Schäfer-Fröhlich
Bockenau, Nahe, Germany
The Fröhlich family has been cultivating vines since 1800 though Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich was founded in the 1970s through marriage. In the early 1990s, the extraordinarily talented Tim Fröhlich took over the family estate and made his first vintage in 1995. Rudi Wiest was introduced to Tim by Helmut Dönnhoff who told him there was a young man doing some extraordinary work in the village of Bockenau, an area not known for producing noteworthy wines. Fast forward ten years and Tim Fröhlich was chosen newcomer of the year by The Gault-Millau/German Wine Guide. By 2010, he was selected as winemaker of the year by the same guide; the youngest ever to receive such acclaim. Tim stepped into a virtually unknown estate and shaped it into one of the top Nahe estates in a very short period of time.
The outstanding steep vineyard sites are the foundation for unmistakable, authentic wines. In conjunction with these great sites, the recipe for Tim’s success consist of low yields, painstaking vineyard management, a strong adherence to wild yeast fermentation, a focus on minerality, and an almost unnerving perfectionism in the cellar. Oh, and did we mention that he’s rock star handsome? Ridiculous.
Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich totals 21 hectares today, of which 18 hectares is accounted for by Riesling. 82% of the production is dry.
Bockenauer Felseneck - Blue Devonian slate, basalt and quartz
Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg - Weathered volcanic porphyry soils and quartz
Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube - Weathered volcanic porphyry soils
Monzinger Halenberg - Blue slate, gravel and quartz
Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen - Red slate, gravel and quartz
80% Riesling, 10% Pinot Blanc, 7% Pinot Noir, 3% other grape varieties.
Much of the success was the result of a number of smart acquisitions made by Tim in some of the best vineyards in the region, which nearly doubled the family’s original holdings. He then went on to become a terroir fanatic; developing the best methods to extract the perfect expression of fruit from each of his six Grosses Gewachs classified vineyards. Of considerable note are the blue slate, loess (fine silty sediment) and loam (sand, silt, clay blend) soils of the Felseneck vineyard, considered one of Tim’s most prized holdings, and a virtually unknown location before he started working with it. Schäfer- Fröhlich is making Rieslings as great, or better than, (dare we say it?) any producers in the Nahe. These are some of the most impressive and exciting white wines being crafted anywhere today.
Stephan Reinhardt writes: "As for his Rieslings, even the dry village/terroir wines are gorgeous here and have more expression than many German GG Rieslings. The Felseneck GG is probably one of the finest dry Rieslings produced in Germany so far. I can hardly think of more precision, finesse and elegance in dry Nahe Rieslings. More than this, the sweet predicate wines from this steep, dark slate site are also great wines that deserve all your attention. More and more, Tim's Felseneck is becoming a glorious single-vineyard site that offers the finest Nahe Rieslings along with the Hermannshöhle and the Halenberg, the latter of which is always more compact and powerful but less filigreed compared to the other two aristocrats."
"The stunning thing about Tim Fröhlich's 2018s is that many of them taste as if they were from a cooler vintage, especially those from Bockenau's slate soils. Cooler sites like the Felseneck were surely helpful, but more than anything else, the correct canopy management becomes crucial in those hot years like 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and also 2019. After good rainfalls in spring, 2018 was characterized by a terribly hot and dry summer and, like 2017, by a pretty early harvest. The grapes were perfectly ripe and healthy in autumn, which enabled team Fröhlich to handcraft another series of exceptional wines. In particular, I fell in love with the 2018 estate Riesling and the Bockenauer village Riesling Vulkangestein. The Grosses Gewächs wines are powerful and rich but precise and terroir-driven, but they do not negate the vintage. The flavors represent ripe and intense fruit, and the body is full, the finish powerful. The feinherb Riesling crus are also remarkably fine in 2018 and so are the predicate wines that I have tasted so far." - Stephen Reinhardt
Our Selections
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Estate Dry 2020
From a blend of Tim's top vineyard sites; all younger vines. Red and blue Devonian slate as well as volcanic stone (porphyry). Beautiful clear color. The wine is twelve percent in alcohol and carries an impressive 8.5 grams of acidity. "The bouquet is beautifully expressive, 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. (John Gilman)"
Reviews of 2018 Vintage: "Tim Fröhlich's 2018 Riesling Trocken offers a clear, ripe, intense, elegant and even pure and stony Riesling bouquet that already represents the highly elaborated style of this outstanding producer. Lush, precise and salty on the palate, with a nervy mineral acidity and herbal (marjoram) notes on the clear and structured finish, this is a medium-bodied yet quite intense and elegant dry Riesling of remarkable class. Hard to imagine there could be any other estate Riesling of this personality and complexity. Absolutely impressive. 12% alcohol. Bottled with a screwcap. Tasted in April and October 2019 91 Points" - Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate - Oct, 2019
"Scents of zesty lime and grapefruit mingled with fresh, seed-tinged apple anticipate a sappy midpalate and (for this vintage) an astonishingly bright, tingling back end, featuring an impression of crystalline stony mineral impingement alongside mouthwatering salinity. It all adds up to consummate refreshment and invigoration that don’t just invite but practically compel the next sip. Tim Fröhlich can surely lay claim to the world’s most consistently overachieving generic Riesling bottlings of the past two decades. 90 Points" – David Schildknecht, Vinous, Jun 2020
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Dry Schiefergestein 2020
Schiefergestein comes from vineyards of slate in Bockenau and Monger as well as younger vines from the grand cru of Felseneck, planted to soils of blue Devonian slate, basalt and quartz. No added yeasts. Healthy grapes means less SO2 and this hovers around 43mg. 25-30 year old vines. Flinty, slatey and spicy on the palate.
