Weingut Fritz HAAG (Brauneberg) -- 2023 Tasted from Bottle
I thought I had already published this, but I was mistaken.
From one of the Mosel Valley’s greatest wine estates, Olivier Haag has produced wines of outstanding quality, especially for the top wines, from the uneven 2023 vintage.
2023 Riesling trocken
Served at cool temperature, this wine actually tastes very slightly sweeter than the QbA Riesling below, but when the two wines warm up, this one shows slightly less sweet. There’s good acidity here to go with gooseberry and lemon fruit. An excellent aperitif wine. Screw cap closure. 11.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 0224. 87/A-
2023 Brauneberg Riesling J Trocken Erstes Gewächs
This is a crisp, energetic, wiry wine with good depth to its lime fruit and excellent acidity, It trails the GGs in dimension, but not by much. The high acidity probably means that for most people, this wine is not easy to drink without food. Screw cap closure. 12.0% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr: 1724. 91/A-
2023 (Kesten) Paulinshofberg Riesling GG
Stony, medium-weight, perhaps a touch of sugar showing but it only helps to bring out the white fruit Good length. Ideally, give it 3-5 years in bottle before consuming. Cork closure. 12.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr. 2724. 92/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer Riesling GG
Some reduction in nose. Medium weight, good acidic backbone, energy, some white peach fruit that needs more time to open, but outstanding. Ideally, give it 3-5 years in bottle before consuming. Cork closure. 12.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr. 2424. 93/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling GG
Closed nose. Medium-light body, Juffer-Sonneuhr acidity and depth, perhaps a little less energetic than usual, incipient white peach. Ideally, give it 3-5 years in bottle before consuming. Cork closure. 12.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr. 0824. 93/A
2023 Riesling
This bottling is intended as essentially a halbtocken, and as I mentioned above, it can taste sweeter than the Riesling trocken. It is crisp and mineral, and unsurprisingly resembles the aroma and flavor profile of the trocken above. Also an excellent aperitif wine. Screw cap closure. 11.0% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 0124. 87/A-
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer Riesling Kabinett
This great Kabinett has exquisitely-delineated white nectarine and white peach fruit in a light-weight body with a sugar/acid balance that brings it all together. Screw cap closure. 8.0% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr. 0324. 93/A+
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer Riesling Spätlese
Here, the vintage’s combination of relatively low total acidity but high malic acidity creates somewhat of a puzzle at first for me for me. The body is light and creamy (in part, creaminess is a terroir aspect that I find in Juffer) with a fair amount of sweetness — initially, it just doesn’t sparkle for me the way other vintages do, although some may in fact prefer this style. But a day or two after opening, the wine is filled with brilliant, pure apricot fruit. Cork closure. 7.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 0524. 92/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
Again, the combination of moderate total acidity but high malic yields a wine of creamy texture but also with bite on the palate. The body is light on the palate with stoniness and incipient apricot fruit. This should be excellent in a few years, but I do not think it is a wine for long aging. Cork closure. 7.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 0724. 92(+)/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer Riesling Auslese
Very good acidity here cuts the sweetness, making this a wine that easily can accompany a wide variety of food dishes. There is crispness here, minerality, and incipient peach fruit. After the bottle has been open some days, the sweetness starts to come out, but still very sugar/acid balance. Cork closure. 7.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 2024. 94/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
A beautiful, pure, focused expression with lightness, incisiveness, good sugar/acid balance, and peach and melon fruit. It drinks very well already. Cork closure. 7.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr. 0624. 96/A
2023 (Brauneberg) Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (Gold Capsule)
This is a spectacular wine with intense, botrytised apricot aromas and flavors, and intense sweetness cut by the acidity. As with the other wines above, this one drinks very well now, no need to hold it for several years. Cork closure. 7.5% stated alcohol. Last digits of A.P. Nr.: 0924. 98/A+