76835 Flemlingen
Germany
http://www.weingut-minges.com/
Tasting: 2015-08-08
Nearly one year after my last visit to a German winery, last weekend we found a little time to visit the Weingut Theo Minges in the wine region Pfalz. From Speyer we drove to the small and sleepy village Flemlingen on a very hot Saturday afternoon. We reached the winery around 2pm and when we left the car the first thing what we recognized was ... silence. Indeed we were at this time the only guests. All forenoon guests already left and for all others it seemed that it was too hot. So we had the good fortune that Regine Minges - the very charming daughter of owner Theo Minges - had for the next hour all the time in the world to present the great wines of the winery.
Intermezzo
As I write this I have opened two bottles of the wines I bought at the Minges winery - the 2014 Scheurebe Feinherb and the 2011 Merlot QbA dry. From time to time I will interrupt my report to reflect about these two nice wines.
But coming back to the Weingut Minges - and some words about the history of the winery. Until the 16th century the family estate was owned by the Counts von der Leyen. The family Minges prepares wine for at least eight generations. Starting with the sixth generation (1847) the family resides in the estate in Flemlingen. Today the winery produces approx. 180,000 bottles per year from the varietals Riesling (35 %), White Burgundy (20 %), Pinot Noir (12 %), Scheurebe (8 %) and others (25 %).All these varietals can be found on the wine menu which is impressive. My careful question which wines could be tasted today was answered very simple: "What's there is open. What not will not be opened." Perfect philosophy. So we started with the sparkling wine. We tasted the 2012 Riesling brut and the 2012 Pinot brut (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier). Whereas the Riesling is a classical aperitif (apricots, nuttily, fresh) the Pinot would be a perfect partner for a traditional Tandoori dish. Yellow peaches, nectarines and very creamy.
Fine. But now the Rieslings. As introduction we started with 2014 Riesling Feinherb. Good selection. Satiny and elegant. A very good selection by Regine Minges to prepare our palates for the two "Große Gewächse". We selected these two flagships directly due to weather conditions and the remaining programme. The two dry Rieslings 2012 and 2013 Gleisweiler Hölle GG represent in an impressive way the two very different vintages. Both outstanding, both very mineral, but totally different by design. The 2012 already very charming, offering young peaches and apricots. Juicy and corpulent. The 2013 is more difficult. At the beginning reluctant, but with more aggressive minerals. It will need its time. A masterpiece for the difficult vintage. I like both variants.
Intermezzo
After lunch break suddenly the winery was well visites.
2014 Theo Minges Scheurebe Feinherb
Alcohol 11 %
Writing makes you thirsty. So coming back to the Scheurebe. Pale yellow green, slightly sparkling with some streaks. Lots of lychees, gooseberries and Granny Smith apples. On the palate the ripe gooseberries are dominating. Despite - or perhaps because of - the residual sugar immensely tangy and fresh. A summer wine at its best with a surprisingly long finish. Far at the end very creamy. Drink this wonderful Scheurebe latest in 2016 and pair it with light Asian summer food. Or simply as an aperitif instead of sparkling wine.
On the winery we skipped the Silvaner, the Pinot blanc and the Pinot gris. We continued with two Chardonnays - the 2014 Chardonnay dry and the 2011 Chardonnay "Kalkmergel". The 2014 was fermented in stainless steel tanks and is wonderfully creamy. Minerally. Aromas of grapefruit and lemons. Medium long finish. The 2011 "Kalkmergel" was matured in wood. From style perspective it is similar to a Löwengang Chardonnay from Lageder. Deep golden yellow; vanilla and some flower notes. Creamy. Not really expected to get such a wine in the Pfalz!
Together with the Chardonnays suddenly a lot of guests arrived at the winery. But we didn't care
- and changed to the Scheurebe wines. As I mentioned before 8 % of the total production of the winery bases on the Scheurebe grape. This is more than five times as much as the Pfalz average (1.5 %). So it is allowed to say that wines prepared from this grape are a speciality from the Weingut Minges. And indeed all the wines are from high quality which identify the singularity of the varietal depending on the chosen style. But before...Intermezzo
...I have to decant the Merlot!
Besides the 2014 Scheurebe Feinherb I currently enjoy we tasted at the winery the 2014 Scheurebe "Gleisweiler" dry and the 2014 Scheurebe Late Harvest. The dry version offers a straw yellow colour and a wonderful lemon aroma. A perfect partner for a nice fish dish or - even better - mussels. The Late Harvest (9.5 % alcohol!) is also slightly sparkling and extremely fruity. Mandarin extreme! I should mention that I bought some bottles from all three wines.
This guest was more looking for the bread instead for the Scheurebe.
Intermezzo
2011 Theo Minges Merlot QbA dry
Alcohol 13.5 %
Let's take a first sip. Medium to deep cherry red. Blackcurrants, blackberries, smoked bacon and a little bit cocoa. Still very young with a lot of "green" notes induced by the tannins. These are also clearly noticeable on the palate where the black fruits are dominating. Medium to long finish. This strong Merlot will reach its optimal drinking maturity after 2 to 5 years. Don't drink it earlier! At the moment two hours decanting minimum. Due to its strength I could bet that it is a wonderful partner for Shepherd's Pie prepared with lamb. Great British-German crossover cuisine!
The last Scheurebe was the perfect bridge for the next flight - a great mixture of residual sweetness and high-quality sweet wines. In total we tasted the following ones:
- 2014 Riesling Cabinet (9.5 % alc.)
- 2014 Rieslaner Late Harvest (10.0 % alc.)
- 2014 Gewürztraminer Late Harvest (9.0 % alc.)
- 2012 Riesling Auslese "Goldkapsel" (9.0 % alc.)
- 2013 Rieslaner Auslese (9.0 % alc.)
- 2012 Gewürztraminer Auslese "Flemlinger Herrenbuckel" (13.0 % alc.)
All of them were remarkable for their quality. Clean, pure and juicy. Pointing out the particular varietal's characteristics. It becomes obvious that for these kind of wines the Minges family pay special attention. My personal favorite was the Gewürztraminer "Flemlinger Herrenbuckel". Deep golden yellow, lychee extreme, some toffee and whisky notes. Tremendous potential!
The Minges winery - really cozy!
Finally we tasted some of the red wines. Also here we skipped some varietals: Portugieser, Dornfelder and Saint Laurent. We started with the 2012 Pinot Noir "Tradition" QbA dry. Crystal-clear ruby red with a very dscreet raspberry aroma. A perfect starter for the four reds matured in barrique:
- 2011 Merlot QbA dry
- 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon QbA dry
- 2011 Cabernet Franc QbA dry
- 2011 Cuvée "Eva" QbA dry - the Bordeaux-style blend of the winery (one third each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot)
Like the Merlot I describe before all of them are extremely young and of course "too green" to drink them now. Even decanting would only help with the Merlot which is the most developed so far. The potential is there, but you need patience. I decided to buy six bottles of the Merlot. The main reason was that German wines of this grape with this high quality are rare to find. This was confirmed with the bottle I tasted during the creation of this entry. The wine developed every single minute in the glass and I enjoyed every single sip.
PS: A few words about the aging quality of the Minges wines. Regine Minges told us about her planned wedding next year. She will indulge her guests with some bottles of the 2003 Cab she still stores in her cellar. Some people already told that they would only come to taste this wine...
Thank you very much Regine for a wonderful afternoon at your winery.
