Daniel Wagner’s Masterclass on 2016 Dry Rizza from the Rheinhessen!


Daniel Wagner, known as Mr Riesling, is making heart racing Riesling. Simply delicious!

After our Riesling offer ‘Finding the Perferct Balance’ looking at Kabinett and Trocken or off-dry and dry Riesling.

We’re upping the game to GG level with Wagner-Stemples Höllberg, Herkretz and Porphyr.

If you listen carefully to the glass you’ll hear them whispering ‘DRINK ME! DRINK ME!’

“…Brilliant wines from one of the most beautiful yet unknown landscapes of Germany, possessing a vibrant freshness and kaleidoscopic aromas …”

Stuart Pigott

About Wagner-Stemple 

Daniel Wagner is known in Germany as Mr Riesling. It’s a richly deserved moniker. Siefersheim is located in the extreme west of the German region known as Rheinhessen, just a few kilometres south of the town of Bad Kreuznach, amidst a landscape of steep hills of volcanic origin, interspersed with heath, untouched brooks and small streams, old stone quarries and overgrown walls built of rocks, the gateway to the region known as the “Rheinhessische Schweiz” (Switzerland of Rheinhessen).

The foundation for the Wagner estate was laid in 1845, with earlier generations shaping what was originally a classic mixed farming operation into a widely renowned wine estate, and leading the Höllberg and Heerkretz vineyard sites to supra-regional importance in the early decades of the 20th century.

The fruits of Daniel’s passion for wine are evident each year in a range of wines characterized by clarity and freshness on the one hand, challenging, complex and concentrated on the other hand. An original style, as confirmed by critics, and acceptance into the elite circle of premium wine producers in 2004, as well as the awarding “Newcomer of the Year” by Gerhard Eichelmann and the wine critics of the Gault Millau WineGuide are a clear indication that the wines made by Daniel Wagner are something special indeed.

The Rheinhessen

Deep within a valley of gently rolling hills, bordered by the Nahe River and the Rhine rivers, lies the region of Rheinhessen. Germany’s largest wine growing region by area is a land of varying climates and geography. Many different types of grapes, both red and white, are planted, producing medium-bodied wine that is delicately fragrant. Some of the finest white wines in Germany are produced among the Rheinterrassen – the vineyards on gentle slopes directly facing the Rhine near the town of Nierstein. Celebrated Riesling author Stuart Pigott calls this “the dream factory of dry German white wine”.

Map by Fernando Beteta, MS @fernandobeteta on Twitter

Vintage 2015

After two years of hard graft in 2013 and 2014, 2015 brought welcome relief to the Rheinhessen offering near perfect conditions. Daniel delivered an exceptional crop of wines. The wines are rich and full.

Read the full 2015 Vintage report here.

Vintage 2016

Early on 2016 was looking like a tough year, heavy rains during Spring worrying growers across the Rheinhessen. Summer brought heat and sun, fruit coming off the vine at slightly lower alcohol with great natural acidity. This balance, with beautifully ripe fruit has given an added elegance to the wines.

Read the full 2016 Vintage report here.

Tips for Drinking these Wines

🌡Temp: 8-10°C. If they’re in the fridge let them warm a little. Start cold and experiment. You’ll find they become more expressive as they warm up.

De-gassing: Many Rieslings are bottled with a significant amount of dissolved CO2. It has the effect of helping protect the wine from oxygen in bottle and allowing it to stay fresher for longer. It’s a common practice world wide, typically seen in young Semillon from the Hunter too. I find it masks the aromas and flavours of wine. It’s easily removed by pouring a small glass from the bottle then replacing the screwcap or putting your hand over the top of the bottle, giving it a vigorous shake, allowing the foam to settle and then releasing the pressure by undoing the screw cap or removing your hand. Once is usually enough, go again if you think it needs it. Added bonus is the introduction of oxygen to the wine helping it open up and start to show itself in the glass a little earlier.

