Karl-Heinz Datum
The Schäfer-Fröhlich winery is known for its philosophy focused on origin and terroir. Tim Fröhlich strives for wines that possess finesse, elegance, and a clear expression of their place of origin, and is convinced that Riesling is best able to reflect this.
The Riesling Kabinett Dorsheimer Pittermännchen 2021 from Schlossgut Diel, which we tasted three years ago, was excellent. This time, we tasted a Riesling Auslese 2023 from the winery’s Dorsheimer Goldloch vineyard. Although the two vineyards border each other, the grapes thrive on different soils. While slate is the dominant characteristic of the Pittermännchen vineyard, the spicy, often slightly smoky nose of the Goldloch vineyard is likely due to the bedrock beneath the heavily gravelly loam soils. With a slope of up to 55%, the vineyard demands a high level of work. On the other hand, this incline, combined with the south to southwest exposure of the vineyard, ensures excellent sun exposure, which promotes ripening.
With a slope of around 65 degrees, the Erdener Prälat is one of the steepest vineyards in Germany. The site also boasts an exceptionally high proportion of old, ungrafted Riesling vines. Thanks to its southern exposure in the Moselle loop and the heat-retaining rocks, the site enjoys a very warm microclimate, from which the vines benefit. The red slate soil also contributes to the complexity of these top-quality Rieslings. We tasted one of these examples, the 2022 Riesling Auslese Erdener Prälat Alte Reben from the Dr. Hermann winery.
Klaus gave me the sweet wine, which he has as always carefully selected to match the dessert, – just as he had done on our last visit. This time: a Greek sweet wine from the 2014 vintage, called Pollios Oinos, produced by the Anatolikos Vineyards winery. This winery, which continues a program begun in 2000 to revive a famous ancient vineyard, was founded in 2005 in the Thracian town of Avdira.
The organically certified winery is run by the two brothers Marios and Sakis Nikolaidis.
Danube near Erdut byJan Pešula – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Traminac Mirisavi Ledena Berba 2012 from the Erdut winery, which we tasted, was a gift from our good friend Babs, who moved to Croatia for love a little over 30 years ago and still lives near Zagreb.