, combined with decades-old vines growing on rich, mineral soils, that allow the family to continue to produce the finest Mosel Riesling wines.
Recently, Denman Zirkle and daughter Sigrid Carroll, a direct descendant of Richard Böcking purchased the Estate from a cousin, Wolf von Marschall. Denman, along with his daughter, Sigrid Carroll, Wolf’s sister, Leweke von Marschall, and the winegrower, Simon Trös, combined tradition and history with confidence and entrepreneurial vision to lead the family enterprise into the future and reestablish its international following. Their focus is on natural viticulture and production, developing mostly drier Riesling wines to suit contemporary tastes in Germany and abroad.
In 2013, after almost 400 years, Böcking wines were introduced to the U.S. market for the first time. Importation into the United Kingdom began the following year.
In Germany, Böcking wines are being distributed by several large merchants, including Weinkontor Freund ( http://www.weinkontor-freund.de ), one of the largest in Germany. Freund serves over 2,000 restaurants and retail clients, many high end. Until 2014, Freund specialized in wines from Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. When he added Germany in 2014, Richard Böcking is the only winery on the Mosel he chose to represent."
In the United States, Böcking is represented by importer Kysela Pere et Fils, named Importer of the Year in 2013 by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The wines are currently being distributed in the Mid-Atlantic states, District of Columbia, and Montana. Please click here see where to purchase our wines.
The Weingut Richard Bocking Vineyards
The character of the wines is shaped by the distinctive Grand Cru, steep slope vineyards of which Richard Böcking has 15 acres under cultivation. The plantings are 95% Riesling and 5% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). Of the five vineyards: Ungsberg, Burgberg, Schlossberg, Huenerberg and Taubenhaus, four are classified as Grand Cru with vintage vines up to 80 years old. The age of the vines force the roots of these grape vines deep into the ground for water and nutrition. Thus, the vines are constantly absorbing their nutrition, even during unseasonably dry periods. The constant nourishment provides vines that are strong, disease resistant, and produce small, compact grapes with an unusual concentration of fruit.
Richard Böcking develops their wines by hand, from the vineyard to the bottle. Unadulterated; with an originality that can be produced only in a natural vineyard environment. From this tenet springs Böcking's fundamental philosophy—a philosophy of allowing a wine to develop naturally. In the steep-slope vineyards, this philosophy means the small vineyard parcels are cultivated individually and by hand. All wines are developed as bio-dynamically as possible, using naturally occurring yeast and introducing only the sparest amount of sulfur. This meticulous attention to natural agriculture and production creates beautifully finished wines while sustaining the vineyards for the future.
Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Reine des Bois is made from 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah, 2.5% Vaccarese, 2.5% Counoise.
Aged in 50% oak barrels.
Deep ruby red color, red fruits aromas leading to leather, black truffles and coffee notes. Fat and concentrated on the palate, with liquorice and dark fruit flavors.
Pairs well with game and red meats, cheeses.
60 year-old vines
Review:
"The flagship is the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Reine Des Bois and it’s 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties. Aged 20% in old barrels (this was raised in new barrels in the past) and the rest in stainless steel, it’s more backward and closed compared to the Voyageuse release and has ample blackcurrants, smoked earth, graphite, and peppery garrigue aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and textured on the palate, it has solid underlying structure yet still plays in the balanced, charming, elegant style of the vintage. It’s beautifully done and certainly up with the top wines. It should drink nicely for 10-15 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (October 2020), 95 pts
"Warm and inviting, with a richly layered core of steeped plum, blackberry and cherry fruit. Hints of alder and mesquite check in, along with twinges of chestnut and brick dust. Offers a nice mix of modern and old school. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Best from 2023 through 2036. —James MOLESWORTH"
- Wine Spectator (Insider, February 17th 2021), 94 pts
The Prisoner Wine Company The Prisoner Red Blend is made from a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Charbono.
Bright aromas of ripe raspberry, vanilla, and coconut give way to flavors of fresh and dried blackberry, pomegranate, and vanilla, which linger harmoniously for a smooth and luscious finish.The Prisoner Red Blend was inspired by the wines first made by the Italian immigrants who originally settled in Napa Valley. The Prisoner is now the most recognized red blend, leading the resurgence of interesting blends by incorporating Zinfandel with the unlikely mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Charbono.
On the nose, dried blackberry, dried açai berries, and hints of cedar and tobacco leaf are accented by sweet spices of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Flavors of ripe dark cherry, blackberry coulis, and hints of anise linger harmoniously for a soft, vibrant finish balanced by ripe tannins.
Chef Brett recommends pairing The Prisoner Red Blend with Kalbi Short Ribs or Chicken Mole Tostada.
Vineyards: When you outgrow winemaking tradition, you must forge your own path. And we did. The Prisoner exists because of the collaboration with our growers, many of which have been with us since the very beginning—from the Solari Family Vineyard in Calistoga, where old school sensibilities meet new techniques, to the Korte Ranch in St. Helena, a vineyard whose diligence outlasted the Prohibition and has sustained four generations.