The sparkling wine of the year is from Schlossgut Diel!

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Sparkling Wine of the Year 2010
Rated 5th among the best sparkling wines of the year
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Reprint with the permission of
Christian Verlag publishers, Munich © 2009
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2004 Schlossgut Diel Goldloch Riesling Brut
Gault Millau WeinGuide: »Exceptionally elegant on the nose, butter cream cake
paired with fresh yeasty baking notes, with a whiff of Williams pear and some
elderberries, piquant on the palate with magnificent length. 90 points«
The sparkling wine of the year
is from Schlossgut Diel!
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2004 Schlossgut Diel Cuvée Mo Brut Nature
Gault Millau WeinGuide: »Fresh brioche combined with elegantly
mature wine, quinces and sweet melon, composed in the style of a
first-rate Prestige Cuvée in Champagne. 92 points«
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Schlossgut Diel
Owners & General Managers: Armin Diel and
Caroline Diel
Winemakers: Caroline Diel and Christoph J.
Friedrich
55452 Burg Layen / Germany
Tel. + 49 (0) 67 21 9 69 50, Fax 4 50 47
e-mail: schlossgut@diel.eu
website: www.diel.eu
How to get there: A 61, take the Dorsheim exit,
500 metres to Burg Layen, on the right hand in
the centre of town
Sales: Victor Diel, Bernd Benz
Mon.–Thu.: 08h00 to 17h00
Fri. 08h00 to 14h00
Sat. 11h00 to 16:00 (April to Oct.)
Tastings by appointment only
History: Burg Layen (12th century), owned by the
Diel family since 1802
Worth seeing: ruins of Burg Layen, artistically
styled tanks, historical vaulted cellar
Vineyard area: 22 hectares (55 acres)
Annual production: 150.000 bottles
Best vineyard sites: Dorsheim Goldloch,
Pittermännchen and Burgberg, Burg Layen
Schlossberg
Soils: gravelly clay soils with slate, quarzite
Grape varietals: 65% Riesling, 35% red and
white Pinot varieties
Average yield: 50 hl/ha
Best recent vintages: 2005, 2007 and 2008
Member: VDP, Deutsches Barrique Forum
For many years, whenever the name of the
Schlossgut Diel estate in Burg Layen was
mentioned, everybody in the world of wine
would automatically associate this with the
person of Armin Diel – but now it is time for
a rethink. Certainly the cosmopolitan owner,
who is also the president of the VDP association in the Nahe region, remains in place and
in charge. However, his daughter Caroline,
together with cellar master Christoph Friedrich, is increasingly making her influence felt
in the style of wines produced here. And the
definition of that style is now: finesse rather
than body. Less dominant barrique notes,
more mineral notes and acidity. A brave and
correct decision that has the full support of
Armin Diel.
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New elegance and filigree style
The widespread practice of providing one’s
best dry wines with an extra kick by adding
a small amount of sweet, botrytised Auslese
wine is firmly rejected here. The new range is
characterized instead by an extremely elegant, filigree note, which even
extends to the
Pinot varieties,
which used to
be quite heavily
influenced by oak,
and now show
true Burgundian style. Also,
far too little has
been said so far
about the fabulous sparkling Caroline und Armin Diel
wines of this estate, of which the best is the
»Cuvée Mo«. This blend, so similar to a Prestige Champagne, is our designated »Sparkling Wine of the Year«, while another sparkling wine from the house of Diel was voted
among the top five in Germany overall. It is
impressive to note how meticulously the
team preserves the characteristics of the various terroirs of the vineyard sites in the wines. The Pittermännchen site with its herbs
and spices character is dominated by grey
slate, the Goldloch site is opulent and full in
a style reminiscent of the Pfalz region, while
the Burgberg is characterized by elegant,
lively mineral notes often associated with
the Rüdesheimer Berg site. While the Grand
Cru wines (Grosse Gewächse) from the Burgberg and Goldloch sites are the flagships, the
less expensive dry Rieslings do not need to
hide themselves by any means. Both the
Eierfels and the Dorsheimer Riesling show
terroir character as well as beautiful balance.
