"She lived frugally, but her meals were the only things on which she deliberately spent her money. She never compromised on the quality of her groceries and drank only good-quality wines."

? Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

We make it easy for you to pick out a good quality wine as that is all we have here at the Wine Watch and that is all we show at our wine tasting events!

German wines can be hard to pronounce and a little difficult for wine novices to understand as the new wave of German wines are becoming dryer and dryer.  One producer that we have counted on every year for consistency and quality is Dr. Burklin Wolf.

This is one of the first producers to focus on the dryer style and on the classification of vineyards in the Pfaltz which are considered to be Grand Cru and Premier Cru based on a classification system that dates back to the early 1970's however they have known what these top vineyard sites were going back several hundred years.

German wines were the most expensive wines on Earth before WWI and because people's taste changed from sweet to dry and the damaging effect of two world wars that gave people a negative view of German products, now they could be the greatest value in the world of fine wine.

Riesling is one of the longest-lived wines in the world and is very resistant to oxidation after opening the bottle you can keep it in the fridge for several weeks before you notice any oxidative qualities and the sweet wines have such a high level of both sugar and acidity they are seemingly immortal.

Join us as we welcome Oskar Micheletti, the import director from Dr. Burklin Wolf to town for a special tasting of wines from this landmark producer of the Pfaltz.  Chef Toni Lampasone will be making a special dinner to accompany the tasting wines and the price of this event which includes dinner is $195 + tax.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

DR. BURKLIN-WOLF GERMAN WINE TASTING

WITH SPECIAL GUEST OSKAR MICHELETTI EXPORT DIRECTOR

Thursday, November 17, 2022

7:30 PM

2020 DR. BURKLIN WOLF RIESLING REITERPFAD GC

Price: $81.75               Your Price: $71.94

(97 points) "Still tight and rather closed on the nose, but on the palate there's a real explosion of citrus fruit (bergamot and pomelo), then you land in a deep pool of minerality that's totally fascinating. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2023. (8/4/21)" Stuart Pigott (JamesSuckling.com)

2020 DR. BURKLIN WOLF GAISBOHL RIESLING MONOPOLE GC

Price: $62.00               Your Price: $54.56

(95 points) "Just sit back and let go! So much ripe gooseberry, kiwi and exotic fruit. So much charm and juiciness, too, which adds up to a full, silky package that's so easy to enjoy right now, because it pulls you into its warmhearted embrace. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. (8/4/21)" Stuart Pigott (JamesSuckling.com)

2019 DR. BURKLIN WOLF GAISBOHL RIESLING MONOPOLE GC

Price: $48.75   Your Price: $42.90

The Dr. Bürklin-Wolf estate is the sole (monopole) owner of this top-rated site in Ruppertsberg, which has a total extent of 8 ha, of which only 5,2 ha are classified as a G.C. site. The origin of this site goes back to the late medieval era. It was classified as a First Growth in terms of the Royal Bavarian Site Classification. It is located at the foot of the Mittelhaardt mountains, and benefits from an advantageous temperate microclimate. Deposits of gravel in terraces with layers of clay in the soil provide the Gaisböhl wine with its huge body and elegant acidity, the colored sandstone ensures a very long maturation potential.

2020 DR. BURKLIN WOLF RIESLING WACHENHEIMER P.C. BOHLIG

Price: $48.75               Your Price: $42.90

(94 points) "Generous stone-fruit and mandarin character, but there's nothing demonstrative about this! Likewise, the serious chalky structure sits in the medium to full body in a very relaxed way. Then comes the very long, elegant finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. (9/23/21)"  Stuart Pigott (JamesSuckling.com)

2020 DR. BURKLIN WOLF RIESLING WACHENHEIMER RECHBACHEL P.C. MONOPOLE

Price: $41.75               Your Price: $36.74

(95 points) "Deep and fine mirabelle, guava and vanilla nose. Concentrated and energetic with bright, stony minerality that lifts the medium to full palate. Very long, exciting finish that shoots off into the distance! From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. (9/23/21)"  Stuart Pigott (JamesSuckling.com)

2019 DR. BURKLIN WOLF WACHENHEIMER RIESLING BOHLIG PC

Price: $49.50               Your Price: $43.56

(95 points) Bundles of tropical flowers! Concentrated and suave, the warm and cool elements intertwine beautifully, until they become a silky, unified force in the very long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Biodyvin certification. Drink or hold.  James Suckling (Sep 2020)

2017 DR. BURKLIN WOLF WACHENHEIMER RIESLING AUSLESE

Price: $49.50               Your Price: $43.56

Sleek and concentrated, juicy lime skins and mango balanced with elegant sweetness.

2002 DR BURKLIN WOLF GAISBOHL TROCKENBEERENAUSLESE AUSLESE 375ML

Price: $322.00             Your Price: $283.36    Quantity in Stock: 2

(98 Points) Sweet and intense, yet racy too, offering an amazing taste experience. The essence is of apricot, passion fruit and cinnamon; it has a light touch for such concentration due to its bracing structure. Endless finish. Drink now through 2025. 6 cases made. â€"BS Wine Spectator Issue: Mar 31, 2004

2002 DR. BURKLIN-WOLF RIESLING TROCKENBEERENAUSLESE PFALZ WACHENHEIMER GOLDBäCHEL MAGNUM

Price: $1050.00           Your Price: $924.00    Quantity in Stock: 1

Menu

Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie

Foie Gras Torchon with Grape Jelly and Brioche Toast

Eggs Benedict deconstructed with Pork Belly and Hollandaise Sauce

Riesling Braised Beef Shortrib with Horseradish Mustard Sauce and Sauerkraut

German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about Dr. Burklin Wolf:

German wines have come a long way from the days of Blue Nun and Black Tower, although the modern day wines of Germany resemble these fruit forward, tropical and mineral laced wines, they only vaguely elude to the majestic white wines that represent the best this country has to offer.  The current classification system that exists in Germany today is based on the law of 1971, but the prerequisites for the system of classification that is currently in place today describing the distinctions between categories of German wine was created by the Pforzheim physicist Ferdinand Oechsle (1774-1852).  He invented the hydrometer, also known as the aerometer.  This hollow glass instrument weighted with mercury (or lead) is marked with a scale and resembles a thermometer.  If the hydrometer is placed in water (specific gravity 1) the weight of the amount displaced will be equal to the weight of the immersed instrument.  Therefore the density of any fluid can be measured against that of water and the difference is the sugar content can be calculated.

