URGENT NEWS: Please click here to read about a major threat to the Mosel.
Weingut J. B. van Wageningen
Kurfürstenstrasse 18,
Zeltingen-Rachtig
54492
mail@weingut-van-wageningen.de
+49 (0) 6532 954 397
This is one of the smallest and most interesting estates I've ever visited. It's run by an incredibly dynamic, cheerful and friendly 'crazy Dutchman' (his own description) with a huge amount of energy and determination. He settled in Zeltingen a few years ago, and started his own winery on the steep slopes around the village. If he continues to maintain an impressive rate of improvement, in a few years he could well be regarded as one of the top winemakers of the Mosel, though this might require substantial investment. However, I suspect he may end up making more dry wine than sweet.
Delivery to Britain costs €18 for a case of up to 18 bottles, and for a case of 21 is free.
2008 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett
Pale Gold. Very flowery nose, with noticeable fruit even on the nose. Excellent balance with very good fruit on the palate. Quite concentrated for a Kabinett, with good mineralty. Again, very low sulphur leps this wine. I suspect that this wine is in fact a de-classified Spätlese. Great finesse, the only (slightly) negative thing about this wine is a very slight dryness to the finish.
!8/20 Will improve for at least five years.
2008 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese
Very pale gold. Excellent flowery nose, with noticeable acidity. Very good fruit and acidity on the palate, very fresh, and again with low sulphur, thankfully. The highish natural acidity of this vintage again give this wine great elegance and poise. As with the Himmelrieich below, this isn't a huge de-classified Auslese, but is very good in it's own right. Also as with that one, the balance is slightly tilted towards the acidity, which again makes this a very refreshing wine.
17/20 Will last for many years, and improve for at least five years.
You can see a picture of this vineyard being harvested in 2009 here.
2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese €9.00
Pale Gold. Very flowery nose with good fruit and acidity. Excellent fruit and acidity on the palate - very grapey - with fairly good minerality, complexity and concentration. This isn't a huge de-classified Auslese as some Spätlese are, but it's very elegant with great finesse, largely from the excellent natural acidity, and very low level of sulphur used during winemaking. The balance is slightly tilted towards the acidity, but not excessively. A very great acheivement from a very young winemaker.
18/20 Will improve for up to six years, and last for several more after that. May improve to 19/20, and may well be one of those that lasts for decades.
2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Auslese
Pale Gold. Moserately flowery nose., with noticeable acidity. Not especially rich, this is a 'plain' Auslese, not a starrred or Goldkap one. Fairly good fruit. The acidity is quite high, which together with the pleasantly very low level of sulphur used makes this rather elegant. This isn't quite as good a wine as the Spätlese above, but still a good acheivement.
16/20 Will improve for at least four years, and will last for several more, maybe a lot more.