When today’s ancient treasure was bottled in 1990, someone by the name of Tim Berners-Lee was hard at work in Europe, inventing a system that would revolutionize everything: the World Wide Web. Since that groundbreaking “www” moment, technology has exploded at warp speed, the bombardment of information has been endless, and our rapidly scrolling fingers can hardly keep up. My point is this: Throughout the frenetic global change, Christoffel-Berres’ 1989 “Erdener Prälat” has avoided it all, having spent 30 years aging in cold, pitch-black solitude beneath the streets of Germany.
Mature wine of this superb price-to-quality and provenance is an absolute treat and a dying breed, but today’s terroir also deserves a bright spotlight. Simply finding an aged bottle of “Erdener Prälat” is a tough enough task because the entire vineyard sits at 1.5 hectares and is divvied up between 11 producers (i.e. there’s hardly enough to make and never enough to go around). Obviously, wine from this jewel of a vineyard is a rarity, but that’s even before factoring in the three stars on today’s label—this is essentially code for Christoffel-Berres’ richest, most concentrated bottling of Spätlese in the phenomenal ‘89 vintage. So, when you drink this cellar-direct gem, please take a moment to process and appreciate it all. Yes, its savory explosion of lush fruit and pulverized minerality is incredible. Yes, three decades of integration has made it a sublime work of art. And, yes, it has one of the most savory, multi-dimensional finishes I’ve had in quite some time. But above all, this is about a flawlessly preserved bottle of wine that allows you to stop, breathe, and enjoy a return to the “simpler times.”
Documentation dating back to the mid-1500s proves that Christoffel-Berres is among the oldest estates in the Mosel, although a major shift came in 1997 when proprietor Otto Christoffel retired and the property was left heirless. Thankfully, their impressive wine library and few precious acres in the vineyards of Würzgarten, Treppchen, and Prälat were taken over by their long-time neighbors and friends at Weingut Karl Erbes.
“Prälat” is one of the most cherished sites in all of Mosel, renowned for its incredible exposure on a hair-raising slope and 60-100+-year-old, ungrafted vines buried in ancient slate soils. This hallowed vineyard produces Riesling of intense opulence and tension, ones that burst with unfathomably ripe tropical/stone fruits and bracing minerality. It truly does deliver some of the most opulent Rieslings in the Mosel; exposed to so much sun, that wines rarely are harvested at anything below “Spätlese” levels of ripeness. And then we have the terroir it sits on: weathered red slate that clings to a seemingly vertical hillside. The result is a fully-integrated Mosel Riesling of the highest and richest quality.
In authentic fashion, grapes were harvested by hand in 1989, fermented via ambient yeasts, and matured in large, neutral barrel before bottling in late 1990. They then continued aging, without any disturbances, for nearly 30 years before we purchased today’s small parcel. Fun fact: Several vintners who have ownership in Prälat (e.g. Dr. Loosen, Mönchhof, Karl Erbes) are allowed to use the same label with an amicable prelate (prälat, in German) admiring a glass of wine. It’s a tradition and an homage to this famous site.
If you’ve enjoyed some of our recent offerings of old Riesling, then you can’t mistake today’s golden-yellow liquid for anything else. Drinking Christoffel-Berres’ 1989 three-star Riesling Spätlese is an entirely unique and extraordinary experience—just make sure it’s done right by using an ah-so opener and enjoying around 50 degrees. After a few swirls, it erupts with mango peel, sliced pineapple, white peach, salted Meyer lemon, ripe apricot, crushed slate, white mushroom, a touch of petrol, wild herbs, honey, and delicate notes of spice and petrol. On the palate, the wine is brimming with tension that belies its 30 years of age. It bursts with intensely ripe layers that move from sweet to savory in an instant thanks to a cascade of pulsating acidity. Some of you many see the 8% alcohol and expect a “sweet” wine, but I can assure you three decades of integration have placed it so very far in the background. Now, it’s all about the beautiful lushness of mature fruit and a strong, impossible-to-miss mineral core. The most impressive aspect here is the sheer energy that’s still swirling about: This didn’t miss a beat after being exposed to the elements for five hours, and it was still alive on day two which means there’s plenty of life left in its tank. I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if this was singing a beautiful tune in 2030. Cheers!
