{"title":"Falkenstein Offer 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003eNote these wines are expected to arrive December 13th and will ship out weather-depending on December 18th. Some AP numbers won't be known until we receive the wines and we will update the wine details as soon as they are available. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a list and quick tasting notes of all their rieslings see this resource: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.larscarlberg.com\/a-selection-of-2022-saar-rieslings-from-hofgut-falkenstein\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"A selection of 2022 rieslings from Falkenstein\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003ehttps:\/\/www.larscarlberg.com\/a-selection-of-2022-saar-rieslings-from-hofgut-falkenstein\/\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hofgut-falkenstein-niedermenniger-herrenberg-riesling-kabinett-feinherb-2025","title":"Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZuckerberg translates as \"sugar hill,\" yet the wine that comes from it tastes nearly dry. The name belongs to the eastern half of the Niedermenniger Herrenberg, a south-facing slope in the Konzer Tälchen, the narrow side valley east of the Saar where Hofgut Falkenstein is based. The soil across the hill is iron-rich, gray-clayey slate. What sets this parcel apart for the Webers is that it is planted to ungrafted vines, Riesling growing on its own roots rather than on American rootstock, a rarity that survives only in scattered pockets of the Mosel and Saar. Cold nights, steep slate and self-rooted vines together give this Saar Riesling its compact, mineral core. It is the rare feinherb that tastes of its place before it tastes of its sugar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2025 is bottled from the cask called Onkel Peter, AP 4. Whole bunches are pressed slowly, the juice runs by gravity into old oak Fuder, and fermentation starts on ambient yeast with no temperature control. As a feinherb, it keeps a small amount of residual sugar that the Saar acidity all but erases, so the wine reads dry-tasting with more roundness than the trocken. Pear, lime zest, white peach, ginger, mirabelle and a little smoke, with an umami, savory thread through the middle and herbs on the finish. The nose starts tight and opens with air. The 2025 Saar harvest was early and quick, with September rains, but cool nights kept the grapes healthy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErich Weber founded Hofgut Falkenstein and now runs it with his son Johannes, and the estate has become one of the most closely watched addresses on the Saar, largely because of how granular it is. Rather than blending a vineyard into one wine, the Webers bottle each Fuder separately. Every cask gets an AP number and a nickname, usually for the family that owned the parcel before them, so Onkel Peter is a specific plot of ungrafted vines as much as a wine. Farming is hand-harvested, pruned to one short cane, and done without herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. The Webers classify their wines within the traditional Prädikat system, and feinherb is their answer to Riesling that should taste dry without being austere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeinherb is the Riesling style built for spice and salt. Make a Thai green curry with shrimp, eggplant and Thai basil, and the whisper of sweetness will soften the chile while the acid cuts the coconut. Lemongrass chicken banh mi with pickled carrot and daikon plays to the lime-zest side of the wine. Käsespätzle, the Swabian egg noodles layered with Emmentaler and crisp fried onions, needs exactly this kind of acidity. And vegetable pakoras with tamarind chutney work for the same reason curry does. This is the bottle to bring to a takeout night when nobody can agree on what to order.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51408057139423,"sku":null,"price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P9170316.jpg?v=1789709889"},{"product_id":"hofgut-falkenstein-niedermenniger-herrenberg-riesling-kabinett-trocken-2025","title":"Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNiedermennig is the village Hofgut Falkenstein calls home, and the Herrenberg is the south-facing hill that rises above it in the Konzer Tälchen, a small side valley east of the Saar. The slope was historically split in two, Herrenberg on the western half and Zuckerberg on the eastern, and old survey maps show vines only on the lower and middle slope. Planting pushed higher up the hill around 1900. The soil is iron-rich, gray-clayey slate. In the Saar, one of the coldest corners of German wine, a south-facing slate slope is what gets Riesling ripe at all, yet the Tälchen stays cool enough that the Webers can pick at Kabinett weight and still have a wine with real flavor. That tension is the whole point of a dry Saar Kabinett.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2025 is AP 1, the cask the Webers call Mutter Anna. The fruit was picked early from mature vines, pressed as whole bunches over two to three hours, and fermented spontaneously in an old 1,000-liter Fuder with no cultured yeast, no chaptalization and no deacidification. It goes to bottle directly off its gross lees without racking or filtering, which gives a light dry Riesling more texture than its alcohol would suggest. Mirabelle, wild strawberry, pear and bergamot, with herbs, smoke and fine spice behind. The palate is laser-like and razor-sharp, finishing on juicy fresh herbs. The 2025 Saar harvest began unusually early and was completed fast; cool nights kept the fruit clean. Give it a year or two and the tart edge on the finish softens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHofgut Falkenstein is Erich Weber and his son Johannes, working as a two-generation team out of Konz-Niedermennig. Their cellar is defined as much by what they leave out as what they do. There is no temperature control on fermentation, no cultured yeast, no enzymes and no fining agents. Juice moves by gravity into old oak Fuder and a couple of 500-liter Halbfuder, and each cask is bottled on its own, straight off the lees, with no pumping, racking or filtration beforehand. Every bottle carries the cask's AP number and nickname, so a Falkenstein label tells you not just the vineyard but the exact barrel. The dry Kabinett is the estate's calling card: light, dry-tasting Saar Riesling that relies on ripe acidity rather than sugar for its balance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA dry Riesling from the Saar this sharp belongs with seafood and salt. Shuck a dozen oysters and serve them with a shallot mignonette. Order in good sashimi, especially yellowtail and scallop, and skip the heavy soy. Fry calamari in a light rice-flour batter and hit it with lemon and flaky salt, the acidity scrubbing the palate clean between bites. A salad of fresh goat cheese, shaved fennel, radish and toasted hazelnuts in a lemon vinaigrette matches the wine's herbal side. This is the bottle to keep cold in the door of the fridge for any night when dinner is simple and you want it to taste like more.