⏳Time: I love trying good wines stand alone, with food, and, often the next day. It gives them the chance to shine and ensures you don’t miss a good wine through impatience or fail to bring out it’s best by not marrying them to food. These young Rieslings will open up and be more expressive with a bit of time in the glass.

🕯Cellaring: Riesling, when young has a raw attractiveness to it, age it and you’ll see it go through several phases of development. After a few years the youthful primary characters subside, the wine comes together, more sophisticated aromas and flavours develop. After 10 years what we call secondary characters associated with ageing wines start to develop and layer in, creating complexity, they become adults. The good ones will continue to age beautifully for decades.

Food Match: These are incredibly versatile wines, in Australia, we love drinking them with fresh vibrant Asian food, they great with seafood, but can easily go toe to toe with chicken, pork and mid-weight pasta. Riesling and cheese work particularly well together! The little bit of fat balanced by the acid and the salt of bringing out the flavours beautifully.

Want more Wine?

We have access to all of the wines from Loosen, Keller and Wagner-Stemple + a massive range of German, Alsatian and Austrian wines. If there’s anything elese you’d like call us on 1300 811 066 or Request a Wine Here.


About the Wines


Wagner-Stemple Riesling Porphyr 2015

The most complex Riesling in the communal wine series is that from Siefersheim, sourced mainly from the HEERKRETZ site. The wine has a tremendous array of aromas, and is the communal wine that is most expressive and powerful on the palate. Part of the reason for this complexity lies in the excellent vineyard sites, but also in the fact that the wine is a blend of batches fermented in stainless steel tanks and 600 litre barrels, with some batches using cultured yeasts and other wild yeasts. The „Porphyr“is always the herbaceous representative among the communal wines. Aromas of linden flowers, camomile and sage define the nose, as well as notes of yellow and exotic fruit. This year, the acid bite is much less evident. On the palate you can expect to find the mineral notes, reminiscent of sea salt, typical of the ‘Porphyr’.

Raises the Bar

An absolute power house, such intrigue, texture and flavour! The Porphyr is a fuller style Riesling with insane depth. The texture teases, the complex perfume carrying through to the palate. Chalky acid giving it a lovely clean finish. The flavours lingering. Dissecting it a bit you could see some detail from skin contact and barrel work that just added to the fun! If the Riesling Trocken is an aperitif, the Porphyr’s got you set for a Raclette!

Paul Kaan - Chief Wine Hacker, Wine Decoded

95 Points

Medium to light straw yellow colour. The bouquet is attractively floral, with dried wildflower traces and rocky mineral traces. The palate is intense and crisp, with some raciness. The acidity is brisk and the palate and finished are well-balanced and long. There’s a juiciness in the mid-palate, which enriches the flavour and carries it long through the finish. Excellent wine.

Huon Hooke, The Real Review

Fascinating

From Heerkretz and Holberg vineyards. Middle age vines, that is, not old vines or young vines. Porphyr seems to tick a lot of boxes, year in-year out. Steel and wet slate scents. Austere perfume. Some greenery, herbs, briar, then green citrus and lime juice. Understated and appealing. Steely in palate. Rapier thrust of glass shard-like acidity with a splash of juiciness around it. Set in the tonic water vein. Ultra quinine. Fascinating.

Mike Bennie, winefront.com.au

Wagner-Stemple Riesling Porphyr 2016

Insane

We often get seduced by opulence. Daniel's 2015's from sites yielding some of the ripest fullest fruit in the Rheinhessen certainly have such seduction. The 2016 Porphyr, beautifully balanced, it rests toward the acid side of the scales, with a touch less alcohol, taming rich lucious fruits. Such a sophisticated wine of great line and length.

Paul Kaan - Chief Wine Hacker, Wine Decoded

94 Points

The stunning bouquet of fresh pineapple and citrus sucks you into this wine. An extraordinarily light-footed riesling considering how much power it has. The crystalline purity of the long, lingering finish makes this stand out from the pack. Only 20,000 bottles of this wine that’s 80% from the great Heerkretz site.

