Egon Muller - Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 2018

Druva

Riesling

Tasting note

The 2018 Scharzhofberger Kabinett (AP #2) is brilliant, clear and coolish on the nose, with cold, wet and clayey yet also crunchy slate aromas and bright fruit. Lush and precise, with lingering salinity and mineral expression, this is a complex and structured Scharzhofberger Kabinett with great aging potential. Tasted in June 2019.

There are many days per year that start less spectacular. One morning in mid-June this year, I met Veronika Lindner at Egon Müller's Scharzhof estate to taste the 2018s and what was left in the private wine library from the 2017 vintage that I didn't manage to taste before. Except for the auctioned Scharzhofberger Kabinett, Veronika lined up the whole series of 2017s and all the 2018s. Only the Grosses Gewächs from the Scharzhofberg, which was not yet ready to taste. "It has not even been decided when or if we are going to bottle it," she disclosed. "We will release the wine when Mr Müller is totally convinced about the quality." I asked her if it will be a really dry wine or an off-dry Grosse Lage, and she said, "The wine tasted from the barrel was delicious with 13 to 14 grams of residual sugar, but Mr Müller wants to have a really dry wine—'If I produce a dry Riesling from the Scharzhofberg, it should be a really dry Grosses Gewächs.' He is really curious and wants to know how it tastes." I had to smile about this, because I remember a noteworthy sentence Egon Müller once said to Roman Niewdoniczanski about van Volxem's dry "P" (Pergentsknopp): "It's a remarkably good wine. However, can you imagine how good your Scharzhofberger could have been if it had at least some grams of unfermented sugar?"

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Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The growing season began with dry, hot weather in 2023, and it stayed that way until mid-July. “Everything looked like a repeat of the 2022 vintage,” said Egon Müller after tasting his 2023 Scharzhofberg and Wiltinger Braune Kupp. “The season was practically over; all we had to do was wait for the grapes to ripen. But then, after two cold nights, it started raining, and we actually rarely have powdery mildew. From mid-July to the end of August, we had a total of around 200 liters of rain, considerably more than the long-term average. Fortunately, we had glorious weather from September onward. Around August 20, we were still expecting an October harvest, but then it started right after the auction at the end of September, with Trockenbeerenauslese. September remained beautiful and we were able to do whatever we wanted at our leisure.” There was no pressure anywhere. On October 10, the 2023 vintage was already in the cellar. “On October 13, it started raining again and didn't stop until the end of February. Thank God, because we all needed this precipitation; the last few years were very dry...”

Egon Müller sent his offers as early as January; although three wines from the vintage were not yet ready even during my first visit at the end of April, and one could not be tasted due to the quantity being too small. An auction Auslese was made of the Wiltinger Braune Kupp, with a reservation made for each filled bottle, otherwise the minimum quantity would not have been reached. The 2023 Trockenbeerenauslese from the Scharzhofberg was still struggling to reach the minimum alcohol level; and Egon Müller had not released the dry Scharzhofberger, which he has been trying to make since the 2018 vintage, as he had not released any of the previous vintages. “But it looks good, maybe even very good,” said Müller. It would be the first dry Scharzhofberger since the 1980s. At the time, they had not been very well received. So, if there is going to be a dry Scharzhofberger again, it will have to be a superb one. After all, Egon Müller had seen no reason to make a dry Scharzhofberger for almost three decades, as he had no criticism of the residual-sweet Prädikats and, on top of that, was of the opinion that they expressed the talents of the Scharzhofberg better than any dry wine, which, at the Scharzhof, could also be a Prädikat wine or a natural wine, even if it were to be sold without a Prädikat. Like more than a few members of the VDP, Müller still embraces the founding idea of the VDP and its predecessor, the natural wine auctioneers. So, there is hardly any chance of a chaptalized Scharzhofberger from Egon Müller's Scharzhof. Let's stay tuned. 

Otherwise, the 2023s from the Scharzhofberg, like the Rieslings from the Wiltinger Braune Kupp (see the wines from this site under the entry Egon Müller - Le Gallais), are of exquisite quality and unique finesse. Rarely before have the Kupp wines been so beguiling; they are becoming ever more full-bodied but now also fabulously rich in finesse. Since they cost significantly less than the Scharzhofberger, fans of Egon Müller's art of handcrafting wine should consider buying these wines. The fact that they are somewhat more accessible than the Scharzhofberger, which always develops late, should not count against them in this case. 

A few hours before my visit on April 22, a late spring frost caused dramatic losses in the Saar and Ruwer, including at Egon Müller. In August, during another visit to the domaine, he estimated the loss to be around 90%. So, anyone who wants to buy Egon Müller next year will not only need a lot of money but also a lot of luck. Instead of only bringing his 2023 auction wines to the auction in Trier, Müller might also offer aged Scharzhofberger and Wiltinger, of which the treasure trove has quite a few. Otherwise, all hopes are now pinned on the 2025 vintage, the 35th from Egon Müller IV.

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Robert Parker Wine Advocate