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51408057237727,"sku":null,"price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P9170317.jpg?v=1789709889"},{"product_id":"hofgut-falkenstein-krettnacher-euchariusberg-riesling-kabinett-2025","title":"Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of the Saar's famous hillsides face south. The Krettnacher Euchariusberg mostly does not. Its roughly 36 hectares stretch from Obermennig to Krettnach in the Konzer Tälchen, a side valley east of the Saar, and the bulk of the slope faces west to west-southwest, catching the afternoon and evening sun rather than the midday blast. In a cold valley that slower, later warmth stretches the season and keeps acidity high. The soil is deep gray-clayey slate mixed with quartz and quartzite-bearing sandstone, which gives the vines water to draw on in dry spells. Hofgut Falkenstein farms about 2.3 hectares here, and this Riesling from the Saar is as clear a picture of the Tälchen as the estate bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett 2025 is the cask the Webers call Kugel Peter, AP 12. As with every wine here, whole bunches are pressed without pumping, the juice settles overnight, and fermentation runs on ambient yeast in an old 1,000-liter Fuder, with no temperature control and nothing added to adjust sugar or acid. The wine is bottled straight off its gross lees. With no trocken or feinherb on the label, this is a Kabinett in the traditional sense, where a touch of residual sugar meets razor Saar acidity and the result reads less sweet than it measures. The 2025 is savory and piney, darker and deeper than the name Kabinett implies, with fresh herbs and spice on the nose and a bright, mouthwatering finish. The Saar harvested early in 2025, starting the first week of September.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErich Weber is a Krettnach native, and the Euchariusberg sits at the core of what he built at Hofgut Falkenstein alongside his son Johannes. Their farming is where the style starts. Each vine is pruned to one short flat cane to hold yields down. Grasses grow between the rows, and there are no herbicides, systemic fungicides or synthetic fertilizers. The Webers also avoid stripping leaves during warm months, reasoning that exposed bunches sunburn and build thicker skins, which push Riesling toward the petrol character they do not want. Harvest is by hand, parcel by parcel. In the cellar each Fuder is nicknamed for a former owner of the plot it holds, and collectors follow those names from vintage to vintage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe savory, piney side of this Kabinett points toward smoke and spice. Spread smoked trout rillettes on dark rye with horseradish crème fraîche and a few dill fronds. Roast a pork loin with apples, onions and caraway, and let the residual sugar pick up the fruit while the acidity handles the fat. Green papaya salad with lime, fish sauce and a little chile is a classic match for Kabinett, the sweetness cooling the heat. Or keep it simple with a plate of Black Forest ham and a soft pretzel with mustard. It is a light enough wine to drink at lunch and serious enough to hold a conversation about at dinner.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51408057303263,"sku":null,"price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P9170318.jpg?v=1789709889"},{"product_id":"hofgut-falkenstein-krettnacher-ober-schafershaus-riesling-2025","title":"Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOber Schäfershaus does not appear on most maps of the Saar, because it is not one of the registered vineyard sites. It is an old place-name, a Gewann, inside today's Krettnacher Altenberg. Before the 1971 Wine Law this western flank of the hill was sold under the name Silberberg, which vanished when German sites were consolidated. What makes it distinct is the rock. The slope is quartz-rich, gray-clayey slate, but a vein of diabase, a dark volcanic stone, runs through the steeper and warmer front end in Ober Schäfershaus and its neighbors Ober Schodenhaus and Auf dem Hölzchen. Hofgut Falkenstein farms about 0.5 hectares of old vines in the middle of the parcel. That extra warmth is why this is the site the Webers push to dry Spätlese ripeness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2025 is bottled from a single Fuder named Lorenz Manni, AP 18. The Webers press whole bunches gently for two to three hours, let gravity move the juice, and ferment spontaneously in old oak with no temperature control. The wine is bottled straight off its lees without pumping, racking or filtering. Spätlese ripeness taken fully dry gives this cuvée more body than the estate's Kabinetts, and the diabase shows up as a savory, stony grip. In 2025 it opens with lychee, yellow fruit and fresh herbs, then turns minty and chalky, with a tight, precise finish. The Saar's 2025 harvest was early and fast, with the picking window for dry wines lasting less than three weeks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErich Weber grew up in Krettnach, and he says the local growers have always treated Ober Schäfershaus as the best site in the village. When the Webers labeled this plot, they chose the old field name over the broader Altenberg for that reason. Johannes Weber has gone as far as questioning elderly Krettnach residents about the hill's history. That instinct runs through the whole estate. Each cask carries a nickname, usually for the family that once owned the parcel it holds, and each is bottled separately with its own AP number, a traditional practice that almost no one keeps up anymore. Nothing is added to correct the wine: no cultured yeast, no enzymes, no fining. The point is to let each parcel speak without correction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA dry Spätlese from the Saar has the weight to stand in for white Burgundy at the table. Roast a chicken with tarragon butter under the skin and deglaze the pan with a splash of the wine. Sear scallops hard in brown butter and serve them over a celery root purée. In spring, white asparagus with hollandaise and boiled new potatoes is the classic German match, and the acidity keeps the sauce from feeling heavy. Veal schnitzel pounded thin, fried in clarified butter and finished with lemon and capers works just as well. This is the Riesling to pour for the friend who swears they only drink dry white wine.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51408057368799,"sku":null,"price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P9170319.jpg?v=1789709889"}],"url":"https:\/\/danverwinemerchant.com\/collections\/falkenstein-offer-2023.oembed","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}