A half bottle of 1976 Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Auslese from Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern, marked #25. Small bottles of old sweet Riesling make a neat way to taste a great German vintage between two or three people.
About This Wine
This Auslese was picked from selected, fully ripe bunches in the Marcobrunn, a south-facing Riesling site on the Erbach and Hattenheim boundary with calcareous marl and loess soils. The vineyard sits only 90 to 100 metres above sea level, some parcels barely a hundred metres from the river, and the Rhine's reflected warmth and autumn mists encourage noble rot. The 1976 growing season was hot and gave small crops of very ripe grapes, and critic Michael Broadbent called the year gloriously ripe. Half bottles age a little faster than full bottles, so this one is likely to show the darker, more caramelised side of old Auslese.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dark honey, dried peach, quince paste and toffee, with a waxy botrytis note.
- Palate: Rich and mellow, with marmalade, raisin and soft acidity.
- Finish: Medium-long, ending on caramel and orange peel.
Serving & Food
Serve at about 10°C in small tulip glasses; a half bottle pours four to five tasting measures. Check the cork gently before opening. Match with crème brûlée, Stilton, or roast duck with apricots.
How to Enjoy
A small dessert course for two, or a birth-year gift for someone born in 1976.
Product Details
Producer: Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern
Country: Germany
Region: Rheingau
Vineyard: Erbacher Marcobrunn
Prädikat: Auslese
Style: Sweet white wine
Grape Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 1976
Bottling: #25
Volume: 350mL half bottle
About the Estate
For more than five hundred years the Barons Langwerth von Simmern were part of Rheingau wine life. The family seat in Eltville grew out of two courtyards, the Stockheimer Hof bought in 1711 and the Lichtenstern Hof added in 1753, which together enclose a park that is still one of the town's landmarks.
In its later decades the estate was run by Georg-Reinhard Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern and his wife Andrea. The 2016 was the last vintage bottled under the family name, and the historic house has since been sold. Its Marcobrunn vines now belong to or are farmed by other Rheingau producers.
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