The wine is Scharzhoferger Feine Auslese Nikolauswein 1970, Koch,
(geerntet 5./6. Dezember). The wine was properly stored since shortly
after release, the fill was very high, and the cork was sound.

The color is bright lemon. There is no oxidation and only a little,
clean petrol character. As good Scharzhofberger usually is, it is a
sort of ultra clean essence of Riesling. It has intense fruit and some
floral character. There is some mixed citrus fruit along with some
light stone fruit. The balance is near perfect, although the wine is
quite sweet.

Although the best Scharzhofberger for a given ripeness grade often
comes from Egon Muller, others may outstanding wine from time to time.
This wine was labeled under the old German wine laws, which greatly
changed for the 1971 vintage and after. Today, one could not mention
feine(fine) on the label. Both Nikolauswein and the date gathered
could not be mentioned. St. Nikolaus day comes in early December in
Germany, and the children get their gifts then. The bottle has a
picture of a German style St. Nikolaus on the label. Many of the
grapes gathered early in the season in 1970 did not make exceptional
wines. However, for a few who did not pick until at least December,
some exceptional auslesen and eiswein was made.

On Jul 2, 1:37 am, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> The wine is Scharzhoferger Feine Auslese Nikolauswein 1970, Koch,
> (geerntet 5./6. Dezember). The wine was properly stored since shortly
> after release, the fill was very high, and the cork was sound.
>
> The color is bright lemon. There is no oxidation and only a little,
> clean petrol character. As good Scharzhofberger usually is, it is a
> sort of ultra clean essence of Riesling. It has intense fruit and some
> floral character. There is some mixed citrus fruit along with some
> light stone fruit. The balance is near perfect, although the wine is
> quite sweet.
>
> Although the best Scharzhofberger for a given ripeness grade often
> comes from Egon Muller, others may outstanding wine from time to time.
> This wine was labeled under the old German wine laws, which greatly
> changed for the 1971 vintage and after. Today, one could not mention
> feine(fine) on the label. Both Nikolauswein and the date gathered
> could not be mentioned. St. Nikolaus day comes in early December in
> Germany, and the children get their gifts then. The bottle has a
> picture of a German style St. Nikolaus on the label. Many of the
> grapes gathered early in the season in 1970 did not make exceptional
> wines. However, for a few who did not pick until at least December,
> some exceptional auslesen and eiswein was made.

THere is a typo in the title and first mention of the wine that was
copied and pasted in. The wine is, of course, Scharzhofberger.

On 2 Jul, 07:37, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> The wine is Scharzhoferger Feine Auslese Nikolauswein 1970, Koch,
> (geerntet 5./6. Dezember). The wine was properly stored since shortly
> after release, the fill was very high, and the cork was sound.
>
> The color is bright lemon. There is no oxidation and only a little,
> clean petrol character. As good Scharzhofberger usually is, it is a
> sort of ultra clean essence of Riesling. It has intense fruit and some
> floral character. There is some mixed citrus fruit along with some
> light stone fruit. The balance is near perfect, although the wine is
> quite sweet.
>
> Although the best Scharzhofberger for a given ripeness grade often
> comes from Egon Muller, others may outstanding wine from time to time.
> This wine was labeled under the old German wine laws, which greatly
> changed for the 1971 vintage and after. Today, one could not mention
> feine(fine) on the label. Both Nikolauswein and the date gathered
> could not be mentioned. St. Nikolaus day comes in early December in
> Germany, and the children get their gifts then. The bottle has a
> picture of a German style St. Nikolaus on the label. Many of the
> grapes gathered early in the season in 1970 did not make exceptional
> wines. However, for a few who did not pick until at least December,
> some exceptional auslesen and eiswein was made.

The big surprise for me is that a Nikolauswein was an Auslese. I
thought, obviously wrongly, that they would be Eiswen or in extreme
situations a TBA...One lives and learns...