James Suckling

Wagner-Stemple Riesling Höllberg 2016

The idea behind site wines, generally spoken, is taking a product back to its origin. The grapes for our Grand Cru (Großes Gewächs) from the sites of Heerkretz and Höllberg stem from some few vine sites within an exactly mapped area of our vineyards in Siefersheim. Experience over generations has shown that it is only there that conditions are so favorable as to create extraordinary, unique wines from the Riesling grape.

The craftsmanship in producing these wines of utmost quality requires a maximum of diligence and discipline. There are many examples for tasks that make it necessary to perform just a little extra, to invest just a tiny bit more effort. In the bottom line, a performance is needed that yields not only very good but outstanding results – to produce wines at the top of our assortment that are just as original as Parma ham or Scotch whisky. Unique, individual and related to their origin.

From the Winery:

Once again this year, the HÖLLBERG is, next to the HEERKRETZ, the appealing wine, although clearly leaner than in the previous vintage, and with less strident acidity. After extensive aeration in the glass one notes particularly exotic aromas, pawpaw, guava, melon, pineapple and ginger, as well as refreshing citrus notes such as mandarin peel and lemon balm. In spite of its full body, the wine also has tremendous length, which is supported by the sea-salt minerality that is so typical for Siefersheim. In fact, the full body is composed of creaminess, fruit extract, pleasant freshness and intense aromas of exotic fruit. Once again this year the HÖLLBERG is a really juicy show Riesling, although not as powerful as in the previous vintage.

18 Points

He who dares wins, and Daniel Wagner dared to leave his grapes on the vines for long enough to assemble a delightful array of exotic fruit aromas. But orange and grapefruit do not just stimulate the sense of smell, but also bring juice and zest to the palate. Fine nuances of piquant fruit peel and chalky minerality are supported by refreshing acidity to give ample contours to a supple texture. 21 Aug 2017

Michael Schmidt, JancisRobinson.com

95 Points

What a beautiful peach and grapefruit nose. Ripe and rich at the front, then just as you think it might become opulent it slowly turns crisp and crystalline as the acidity asserts itself. Great balance and a long finish of real nobility. Best from 2018.

James Suckling

Wagner-Stemple Riesling Heerkretz 2016

From the Winery:

The HEERKRETZ is the Grand Cru with the firmest grip on the palate. The wine shows tremendous herbs and spices, and leaves a grainy mouth-feel carried by minerality and phenolics. A wine that comes alive particularly through its structure, and does not rely only on its smell to enchant. The first impression on the nose shows smoky aromas. After swirling the wine around for a while, and when the wine warms up slightly, one notes added aromas of menthol, eucalyptus, clear apple, apricots, wild herbs and camomile flowers. This wine, too, is a little lighter in body than in the previous vintage.
On the palate one notes that, just as with the “Melaphyr” communal wine, that it is supported less by fruit extract and more by salty mineral notes and iodine. In total, it has less of an acid bite, and less oak aromas than the previous vintage wine, the HEERKRETZ is a classy Riesling that perfectly reflects both the vineyard site and the vintage.

17.5 Points

Although the herbal and herbaceous notes of spontaneous fermentation are still there, they do not hog the sensory limelight and leave plenty of room for fresh fruit and fine spices to express themselves. Invigorating acidity and a delightful zesty exhibition of citrus peel inspire the palate with piquancy and vibrancy. 21 Aug 2017

Michael Schmidt, JancisRobinson.com

97 Points

One of the great dry rieslings of 2016 and although it comes from "mellow" Rheinhessen this has an extremely northerly personality. Enormous minerality is interwoven with the pineapple, citrus and wild herbs character. Sensational balance and a very long finish. If possible wait until 2020, but this will age well beyond 2040.

James Suckling


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