2022 Weingut Willems-Willems, Riesling Feinherb, Saar River, Germany.
One of my favorite under the radar German producers, Willems-Willems of the Saar region, does a delightful and authentic set of traditional Prädikat Rieslings that are terroir driven and soulful expressions, like this 2022 Feinherb, which is nicely rounded and easy to drink. The light pale gold color is inviting and the flinty aromas hint at the expressive mineral core to come along with apple, key lime, golden fig and quince fruits that are accented by a touch of honey, smoky wet shale, bitter almond and crystalized ginger spice. Soft and slightly creamy, with the residual sugar this vintage is a bit quiet, soft spoken and elegantly rounded in the glass. I typically like a touch more tension and intensity in my Riesling, so this year’s version wasn’t as much of a favorite as the last two, but I certainly see the class, ease of use and sense of place here. There’s been five generations of women that have managed and run this Saar estate with Carolin (Willems-Willems) Hofmann now firmly in charge here and taking care of all the business aspects of the winery with General Manager Peter Thelen looking after the grapes and the cellar. Today the property is a dedicated wine growing estate, but similar to other family wineries in the region it wasn’t until 1971 that it stopped being a mixed or multi-purpose farm. That was also the year the matriarch of the Willems estate, Maria Willems married Karl, who in a strange twist of fate shared a distant ancestor and thus the same last name, hence the Willems-Willems label.
The Willens-Willens estate, as I mention in my previous reviews, in the Saar region, not far from the Mosel, is a small family affair, making just about 4,500 cases a year, with some serious wines, like their beautifully expressive and crystalline Oberemmel Altenberg Kabinett and the Kabinett Feinherb, which as noted in prior reviews, a slightly off dry Riesling that is driven by the slate underpinnings of this unique terroir. Weingut Willems-Willems does about 60% off-dry or sweet wines and 40% dry wines, with mainly Riesling sites, all being eco-friendly sustainable vineyards, but they also have 20% of Pinot Blanc, which has seen a dramatic increase in quality and popularity in the greater Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area, along with about 10% Pinot Noir. Again as I have said before, the Saar and Ruwer regions have many historic and famous names like Carl von Schubert Maximin Grunhauser, Egon Mueller and one of the more recent stars, Peter Lauer, which I adore, with along with others, that have made their wines seriously hard to get. So when you find a quality, (as noted above) under the radar producer, like Willems-Willems, especially value priced, you really appreciate them. The Rieslings here, as the winery notes, are the result of a special combination of extremely small yields, outstanding cru vineyards and slow spontaneous (wild) native yeast fermentation along with an extended lees aging, as cellar master Thelen and winemaker Miguel Louro prefers, allowing more personality, terroir nuance and mature flavors to shine through. As I’ve said a few times now, this is an interesting label to follow and these wines tell a story of year and place in the bottle, I recommend them to Riesling fans.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive