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St Urbans-Hof Estate Riesling QbA 2007 2007 is a fantastic year in Germany and it shows in this wine. Beautiful lifted fruits of apple, pear, mandarin, hints of lemon zest and lychee. The palate is long and intense with really good acidity and structure. This should age a treat. 10% alcohol. $19.99 retail approx. Anthony D'Anna It’s very fruity and leaps out of the glass (perhaps even wearing orange tights) brandishing apples, sweet citrus, spice and mango. On the palate an explosion of fruit flavour with juicy apple, tangerine, mango sorbet and florals - a riot of sweet fruit cut with sparkling tangy acidity. It looks to have a fair amount of residual sugar but pulls up clean and flinty with some lingering sweet lime and apple flavours to close. It’s balanced, refreshing and would work really well with spicier Asian food. Drink : 2008 - 2010+ 91 points Gary walsh, Winorama The 2007 vintage is Germany has been heralded by many as one of the ‘truly outstanding’ German vintages in the last 20 years. The wines across the board offer power, finesse and acidity to seem the not only drink well now but also age in the long term. I have no doubt the the St Urbans-Hof Estate Riesling 2007 will age well into the next decade. This is the first time this estate has been offered in Australia and we are proud to have it included in this week’s e-newsletter. Anthony D’Anna In describing the Pewsey Vale Prima Eden Valley Riesling 2007 James Halliday makes maybe the best comment or description I have heard for top class German (styled) Riesling. ‘has a magical balance of sweetness and acidity, the sweetness apparent in the intense lime juice of the mid-palate but washed away by the crisp acidity of the finish,’ and this captures the essence of great German Riesling. Not only are you getting length and acidity, but also a magical balance of fruit and acid. The St Urbans-Hof has this in spades. Anthony D’Anna Quality driven producer with 35 hectares of vineyard in the Mosel and Saar valleys. Riesling is the only variety grown by St Urbans-Hof. Organic fertilizers are used. Yields are low and all fruit is hand picked. St Urbans-Hof was named Mosel producer of the year in 2003. THE DREAM 2007 GERMAN VINTAGE German Vintage 2007 is "superb" - "We anticipate outstanding wines from vintage 2007 in all quality levels, from uncomplicated, everyday wines to top-quality wines with a fine balance of ripeness and fruity acidity as well as great aging potential. These wines will have a great following at home and abroad." The Wine Industry Report Many of the producers have claimed the 2007 vintage to be a "Dream Vintage". What are the makings of a Dream Vintage? Exceptional physiological ripeness, hang times of 130 to 150 days (100 days is the norm), and tartaric acidity in the 90% range to name a few. Flowering began mid-May (June is the norm), the sunshine hours were high and where botrytis was present, it came very late and was extremely clean. The wines of the 2007 vintage have lots of minerality providing an excellent expression of terroir due to their high sugar free extracts. Because of the excellent harvest conditions, the selection process was able to be done with as much time as the harvest team desired, there was no weather to dodge, there was no botrytis to race against, just following the estate’s "ideal" harvest plan. Due to the amount of sunshine hours, some grape clusters in the vineyards of the Southern Pfalz experienced "sunburn", these clusters had to be selected out so they did not affect the good fruit. All this made possible due to the ideal harvest conditions Mother Nature provided. With excellent quality, the 2007 harvest also brought an increased quantity, something we have not seen in recent vintages. Rudi West ST URBANS-HOF: THE ESTATE The Estate St. Urbans-Hof, founded in 1947 by Nicolaus Weis the grandfather of the current manager Nik Weis is one of the biggest and most important private owned wine estates in the Mosel region. Nicolaus received the prestigious title "Oekonomierat" (Chancellor of Agriculture) in 1969 after 20 years of dedication to the wine traditions of the country. Due to his great achievements his name and title have become part of the winery name. Hermann, Nik´s father, carried on the traditions established by Nicolaus increasing the winery’s acreage further. He married his wife and Nik´s mother Ida which origins from the Saar Region. Together they bought top vineyard sites in the Mosel as well as in the Saar valley to its current 35 hectares (87 acres) under cultivation. Today Nikolaus (Nik) manages the winery in the third generation of his family and signs responsible for operations and sales of this second largest privately owned family winery in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area. Nik grew up in the winery and has been involved in all aspects of St. Urbans-Hof from breeding vines at the nursery operated by the winery, to cultivating vineyards and making wine. After obtaining a degree in viticulture and enology at Geisenheim, one of the world’s leading schools for winemakers in Germany, Nik broadened his experience by working and studying in the Champagne region of France, California, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula and the Nahe region in Germany. As president of the Young Winemakers Association of Leiwen, Nik has been in the forefront of the movement by a new winemaking generation to preserve the traditions of German winemaking and restore German Estate wines to prominence and has established St. Urbans-Hof as a clear leader in innovation and quality. St. Urbans-Hof maintains the traditional methods of wine growing and winemaking which have been used in the Saar and Mosel River Valleys over the past 2000 years, having been initially introduced by the Romans who first recognized in the microclimate of the region the potential for producing classic grape varieties and fine wines. Riesling is the only grape variety grown and the terroir of the site is emphasized by intense cultivation of the slate soil and traditional single post trellising system, unique for the Mosel. Low crop, intensive soil work, leaf thinning, accurate trellising, late harvesting and hand picking are elementary steps to take to ensure that the wine reflects the original character of the land on which it is grown. All St. Urbans-Hof wines are fermented, the wine matures for about four months in traditional 1000 liter "Fuder" barrels to give them their perfect harmony. The winery is dedicated to producing Rieslings that capture the individual terroir of the estate's vineyard sites. Great care is taken in the vineyard by Nik Weis and his vineyard manager Hermann Jostock in order to adhere to the belief that the truest expression of a wine's quality lies in the authenticity of its origin. In Nik's words, "the hightest quality wines are a result of hard work over the entire year. Intensive soil cultivation, precise shoot positioning, leaf thinning, crop reduction, selective hand-picking and late harvesting are all fundamental steps which must be taken in order to ensure that the wine reflects the character of the land on which it is grown." Also, organic fertilizers are utilized in order to maintain the natural balance of the soil. Most importantly, yields are kept at low levels in order to achieve intense and well-structured wines. For optimal flavour development, leaves are thinned and grapes are harvested as late as possible to allow for maximum ripening. All grapes are hand picked and carried from the vineyard in traditional shoulder-mounted containers called 'hotten' tu ensure optimal fruit quality. Just as important as the great length taken to deliver the best possible fruit from the vineyard is the careful attention given to the proper traetment of the grapes by cellarmaster Rudolf Hoffmann. The grapes are lightly crushed, after which they remain on the skins for a short period to ensure the complete release of aromas into the juice. After this, the pulp of skins and juice is gently pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks at cool cellar temperatures to fully capture the aromas, flavours and delicate natural spritz of the Riesling grape. The wines are then transferred into traditional 1000 litre 'Fuder' barrels for several months to harmonize, after which they are lightly filtered and bottled. Shipped in a temperature controlled container.