Thus German wines are divided into four categories:  Tafelwein (Table Wine), Landwein (country wine), Qualitatswein Bestimmer Anbaugebeite (quality wine from defined regions), abbreviated to Q.b.A., and Qualitatswein mit Pradikat or Pradikatswein (wine "with a distinction"), Q.m.P. the majority of wines produced fall into the two last-names categories.  Unlike the French wine law, its German equivalent does not classify wines on a geographical basis, but distinguishes between Q.b.A. only on the basis of ascending sugar levels of the grape must and the price is also usually relatively higher as you go up the scale.  The "distinctions" are:  Kabinett (cabinet), Spatlese (late harvest), Auslese (select harvest), Beerenauslese (select berry harvest), and Trockenbeerenauslese (T.B.A.) (select dried berry harvest), as well as the special case of Eiswein (ice wine). 

Although this archaic classification had only recently been made into law, progressive thinking winemakers of the 1970's began to experiment making a drier style of wine remembering the criteria for the world's great wines, full flavor and exceptional balance, with only a slight amount of residual sugar.  As a result of these renegade new wave German producers there are more producers pushing for classification of the countries best vineyard sites giving them the respect they deserve and making consumers more aware of the best wines that Germany has to offer.

Dr. Burklin Wolf is one of the oldest producers in this country staunched in tradition and the new generation at this estate is leading they way to bring Germany into the 21st century in changing the classification system to focus on defining  the premier cru and grand cru vineyards of each growing region.  Founded in Wachenheim in the late 1500's by Bernhard Bürklin and expanded to current size and prominence by Dr. Albert Bürklin in the late 1800's, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf is the largest family-owned wine estate in Germany.  Holdings total 110 hectares (275 acres) in the Mittelhardt—the quality core of the world-renowned Pfalz region, including most of the top sites in Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg.  Ruppertsberg's Gaisböhl and Wachenheim's Rechbächel are owned by Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in their entirety.  The soil and rock types underfoot are variable, in some places limestone, in others sandstone, basalt and loam. Riesling dominates, but there is also a considerable quantity of land committed to red grape varieties.

Impressive enough for the significance of its tradition and holdings, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf stands for the future.  Following more than a decade in which most of Germany's wine had lost its way in international markets, 1990 witnessed an infusion of fresh energy and creativity with the passing on of estate management to Bettina Bürklin and her husband, Christian von Guradze.  Delving minutely into their glorious heritage, Bettina and Christian saw that the basis for a return to the world's dinner tables was at hand…in the vineyards which surrounded them.  Bürklin wines from Riesling's Golden Era of the late-19th and early-20th centuries preserved in the estate cellars pointed the way:  Richly textured, long-lived, exquisite expressions of highly-definitive terroirs, fermented naturally dry in traditional oak cooperage.

Bürklin-Wolf was able to define its great sites and organize them into a classification along the Burgundian concept by exhaustive research into soil types and vineyard quality confirmed historic doctrines with few surprises.  Aptly, the Pfalz Mittelhardt is the topographical and geological extension of France's Côte d'Or and Alsace—its best sites located within a narrow, sheltered east-facing strip just a few hundred meters wide, with a variety of soil types in close proximity.  To emphasize the high quality of the vineyards in the northern Mittelhardt region of the Pflaz, where Burklin-Wolf holds 275 acres, von Guradze searched old records and discovered that a classification system for quality, such as Burgundy existed in the 19th century. An actual map was found, created by the Bavarian government for the collection of taxes, which pinpointed the northern Mittelhardt region of the Pfalz, running from Ruppertsberg to Kallstadt, as the quality core of the region, citing the villages of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg.

Burklin-Wolf gave certain vineyards "Premier Cru" and "Grand Cru" status, even though it cannot legally use those words on a German wine label. To flag these special wines, however, they got government approval to put a small oval label above the regular label with the trademarked, scripted letters PC or GC. If you read between the lines, the letters are short for Premier Cru and Grand Cru.

The top wines at this estate are profound examples of the potential that these new age German wine producers offer.  Lets start with the Gaisböhl - Ruppertsberg Cru, this 14-hectare monopole is Dr. Bürklin-Wolf's top property.  The wine has big fruit, but is still tight, with interlaced flavors of pineapple, lime and mineral with a waxy note.  Extremely concentrated and rich, with a slightly viscous texture, it's a baby that's impressive for its vigor, density and superbly balanced weight. Talk about structure, after two days it showed even more vigor, power and depth than when it was first tasted.  Other top sites include;  Ruppertsberger Hoheburg, Wachenheimer Rechbächel Cru, Riesling 'R' Wachenheimer Rechbächel- yes, this is the current release.  The 'R' series of Dr. Bürklin-Wolf has a minimum of 5 years in the bottle; in this case it's 10.  Rounding out the line-up are the Bürklin Estate Riesling, an excellent introduction to dry German Riesling and our "top pick" for Riesling value this year the Riesling Pfalz.