
- Colour White
- Producer Emrich Schonleber
- Region Nahe
- Grape Riesling
- Drinking 2020 - 2027
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
2016 - Monzinger Fruhtau Riesling Trocken Emrich Schonleber - 6x75cl
- Colour White
- Producer Emrich Schonleber
- Region Nahe
- Grape Riesling
- Drinking 2020 - 2027
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
Select pricing type
Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuis.com.
-
David Schildknecht, August 2017, Score: 93
This is effectively the second wine to the Schönlebers’ Frühlingsplätzchen Grosses Gewächs (as explained in further detail in my review of its inaugural, vintage 2015 installment), “and I must say I’m surprised how well the new name has gone over with our customers,” remarked Frank Schönleber. Iris, lily-of-the-valley, white peach and lime inform a gorgeous nose and a satiny, buoyant palate (at just 12% alcohol). Nips of cress and a twist of lime lend invigoration and a major dose of mineral salts adds mouthwatering satisfaction to a vibrant finish rendered yet more complex by hints of iodine and black tea. It’s become conventional to think of Halenberg as inherently promoting mineral characteristics and Frühlingsplätzchen as favoring fruits and flowers, but recent renditions are demonstrating that this is at least an oversimplification, if not an outright inaccurate portrayal. Drink 2018-2028.
Producer
Emrich Schonleber
In the western fringes of the breathtaking Nahe Valley, in the village of Monzingen, sits the mighty Weingut Emrich-Schönleber. Schönleber is one of the top names in the Nahe and, much like Donnhoff, the focus is on single vineyard wines. The family has been making wine since the 1960s and their 19 hectares of vines are rooted in the precious quartzite and slate soils that define the Nahe. Sheltered by the Soonwald forest in the north and blessed with abundant sunshine, thanks to the dizzyingly steep southwest facing slopes, this terroir is the stuff that Riesling dreams are made. Pure, clear-cut, and profoundly mineral, the wines shine in their purity. Winemaker Frank Schönleber took over from his father in 2018 but has been working at the estate since 2005. The emphasis is on meticulous attention to detail in the vineyard and Frank carries out spontaneous fermentation in old oak casks, along with ageing in steel vats. The Halenburg is the smallest vineyard in the village of Monzingen and a jewel in the Schönleber crown. Precipitous, the 70% gradient makes tending to this vineyard a labour of love, but the results generate a Riesling of such finely wrought structure and mineral saltiness that have immense ageing potential. The Monzinger Riesling Trocken Fruhtau from the cool, precise 2016 vintage is a hidden gem. German labelling laws do not allow you to denote the name of a vineyard on a second wine that you make from a Grosses Gewächs vineyard. Cleverly labelled Frühtau (morning dew), this ‘village wine’ is actually the second wine from the Grosse Lage Frühlingsplätzchen, made from the younger vines. A great insider’s tip!
Region
Nahe
Nahe is located to the south east of the Mosel. Its climate unexpectedly evokes the Mediterranean, and its slate soils are comparable to the Mosel with the addition of clay, though not as steep. The combination of these two elements seems to give the best of both worlds - the focus and minerality of the Mosel as well as the fleshy fruit of Germany's warmer regions.