2014 Hans Wirsching Scheurebe
Franken (Germany)
Retail: $22
Winemaker: Dr. Heinrich Wirsching
Is the Scheurbe varietal grape as a Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc? The two varietals are kissing cousins of one another. We were introduced to this wine by Sommelier Tami Wong (Mess Hall in San Diego and Best New Sommelier of the Year 2014 by Wine and Spirits Magazine). She said to think of this wine as a “round Sauvignon Blanc” despite it being a Riesling in its DNA. Our research says it is a Riesling by its origins in Germany as the grape is a Scheurebe. But, more about that later.
The winemaking family Wirsching has been making wines since 1630. They began planting Scheurebe grapes in 1952 in the Franken region of Germany. In the United States and England, we may use the English term “Franconian” wines. The soil type is different than most as it is gypsum Marl, clay and loam. Marl is a lime rich mudstone with clay and silts. Some winemakers and critics say that the Marl adds minerality to the wine.
The wine is an appropriate bright yellow straw color. It shines well in the light. There are no signs of sediment, so the wine is likely filtered. The nose of the wine has three characteristics: caramel, floral and citrus. We smelled honey, cool menthol, orange, lemon and apricot.
So the burning question is: is this wine similar to a Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc? In order to answer this question we must first examine the characteristics of these two different varieties. A Sauvignon Blanc tends to be full flavored and floral whereas a Riesling less aromatic. When speaking to the Sommelier Tami Wong, she told us to consider it a “round” Sauvignon Blanc. A rounded Sauvignon Blanc would be a wine that is more refine and not as bold. In our research, we found this quote about Scheurebe wine and think it may add to the conversation. "Scheurebe (shoy-ray-beh), often shortened to ‘Scheu,’ is Riesling just after it read the Ka[r]ma Sutra. Put another way, Scheu is what Riesling would be if Riesling were a transvestite. If Riesling expresses all that is Noble and Good, Scheu offers all that is Dirty and Fun. It is Riesling’s evil, horny twin.” This quote is from Terry Theise who writes for “Reading between the Wines”. Dr. Scheu was the inventor of this grape through combining Riesling with an unknown other grape varietal. For years, it was believed to be part Silvaner but DNA testing in the 1990’s ruled that legend not true*. The distributer for the United States on its website further adds to the dialogue that this wine is both comparable to Voigner and “reminiscent of the dryer Rieslings”.**
We didn’t find any signs of oak barrel aging in this wine because it was fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine was clean and fresh. As a medium body wine it had fast legs and tears descending down the sides of the glass that indicates to us a low or medium amount of alcohol. We could not find any information about the alcohol content either on the bottle or any websites. As for the taste, we found stone fruit and citrus flavors. The winemaker’s website says that their wine has an “explosive nose with aromas of grapefruit, mango, passion fruit, cassis, mint and lemon balm. Mouth-filling, big, sweet, lively and mild flavour.” We differ somewhat on the type of tree fruit and whether there is mint or menthol. We are close and personal experiences may differ but that is the beauty of wine tasting.
The wine has good balance and structure but we were most impressed by the tidal wave effect when we tasted the wine. The wine starts off slowly at the front of the palate and builds over the middle and has a big finish at the end. To use, we don’t find any tannins in the wine and it had some residual sugar that makes this a dry wine. The wine has medium acidity as it is a refreshing wine to drink. We enjoyed the wine by itself. We agree with the winemaker that this wine is best served chilled.
The finish was strong and the wine lingered for about 20 seconds which was nice. A long finish is what helps set this wine apart. This a great wine to try and to see how you see it as closer to being a round Sauvingon Blanc, a floral Riesling or a Voigner. It may just be the right wine for a mix of people who have different preferences. One way to put this question to bed is to try it. We think that this wine is an excellent conversation starter this Summer.
http://amsterdamflavours.com/iphofer-kronsberg-scheurebe-kabinett-trocken-white-wine/
www.wirsching.de and www.rudiwiest.com
1000 cases produced
Food pairing: Dim sum, Asian inspired appetizers, fish, light pastas and mussels
Vineyard source: 100% Hans Wirsching
Vineyard certification: Eco-friendly
Vintage notes: The grapes are harvested by hand and processed as gently and carefully as possible.
Yeast: Not disclosed
Alcohol: 12.5%
Residual Sugar - 3.9 g/l - Dry
Note: Contains sulfites
* Wein-Plus Glossar: Scheurebe
** http://www.apwineimports.com/us/services/hans-wirsching/
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