Cheers

On Jul 3, 9:06 am, TB > wrote:
> On 2 Jul, 07:37, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
>
>
>
> > The wine is Scharzhoferger Feine Auslese Nikolauswein 1970, Koch,
> > (geerntet 5./6. Dezember). The wine was properly stored since shortly
> > after release, the fill was very high, and the cork was sound.
>
> > The color is bright lemon. There is no oxidation and only a little,
> > clean petrol character. As good Scharzhofberger usually is, it is a
> > sort of ultra clean essence of Riesling. It has intense fruit and some
> > floral character. There is some mixed citrus fruit along with some
> > light stone fruit. The balance is near perfect, although the wine is
> > quite sweet.
>
> > Although the best Scharzhofberger for a given ripeness grade often
> > comes from Egon Muller, others may outstanding wine from time to time.
> > This wine was labeled under the old German wine laws, which greatly
> > changed for the 1971 vintage and after. Today, one could not mention
> > feine(fine) on the label. Both Nikolauswein and the date gathered
> > could not be mentioned. St. Nikolaus day comes in early December in
> > Germany, and the children get their gifts then. The bottle has a
> > picture of a German style St. Nikolaus on the label. Many of the
> > grapes gathered early in the season in 1970 did not make exceptional
> > wines. However, for a few who did not pick until at least December,
> > some exceptional auslesen and eiswein was made.
>
> The big surprise for me is that a Nikolauswein was an Auslese. I
> thought, obviously wrongly, that they would be Eiswen or in extreme
> situations a TBA...One lives and learns...

In the pre-1971 German wine law days, many things were possible. This
is the only Nikolaus wine I have had. But since it depends on the date
of harvest, even a spatlese Nikolaus wine would not surprise me. Even
after the new 1971 wine laws it was perfectly legal to sell a kabinett
eisewein, and a few did. Needless to say, most such eisweins might
better have been labeled "escence of greeness". But one also could
have a TBA eiswein, often outstanding. The law was changed within a
few years so that eiswein could only be used for wines made from
grapes that reach BA ot TBA standard, but one could not include BA
orTBA on the label in addition to eiswein. A few of the old auslese
eisweins were not bad.

cwdjrxyz wrote:

> In the pre-1971 German wine law days, many things were possible. This
> is the only Nikolaus wine I have had. But since it depends on the date
> of harvest, even a spatlese Nikolaus wine would not surprise me.

That's the point, I think. Since it was presumably harvested close to
St. Nicholas Day, it would have been a very late harvest. To get an
Auslese out it, there must have been a cool growing season and temperate
Fall in '70.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On 3 Jul, 19:58, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> cwdjrxyz wrote:
> > In the pre-1971 German wine law days, many things were possible. This
> > is the only Nikolaus wine I have had. But since it depends on the date
> > of harvest, even a spatlese Nikolaus wine would not surprise me.
>
> That's the point, I think. Since it was presumably harvested close to
> St. Nicholas Day, it would have been a very late harvest. To get an
> Auslese out it, there must have been a cool growing season and temperate
> Fall in '70.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Thanks Mark. As the original post said, this was harvested (geerntet)
on 5th and 6th December. And your point is exactly what I thought: can
they pick an an Auslese so late...

I also asked the rather knowledgable Gasthof-owner in my vicinity and
he produced a 2002 Auslese picked on 6th December from Rheinhessen! He
also said told me that Scharzhofberg is famous for slow ripening. So
there we go...

Cheers

On Jul 6, 10:52 am, TB > wrote:
> On 3 Jul, 19:58, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
> > cwdjrxyz wrote:
> > > In the pre-1971 German wine law days, many things were possible. This
> > > is the only Nikolaus wine I have had. But since it depends on the date
> > > of harvest, even a spatlese Nikolaus wine would not surprise me.
>
> > That's the point, I think. Since it was presumably harvested close to
> > St. Nicholas Day, it would have been a very late harvest. To get an
> > Auslese out it, there must have been a cool growing season and temperate
> > Fall in '70.
>
> > Mark Lipton
> > --
> > alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
>
> Thanks Mark. As the original post said, this was harvested (geerntet)
> on 5th and 6th December. And your point is exactly what I thought: can
> they pick an an Auslese so late...
>
> I also asked the rather knowledgable Gasthof-owner in my vicinity and
> he produced a 2002 Auslese picked on 6th December from Rheinhessen! He
> also said told me that Scharzhofberg is famous for slow ripening. So
> there we go...