Vinological Pentathlon
The really outstanding performance of the
estate can be seen in the fact that it produces
top-rated wines in every single major category found in Germany. Armin Diel himself describes this commitment as the »Vinological
Pentathlon«. In addition to the excellent dry
and naturally sweet Riesling wines, the white
Pinot varieties matured for just the right
amount of time in barriques, as well as the
bottle-fermented sparkling wine, or Sekt, the
Pinot Noir named for the owner’s daughter Ca-
roline is also one of the best in the country. By
the way, a visit to the Schlossgut Diel estate
is not only worth your while for the wines, art
is an attraction here too. Berlin-based artist
Johannes Helle has transformed the stainless
steel tanks in the cellar into a landscape of
decorative sculptures. In addition, you can also go traveling the owner of the castle in person, as he regularly organizes tours to famous
wine growing regions both in Germany and internationally for wine lovers, quite apart from
his work as a journalist and wine producer.
Number of wines tasted: 26
Ratings: 83–92 points
Sparkling wines
2004 Riesling Sekt Brut
18,50 €, 13%, ® till 2011 ______________88
2004 Dorsheim Goldloch
Riesling Sekt Brut
t 38,50 €, 13%, ® till 2012______________90
2004 Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Sekt »Cuvée MO« Brut Nature
t 45,– €, 13%, ® till 2012 _______________92
White wines
2008 »Diel de Diel«
trocken Cuvée Weiß
11,50 €, 12,5%, ® till 2012____________83
2008 »Nahestein« Riesling trocken
9,50 €, 13%, ® till 2012 _______________85
2008 Dorsheim Riesling trocken
12,– €, 13%, ® till 2012 ________________87
2008 Weißer Burgunder trocken
19,50 €, 13%, ® till 2013 ______________87
2008 Grauer Burgunder trocken
19,50 €, 13%, ® till 2013 ______________88
2008 Riesling »Eierfels« trocken
16,50 €, 12,5%, ® till 2014 ___________89
2008 Burg Layen Schlossberg
Riesling trocken »Großes Gewächs«
28,– €, 13,5%, ® till 2014 _____________89
2008 »Cuvée Victor« trocken
35,– €, 13%, ® till 2014 _______________90
2008 Dorsheim Goldloch
Riesling trocken »Großes Gewächs«
32,– €, 13%, ® till 2015 ________________91
2008 Dorsheim Pittermännchen
Riesling trocken »Großes Gewächs«
29,50 €, 13%, ® till 2015 ______________91
2008 Dorsheim Burgberg
Riesling trocken »Großes Gewächs«
35,– €, 12,5%, ® till 2016 _____________92
Nahe
2008 Burg Layen
Riesling Kabinett feinherb
12,– €, 9,5%, ® till 2013 ______________85
2008 Dorsheim Goldloch
Riesling Kabinett
14,– €, 8,5%, ® till 2013 ______________87
2008 Scheurebe Spätlese
24,– €, 8,5%, ® till 2014 ______________87
2008 Dorsheim Pittermännchen
Riesling Kabinett
15,– €, 8%, ® till 2013 _________________89
2008 Dorsheim Pittermännchen
Riesling Spätlese
24,– €, 7,5%, ® till 2017 ______________91
2008 Dorsheim Goldloch
Riesling Spätlese
22,– €, 7,5%, ® till 2017 ______________91
2008 Dorsheim Pittermännchen
Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
h 62,50€/0,375 Lit., 7,5%, ® till 2018____92
2008 Riesling Eiswein
70,50 €/0,375 Lit., 7,5%, ® till 2020 ___92
2008 Dorsheim Goldloch
Riesling Auslese
35,– €/0,375 Lit., 7,5%, ® till 2018 ___92
Red wines
2008 »Rosé de Diel«
Spätburgunder Weißherbst
11,50 €, 12,5%, ® till 2011 ____________85
2007 »Noir de Diel« trocken Cuvée Rot
18,50 €, 13,5%, ® till 2014 ___________85
2007 »Caroline«
Blauer Spätburgunder trocken
45,– €, 13,5%, ® till 2016 _____________90