When the Hessian State Wineries Kloster Eberbach explored the Assmannshäuser Höllenberg in the Rheingau at the end of April with the help of wines from a period of 138 years, in order to be able to fathom the historical quality as well as the current potential of this steeply ascending location on the right bank of the Rhine, one thing was before the first sample sip clear: reporting on such a sample of rarities, which included 91 Assmannshäuser houses and a dozen Rüdesheim Pinot Noirs from the years 1882 to 2020, would not only arouse amazement and curiosity among those who were not there, but who would very much like to know how about so Wines that have matured for a long time taste better than younger ones.
Experience has shown that contemporary history that has been drunk also causes a lack of understanding and criticism.
Why, some ask, should a good dozen chosen ones enjoy such treasures – so that they can then write about wines that are no longer available, and if they are, for example at auctions, at prices that are easy to imagine could buy a car?
Not a bit tired, neither in terms of color nor sensory
Well, the answer is: because these wines are not consumer goods, but cultural goods.
You have to taste them to know that.
These Pinot Noirs bear witness to the quality of German wine culture, which after the two world wars only slowly resumed a tradition that once produced the finest and most expensive Rieslings in the world, but also Pinot Noir, albeit the quality of the red wines, especially those from Assmannshäuser Höllenberg, only known to true connoisseurs.
Many of the red wines produced between 1882 and 1964 on the Assmannshausen domain still show their world class today and are not a bit tired, neither in terms of color nor sensory.
The 1882 Assmannshäuser, for example, comes from a very wet and low-yield year;
nevertheless, its color already shows a dark, but bright, brilliant orange.
The bouquet reveals a clear, precise, elegant and cool-aromatic, dense but not sweet fruit reminiscent of yellow stone fruit, carrots and pickled ginger.
Silky, elegant and rather filigree in the crystalline acidity, this Methusalem shows an intense, neither generous nor stingy, but concentrated fruit as well as firm, fine tannins.
The finale is fresh, pure and seemingly forever vital.
The chestnut-colored 1917 Höllenberg Edelbeerenauslese Rotweiß blends balsamic notes with malt and caramel and is incredibly vital, exciting and salty on the palate.
My favorite among the red wines in the real sense was the still deep ruby red 1921 Höllenberg, which is dense and powerful, but also energetic, incredibly long and complex.
Also 1935, 1945 as well as 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958 and 1959 are highlights, as well as the 1964.
Before and after that, outstanding ice wines repeatedly showed what Pinot Noir is capable of, while the red wines have only been reminiscent of the old days of glory since the 2018 vintage.