A.J. Adam - Riesling Auslese Dhroner Hofberg 2019

Add to Wish List

Golden yellow with green reflections, the 2019 Hofberg Riesling Auslese offers citrus and ripe exotic fruit on the nose. On the palate, it is fruity, reminiscent of passionfruit and ripe peach, and has long lasting acidity. Pair with desserts and cheese.

A.J. Adam Description

Just south of Piesport in a small side valley lies the steep, south-facing vineyards of Dhron, named for a tributary of the Mosel and virtually unknown. The long-time growers in Dhron have aged and the younger generation seems unwilling to farm the extremely steep, weathered slate slopes here. Not so with Andreas Adam, who in 2000, after completing school in Geisenheim and after a stint at Heymann-Löwenstein, resurrected his family’s estate and now farms 3.8 hectares in Dhron as well as Piesport.

In the Hofberg vineyard, Dhron’s lone Erste Lage of gray-blue slate and iron oxide, land is a fraction of the cost of lesser sights nearby, where müller-thurgau is planted extensively on fertile ground and growers much prefer to use the highly profitable grosslage name ‘Michelsberg.’ Adam’s plots in the Hofberg are spread along the hillside, with 2 parcels planted in the early 1950’s. These wines might more resemble Saar wines rather than nearby Piesport, as they are extremely steep, high in altitude, and kept perpetually cool from the air descending from the Hunsrück Mts along the Dhron river.

Due to his estate’s tiny size, it is virtually impossible to farm organically, though Andreas farms as close to nature as possible. Vines are trained using the single post system, traditional in the Mosel for training on steep inclines, and compost is used from his relatives’ farm in the Hunsrück Mountains to fertilize the vineyards. Andreas hand sorts after harvest, utilizes indigenous yeasts and a combination of different sized stainless steel, fuder, and halbfuder casks for fermentation. There are no additions of any kind: no cultured yeast, no süssreserve. All wines are bottled under cork, and though Andreas is not a member of the VDP, he designates his Erste Lagen bottlings of Goldtröpfchen and Hofberg with a GG on the label and ferments these dry when vintages allow.

Wine Advocate: 93 Points

From fully ripe and overripe yet botrytis-free grapes, the 2019 Dhroner Hofberg Riesling Auslese is clear but intense and concentrated on the flinty nose. Round and piquant on the palate this is a concentrated, fresh and mineral Auslese with a stimulatingly salty and grippy finish with lemon fruit aromas.