Home > Trade Tastings > The 2010 Vintage by Prinz von Hessen

The 2010 Vintage by Prinz von Hessen

Despite my addiction to the wines of the Loire, and my long-term affair with Bordeaux, the wines of Germany have long held some appeal for me. There is something captivating about the patchwork of vineyards, brimming over with centuries of history, matched in this respect only by Burgundy, those precipitously slatey slopes looking down onto the Rhine and the Mosel and, of course, the filigree finesse of the wines, which at their apogee are some of the most exciting and vibrant to be found on the planet. And so I was very happy to recently return to Germany, even if only vicariously, with a look at a trio of samples provided by Prinz von Hessen, a long-established estate on the Rhine.

The estate's name is not a fanciful one, as the current incumbent Donatus Prinz von Hessen really is a prince, and he is related - albeit distantly - to the English royal family. His claim on the English throne is not a strong one; there are more than 400 similarly royal relatives in the queue ahead of him, and so it seems unlikely that he will be invited to Westminster Abbey for his coronation any time soon. Secure in this knowledge he has instead dedicated himself to his family's vines, having taken over the running of the Prinz von Hessen estate in 2005. Donatus undertook a radical restructuring, selling off 30% of the family vineyards, keeping hold of what was still a handsome portfolio of top sites, many of which are now classified as Erstes Gëwachs - if you are unfamiliar with the term, these are essentially the German equivalent of 'first growth' vineyards.

Winemaking is overseen by Clemens Kiefer, and the style throughout the range, including the blended wines not just from first growth sites, is one of dry, upright structure offset by fine, sometimes powerful fruit. As a consequence these wines do not have the gentle delicacy framed by low alcohol that we sometimes see in German wine; the alcohol levels for the three wines tasted here were all between 11.5% and 12.5%, more than you find in your usual Mosel and a higher figure than that declared for many a bottle from the Rhine as well. Nevertheless with a little richness from the residual sugars, which swung from a high of 16.4 g/l in the Riesling H down to 11.8 g/l in the rather more tense Riesling Kabinett, the wines all showed a good, bright balance and grip, albeit with a rather bold, pity, grapefruit style on the palate at times. In this respect, the Dachsfilet showed particularly well, I thought. (2/11/11)

The 2010 Vintage by Prinz von Hessen - Tasting Notes

Tasted in October 2011. Click for all stockists.

Prinz von Hessen Riesling H 2010: Alcohol 11.5%, residual sugar 16.4 g/l, acidity 8.5 g/l. Bottled under screwcap. Pale but glistening hue. The nose is perfumed, floral and with a sense of fatness, with a white fruit, apple and grapefruit, chalk and talcum powder character that you can find sometimes in entry-level Rieslings. I find it rather reminiscent of Dr Loosen's Dr L Riesling, so perhaps a wine that says more about variety and winemaking than origin or terroir. The palate carries some weight, that is immediately apparent, and it combines a low but nevertheless flattering layer of residual sugar which gives it a gentle sweetness, with a bold alcohol-fuelled structure, this clearly being a wine of substance. There is acidity also, although it has a blunt feel to it rather than the filigreed precision that can be found in some. Overall it seems to combine steel with gently ripe fruit. Firmer than the Mosel Rieslings I am perhaps more used to tasting and drinking, but perhaps a better match for certain foods as a result. The immediate finish is harmonious, before a taut, structured length. Good. 14.5/20 AP Nr. 2 602 30 05 11

Prinz von Hessen Riesling Kabinett 2010: Alcohol 12%, residual sugar 11.8 g/l, acidity 8.2 g/l. Bottled under screwcap. A decent depth of colour to this wine, and a wine that aromatically at least is quite distinct from the 'H' Riesling. This has more polished, sweet and oily fruit on the nose, all essence of citrus with more confident, ripe fruit overtones. It has a very solid feel to it, and indeed this is true on the palate; it is fleshy but with a solid frame, so that it comes across as bold, rich, peppery and spicy rather than anything more lifted or delicate. The fruit has notes of citrus, especially orange and a grapefruit tang, taking on a more grippy, pithy substance with time, but it is the frame that sits beneath this fruit that has the most impact on the palate; there is a gently tingling acidity here, building to a more forceful electric sensation through the middle, although it is still rather subsumed by the weight of the oily-dried fruit character on top. Certainly not bone dry, but not with overt residual sugar either, more the substance of a wine hovering between sec and demi-sec (if I can use those terms here). Overall, quite attractive, especially that bold and peppery finish. 15.5/20 AP Nr. 2 602 3 026 11

Prinz von Hessen Riesling Dachsfilet 2010: Alcohol 12.5%, residual sugar 12.9 g/l, acidity 8.2 g/l. Bottled under screwcap. Sourced from the Dachsberg (the 'Badger's Mountain', I believe, hence the label). This is immediately more convincing than the first two wines poured here, a wine that aromatically is more forthright, and on the palate has a great deal more definition and confidence. There is a wealth of pithy, vibrant, zesty grapefruit character on the nose, with hints of a crumbly minerality beneath it. From the outset on the palate it balances weight with grip and minerality with acidity, giving an assault of flavour - which matches the firm, pithy grapefruit of the nose - texture, structure and substance. There is a very fine, tingling vein running right through it from the mineral component, and a powerfully bright backbone from this and also the acidity which cuts right through to the finish, where it dominates, and pleasingly so. This is really impressive, and a huge step up from the preceding two wines. 16.5/20 AP Nr. 2 602 3 044 11