The Nikolauswein mentioned is far from the latest harvest wine made in
1970. In his first great vintage wine book, Michael Broadbent mentions
that a bit of Drei Konigs day eiswein was made and that the 1970
harvest ended January 6, 1971. There also was an auslese Weihnachts
eiswein made in 1970.Thanish made a Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese
Eiswein Christwein as well as a Bernkastller Doctor und Graben Eiswein
Christwein in 1970. the second mentioned is less ripe and fine. I
still have a few bottles of these. Thanish made a Bernkasteler Doctor
Auslese Eiswein in 1975 , but by then the date of harvest or special
day names could not be mentioned. However it was still legal to use
auslese in addition to eiswein. The state domain made a Rauenthaler
Baiken Riesling Beerenauslese Eiswein in 1975, of which I have a
single bottle. F K Schmidt made a Nierstein Saint Killiansberg
Christwein Eiswein Riesling Auslese in 1970, of which I have a single
bottle.

cwdjrxyz wrote:
> On Jul 6, 10:52 am, TB > wrote:
>> On 3 Jul, 19:58, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>>
>>> cwdjrxyz wrote:
>>>> In the pre-1971 German wine law days, many things were possible. This
>>>> is the only Nikolaus wine I have had. But since it depends on the date
>>>> of harvest, even a spatlese Nikolaus wine would not surprise me.
>>> That's the point, I think. Since it was presumably harvested close to
>>> St. Nicholas Day, it would have been a very late harvest. To get an
>>> Auslese out it, there must have been a cool growing season and temperate
>>> Fall in '70.
>>> Mark Lipton
>>> --
>>> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
>> Thanks Mark. As the original post said, this was harvested (geerntet)
>> on 5th and 6th December. And your point is exactly what I thought: can
>> they pick an an Auslese so late...
>>
>> I also asked the rather knowledgable Gasthof-owner in my vicinity and
>> he produced a 2002 Auslese picked on 6th December from Rheinhessen! He
>> also said told me that Scharzhofberg is famous for slow ripening. So
>> there we go...
>
> The Nikolauswein mentioned is far from the latest harvest wine made in
> 1970. In his first great vintage wine book, Michael Broadbent mentions
> that a bit of Drei Konigs day eiswein was made and that the 1970
> harvest ended January 6, 1971. There also was an auslese Weihnachts
> eiswein made in 1970.Thanish made a Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese
> Eiswein Christwein as well as a Bernkastller Doctor und Graben Eiswein
> Christwein in 1970. the second mentioned is less ripe and fine. I
> still have a few bottles of these. Thanish made a Bernkasteler Doctor
> Auslese Eiswein in 1975 , but by then the date of harvest or special
> day names could not be mentioned. However it was still legal to use
> auslese in addition to eiswein. The state domain made a Rauenthaler
> Baiken Riesling Beerenauslese Eiswein in 1975, of which I have a
> single bottle. F K Schmidt made a Nierstein Saint Killiansberg
> Christwein Eiswein Riesling Auslese in 1970, of which I have a single
> bottle.

Again, if I understood correctly, the issue is not the harvest date per
se, but rather the fact that the wine wasn't labeled as an Eiswein, as
all of the above examples are. That's why I stated that Fall 1970 must
have been remarkably temperate. Fortunately, that's a verifiable
hypothesis, thanks to http://www.tutiempo.net:

Weather results for Trier in 1970
(Sept) mean temp 14.5°C (min 10-20.9°C max) monthly low 3.9°C (9/23)
(Oct) mean 9.6 (6.8-13) monthly low -1.1°C (10/24)
(Nov) mean 6.5 (3.7-9.6) monthly low -1.1°C (11/25, 11/27, 11/29)
(Dec 1-6) mean 6.0 (3.6-8.0) with an extreme low of 1.1°C on 12/4

Thus, they had only 5 nights of frost and no hard freeze prior to the
harvest on Nikolaus day. The curious thing is that it appears that it
rained for much of October and November, continuing right up to harvest
time. Perhaps the Sharzhofberg was spared most of that.

Mark Lipton