WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS The 2021 Halenberg Riesling GG is coolish, fresh, pure, extraordinarily deep and complex on the ripe and concentrated yet precise nose that reveals notes of crushed stones and iodine. Powerful, rich and complex on the palate, this is a full-bodied, dense and very intense Riesling with a concentrated fruit core and a firm (mineral) structure that holds and even uplifts this giant that a will develop into an iconic German Riesling over the years in the bottle. It is still tight and youthful but possibly the greatest Halenberg I have tasted in more than 20 years. Natural cork. 12.5% stated alcohol. Tasted at the domaine in August 2022.
Werner Schönleber associates the 2021 vintage with "inchworms, thunderstorms, Peronospora and the dry vintages before." All this contributed to the modest harvest in the fall of 2021. Although the harvest team was able to pick healthy grapes, there were just "far too few." The crop was about 25% below the long-term average. Botrytis was almost non-existent, and the Schönlebers put a lot of effort into wringing about 500 liters of Auslese from nature—or the Halenberg. "All the other grapes were sparkling clean," Werner told me at the end of August, while his son, Frank, had quickly slipped away on a family vacation before the early 2022 harvest. Werner Schönleber knew plenty of cool, wet years like 2021. "For me, 2021 is a classic German vintage. Today, of course, we think it's super, since years with racy acidity and moderate alcohol levels have become rare and we had already stopped believing we could harvest something like that again at all." The 2021 harvest began at the end of September for sparkling wines, followed by the Pinot varieties. The Riesling harvest began around October 10 and lasted until the first week of November. Shortly before Christmas, it was even possible to harvest ice wine in the Frühlingsplätzchen. Once again, Schönleber shows that his domaine—or the Nahe as a whole—can play the entire Riesling keyboard from dry to noble sweet. Along with the Mosel, the Nahe has been one of the most exciting areas for Riesling aficionados worldwide for years. That Schönleber's Grosses Gewächs are among the world's great white wines should be well known. But I find it at least as remarkable that the Rieslings without a site designation—Mineral, Halgans, Frühtau—are also among the best wines of the Nahe and should put many a Grosses Gewächs in Germany to shame. Even the inexpensive 2021 Estate Riesling trocken is worth 93 points to me because it has so much character, as if it came from a very special place. And it does: from Monzingen. Stephan Reinhardt. Published: Dec 30, 2022
JAMES SUCKLING - 98 POINTS The vibrant white-peach, wild-herb and floral bouquet of this stunning GG makes a serious statement. Very compact and concentrated, it’s only just beginning to reveal its abundant treasures. Super-focused and precise, it grows and grows as it shoots over the palate at great speed. Incredible depth of wet-stone minerality at the super-long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
Werner Schönleber associates the 2021 vintage with "inchworms, thunderstorms, Peronospora and the dry vintages before." All this contributed to the modest harvest in the fall of 2021. Although the harvest team was able to pick healthy grapes, there were just "far too few." The crop was about 25% below the long-term average. Botrytis was almost non-existent, and the Schönlebers put a lot of effort into wringing about 500 liters of Auslese from nature—or the Halenberg. "All the other grapes were sparkling clean," Werner told me at the end of August, while his son, Frank, had quickly slipped away on a family vacation before the early 2022 harvest. Werner Schönleber knew plenty of cool, wet years like 2021. "For me, 2021 is a classic German vintage. Today, of course, we think it's super, since years with racy acidity and moderate alcohol levels have become rare and we had already stopped believing we could harvest something like that again at all." The 2021 harvest began at the end of September for sparkling wines, followed by the Pinot varieties. The Riesling harvest began around October 10 and lasted until the first week of November. Shortly before Christmas, it was even possible to harvest ice wine in the Frühlingsplätzchen. Once again, Schönleber shows that his domaine—or the Nahe as a whole—can play the entire Riesling keyboard from dry to noble sweet. Along with the Mosel, the Nahe has been one of the most exciting areas for Riesling aficionados worldwide for years. That Schönleber's Grosses Gewächs are among the world's great white wines should be well known. But I find it at least as remarkable that the Rieslings without a site designation—Mineral, Halgans, Frühtau—are also among the best wines of the Nahe and should put many a Grosses Gewächs in Germany to shame. Even the inexpensive 2021 Estate Riesling trocken is worth 93 points to me because it has so much character, as if it came from a very special place. And it does: from Monzingen. Stephan Reinhardt. Published: Dec 30, 2022
JAMES SUCKLING - 98 POINTS The vibrant white-peach, wild-herb and floral bouquet of this stunning GG makes a serious statement. Very compact and concentrated, it’s only just beginning to reveal its abundant treasures. Super-focused and precise, it grows and grows as it shoots over the palate at great speed. Incredible depth of wet-stone minerality at the super-long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
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