Maybe the Greatest Kabinett Vintage I’ve Ever Tasted
– Throwbacks to When Kabinetts were Kabinetts
– The Last Bastion of German Wine That is Vastly Underpriced
2022 Gunther Streinmetz Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett
– $24.99 Case Pricing (Will Last 50+ Years)
– I Gave This a 9.8 on Delectable
– Classic, Classic, Classic Mosel Kabinett
– Nose: Amazing in its Precision and Finesse
– Vanilla Extract, Slate and Mega Minerals
– Preposterous minerality
– Citrus, Yellow Apple
– Old School and Playful Kabinett of Yesteryear
– Palate: Perfect Balance
– So Much Energy and Precision
– Wonderful Concentration
The Return of Kabinett
There is a huge resurgence of interest in kabinett both in Germany and on our list. We are seeing very high kabinett scores from the critics. Why?
Many have thought of Kabinett as a lighter Spatlese. Something you can drink with food because modern Spatlesen are often bit too sweet and heavy.
But it’s more than that. Kabinetts can be just as great as wines from other classes. They are just different.
First let’s recall that the kabinetts of today have the same must weight as the spatlesen of 30 years ago. So it’s not like these are wines lacking in material.
But it’s more than that.
Higher must weight at harvest typically leads to more powerful wines. And don’t get me wrong, we love Grosses Gewachs which are typically made from grapes that would be spatlesen or auslesen if they were sweet. You get bigger density of fruit. You get more richness. More power. And wines of that stylus can be great.
But that doesn’t mean that high power and density is the only style of wine. High density wines can overshadow other elements. And it’s much harder for them to become wines of pure crystalline elegance. And Rieslings of that elegant style are among the great wines on earth.
Well made kabinetts can deliver wines like this and really show rieslings elegant side. It’s why real Riesling geeks are gravitating towards the style. It’s another way to enjoy Riesling. It’s no better or worse than a great Grosses Gewachs. It’s just different.
Maybe the Greatest Kabinett Vintage I’ve Ever Tasted
If there are two categories of wine that excelled in 2022 it is dry Riesling and Kabinett Riesling. This is maybe one of the greatest Kabinett vintages I’ve ever tasted. The wines have vim, vigor and so much snap they will break your neck if not careful. They are throwbacks to when Kabinetts were Kabinetts.
Kabinetts are currently the best deal in German wine and maybe the entire wine world. Stefan Steinmetz believes that his Kabinetts will age better than any of his other wines. He think all of them in 2022 have 50+ years of life ahead of them which is not bad for wines that cost less than $25. But Kabinett pricing is about to get more serious as it’s the last bastion of German wine that is vastly underpriced. Klaus Peter Keller in 2021 will make a “Kabinett Box” where he will sell his Kabinetts just like he goes with his Grosse Lage box. That is a huge step for Kabinett and also for German wines. These are the last few years where Kabinett will have throwaway prices. You have been warned.
The Wines
Today we have the stunning 2022 Gunther Steinmetz Braunberger Juffer Kabinett for $24.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.
I gave this a 9.8 on Delectable.
The nose is just amazing in its precision and finesse. Wow what a mineral nose. As classic a nose it gets at Steinmetz. Sponti. Sponti up the wazoo. Vanilla extract, slate and mega minerals. That is classic Juffer. Also a hint of bourbon barrel vanilla extract if you know what I mean. The minerality on the nose is very very intense. Like you have no idea how preposterous this minerality is. This is from the HL parcel of which we sold a dry 14 some time beck. There is a background of citrus, yellow apple (Fuji?) and a hint of wild mint on the expansive and detailed nose. But this is a nose that is old school and playful Kabinett of yesteryear. It is stunning.
What a palate! Beyond delicious. And so so nervy. The acid is so so intense yet silky despite being 11 grams of acidity per liter. When this was first bottled it was a bit angry but since then it has calmed down and has made this stunningly ridiculous. It’s easily the best Juffer Kabinett Stefan has ever made. It is also the best Juffer Kabinett i’ve ever had. True Kabinett. Not spatlese dressed in Kabinett clothes. This is not a burn your tongue Kabinett. Perfect balance and it is much more acidic intense than the acid in your face version of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett which we offered earlier this year. It’s got so much energy and precision and has wonderful concentration. It floats and chisels your palate. Drink now and over the next 50 years. Below is the 94 point review of Stuart Piggott which is vastly underscored in my opinion.
Midjourney
As you know, we believe that strict recitations of tasting notes is only part of the story of a wine. We’ve always tried to include metaphors to try to give our readers a better understanding of how wines impact us. These metaphors have included architecture, painting, music and poetry.
We’re trying something new to help create visual metaphors using Midjourney, a generative artificial intelligence program that is by far the best image gneratour out there. I’ve messed around with a bunch and this is by far the best. We look forward to hearing your feedback.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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