John Gilman Reviews

The Stunning 2018’s of Schafer-Frohlich

John Gilman offers a welcome alternative to the ripeness-oriented palates of Robert Parker, James Suckling, etc.  He’s written his newsletter, A View from the Cellar, from his home in New York and attracted a following as a voice of reason, or at least of classicism. He doesn’t inflate scores like some others and so when we see a high scoring wine (which for him is 90+), we know we should pay attention.  He recently reviewed the 2018 German vintage in his recent issue, with particular focus on the wines of Schafer-Frohlich.  Read the complete write up below or jump to the web store to purchase!

Schafer-Frohlich

“Tim Fröhlich has made breathtakingly beautiful wines in 2018. As I mentioned in the introductory section on the vintage, Tim’s approach to the heat and drought of 2018 was quite similar to that of Klaus-Peter Keller, Julian Haart and others who realized brilliant success in this vintage….Tim also did not use grapes from his youngest vines in any of the estate wines this year, and in general, each of his bottlings has a higher average age of vines in 2018 than in any previous vintage. The results of such a meticulous approach are utterly brilliant and the collection at Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich is as magical as any collection to be found in Germany in this vintage…There is a precision of minerality, a purity of fruit and a lift and cut from the excellent acidities that make these GGs amongst the very best examples to be found in all of Germany in 2018.” –John Gilman, A View From the Cellar

Schafer-Frohlich Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2018 750ML ($27.95) Buy Now: $21.90 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 90+ points “The 2018 Estate Riesling Trocken is also an excellent bargain from Tim Fröhlich this year. The wine is twelve percent in alcohol and carries an impressive 8.5 grams of acidity this year, with all of the fruit for this bottling hailing from volcanic soils. The bouquet is beautifully expressive out of the blocks, offering up scents of lemon, tart orange, wild yeasts, an excellent mineral underpinning, white flowers and citrus zest. On the palate the wine is pure, elegant and medium-full, with lovely focus and grip, outstanding cut and grip and a long, complex and dancing finish. A stunning value this year! 2019-2040+.”

Schafer-Frohlich Vulkangestein Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2018 750ML ($39.95) Buy Now: $31.90 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 92 points “Tim Fröhlich’s 2018 Vulkangestein Riesling Trocken is also absolutely stellar in this vintage, with a touch more ripeness than the Estate Riesling Trocken (approximately 12.5 percent) coupled to the same purity, cut and backend lift. The wine is very mineral in personality on both the nose and palate this year, with the bouquet delivering scents of tart orange, grapefruit, wild yeasts, a very complex base of minerality, lemongrass and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, medium-full, racy and complex, with a lovely touch of salinity to its backend mineral signature, excellent focus and balance and a very, very long, classy finish. Great juice. 2023-2060.”

Schafer-Frohlich ‘Schiefergestein’ Bockenauer Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2018 750ML ($49.95) Buy Now: $37 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 92 points “The 2018 Schiefergestein Bockenaur Riesling Trocken is also a stunning wine and in many vintages, this is Grosses Gewächs complexity and breed! The absolutely superb nose soars from the glass in a blaze of pink grapefruit, wild yeasts, flinty slate minerality, dried flowers and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, medium-full and very transparent and elegant in personality, with great intensity of flavor, lightness of step and stunning cut and grip on the very long, complex and precise finish. This is GG quality without the GG price tag in 2018! 2019-2050+.”

Schafer-Frohlich Felsenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2018 750ML ($99.95) Buy Now: $77 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 94+ points “By picking early in the Felsenberg, Tim Fröhlich was able to keep around 7.5 grams of acidity in his GG here this year, and he estimates that the wine will end up just about 12.5 percent octane. It is an absolutely superb bottle in the making, with the nose delivering a beautiful young constellation of tart orange, pink grapefruit, flint, smoke, lemongrass, wild yeasts, citrus peel and a delicate topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied and very elegant and seamless in balance, with a superb core of fruit, lovely backend mineral lift, bright acids and a very long, complex and extremely promising finish. Great juice. 2024-2065.”

Schafer-Frohlich Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2018 750ML ($99.95) Buy Now: $77 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 95 points “The 2018 Frühlingsplätzchen Grosses Gewächs is going to be closer to 8.5 grams per liter of acidity in this vintage, as is the Halenberg, and this gives the wine just a touch more precision and backend lift than the lovely Felsenberg this year. The bouquet is stellar, wafting from the glass in a blaze of lime, pink grapefruit, a touch of herb tones, salty minerality, citrus peel and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, laser-like and gloriously transparent, with a superb core, zesty acids, laser-like focus and a very long, very minerally and complex finish. This is stunning young wine! 2024-2070.”

Schafer-Frohlich Halenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2018 750ML ($99.95) Buy Now: $79 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 96 points “The 2018 Halenberg GG from Tim Fröhlich is also stunning, with just a bit more elegance than the Frühlingsplätzchen. The bouquet is flat out beautiful already, delivering a gorgeous constellation of pink grapefruit, a touch of quince, fresh lime, smoky overtones a beautifully refined and salty base of slate, a touch of wild yeasts and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and supremely refined in profile, with a lovely core of fruit, great mineral drive, racy acids and impeccable focus and balance on the very, very long, complex and seamless finish. Pure magic. 2024-2070.”

Schafer-Frohlich Stromberg Grosses Gewachs Riesling, Nahe 2018 750ML ($99.95) Buy Now: $79 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 97 points “I have never tasted a better young example from the Stromberg than this 2018 from Tim Fröhlich! The wine is so beautifully refined and precise this year, delivering a great bouquet of tart orange, sweet grapefruit, gorgeously complex minerality, wild yeasts, citrus zest, a touch of cress and a lovely floral topnote redolent of orange blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very, very long on the backend, with beautiful mid-palate depth, great cut and grip and a very, very long, snappy and nascently complex finish. This is breathtaking. 2026-2070.”

Schafer-Frohlich Felseneck Riesling Grosses Gewachs Trocken, Nahe 2018 750ML ($99.95) Buy Now: $79 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 99 points “The 2018 Felseneck GG is also utterly brilliant young wine. The inherent elegance this year in all of Tim Fröhlich’s Grosses Gewächs bottlings reaches its summit with the Felseneck, with the bouquet soaring from the glass in a blend of lemon, pink grapefruit, smoky overtones, a beautiful base of very flinty slate minerality, dried flowers and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is pure, complex and bottomless in its depth, with a full-bodied and very refined profile, a zesty girdle of acidity, laser-like focus and great cut and grip on the very, very long, electric and utterly refined finish. A transcendental expression of the 2018 vintage! 2026-2080.”

Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spatlese Goldkapsel, Nahe 2018 750ML ($59.95) Buy Now: $46 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 93+ points “The 2018 Goldkapsel Spätlese from the Felseneck vineyard was made solely with shriveled golden berries and there is not a trace of botrytis in this beautiful wine this year. The bouquet is nicely youthful at the present time and takes a bit of coaxing to offer up a gorgeous blend of pear, white cherries, wild yeasts, a lovely undertow of salty slate, white flowers and a whisper of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is very pure, medium-full and racy, with a lovely core, superb filigree and bounce and a very long, vibrant and complex finish. This just dances across the palate. 2024-2070.”