Schäfer-Fröhlich – Felseneck Riesling Spätlese, dry, 1998

Schäfer-Fröhlich – Felseneck Riesling Spätlese dry 1998

The 1998 Felseneck Riesling Spätlese dry from the Schäfer-Fröhlich winery is an exceptional testament to the Nahe Riesling tradition and a wine that bears the hallmark of one of Germany’s most exciting winemakers. The winery in Bockenau looks back on a family tradition stretching back over 200 years, but its real success story began in 1995, when Tim Fröhlich took over the reins at the age of just 22 and propelled the business to the very top of the world rankings in record time. As early as 2001, the winery became a member of the renowned CDP.Nahe, and Tim Fröhlich established himself as one of Germany’s most distinguished winemakers – a perfectionist renowned for his uncompromisingly authentic, world-class Rieslings.

The Bockenauer Felseneckvineyard is the heart of the estate and is regarded as its flagship single-vineyard wine. The vineyards stretch across a south-facing steep slope with gradients of up to 70 per cent, where the vines take root deep in mineral-rich Devonian slate soils interspersed with quartzite. These extreme conditions yield only small harvests, but the juice is all the more concentrated for it – a terroir that lends the wine an unmistakable, dark minerality and smoky notes.

The 1998 vintage in the Nahe region was characterised by changeable conditions. Whilst other winemakers in the region excelled that year particularly with noble sweet Prädikat wines such as Auslese and Eiswein, the Felseneck Riesling Spätlese dry displays a character all of its own. As a dry Spätlese, it combines the power and ripeness of a late harvest with the clarity and precision of a dry Riesling. After more than two decades of ageing, the wine has developed into a complex, multi-layered delight, in which the primary fruit aromas have merged with the typical tertiary notes of a mature Riesling. The bouquet is likely to reveal notes of ripe stone fruit, citrus and a pronounced slate-like minerality, underpinned by the petrol notes characteristic of mature Nahe Rieslings. On the palate, it presents lively, well-integrated acidity and a long, mineral finish.

The wines from Felseneck are now among the most sought-after Rieslings in Germany. Tim Fröhlich’s uncompromising style – spontaneous fermentation, late harvesting and a consistent expression of terroir – has made the estate one of the country’s leading producers. For lovers of great German Rieslings, this 1998 Felseneck offers a rare opportunity to experience a wine from a pivotal phase in Tim Fröhlich’s early career as a winemaker – an authentic piece of Nahe Riesling history at the peak of its maturity.