Review of the 2019 Vintage: “Tim Fröhlich's 2019 Riesling Trocken Vulkangestein is clear, fine and aromatic on the excitingly pure and stony nose with a delicate and elegant reductive flintiness of crushed, red volcanic rocks intertwined with ripe and concentrated yet fresh and perfectly integrated Riesling aromas. Pure, piquant and fresh on the first palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, very elegant, juicy-intense and well-concentrated yet always fine, fresh and salty dry Riesling that performs even better than the Schiefergestein today, the latter of which is not yet bottled. The Vulkangestein performs even better from the bottle than as a sample five weeks earlier. Tasted from AP 10 20 in June 2020.. 93 Points”– Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate, 8/13/20
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Felseneck GG 220
A 7.5 hectare vineyard of blue Devonian slate, basalt and quartz.. No added yeasts. Healthy grapes means less SO2 and this hovers around 43mg.
"Bright and clear fruit aromas intermix with flint stone and herbal aromas to open the spectacularly deep, dense and coolish, extremely mineral 2018 Felseneck Riesling GG. Very intense, rich and concentrated on the silky-textured and refreshing palate, this is a crystalline and silky yet dense and enormously mineral, tightly woven, dry and piquant Riesling with remarkable tannin structure and sustainable salinity. This Felseneck needs years to open up and also the biggest glass you can find. Tasted during the VDP Grosse Lage preview in Wiesbaden in August and two times at home in October 2019. 97 Points" - Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate - Oct, 2019
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Fruhlingsplatzchen GG 2020
Frühlingsplätzchen , meaning "Little Place of Spring" consists of red slate, gravel and quartz.
"Tim Fröhlich's 2018 Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling GG is very clear, precise and stony as well as coolish-fresh on its stunningly pure and flinty nose with its ripe and warm Riesling fruit, crushed pepper and green lime notes. Silky, clear and lush on the crystalline palate, this is a tensioned, vital and serious dry Riesling whose vitality and nervy character give a lot of music on the palate, even though this is a full-bodied and tightly woven Riesling with ripe and concentrated fruit, firm tannins and a lot of power that asks for further bottle aging. The 2018 will surely improve over the years, but it's very tight and restrained right now. Promising. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2019. 94 Points" - Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate - Oct, 2019
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Stromberg GG 2020
The Stromberg vineyard is a 45-70% grade steep, very rocky, south-facing (190-300m) vineyard with a mountain range and a forest above, protects the vineyard against cold winds and traps heat. The vineyard is known for its volcanic porphyry soil.
The Stromberg GG is made from grapes from the best parts of the oldest vineyards (45 and approx. 90 years old vines) which is harvested at optimal ripeness and maturity. This is a very fine Riesling, typical for its volcanic origin, with rich texture and exceptional minerality
"The 2018 Stromberg Riesling GG is very clear and mineral on the bright, deep and intense yet transcendent nose that is full of crushed stones and perfectly ripe Riesling fruit. Mouth-fillingly lush yet precise and fresh on the crystalline and silky palate, this is a full-bodied and powerful yet refined and elegant, tightly structured and sustainable Stromberg that reveals great talents and should be cellared for another couple of years. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in October 2019. 96 Points" - Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate - Oct, 2019
Schafer Frohlich Blanc de Noir Dry Rose (Spatburgunder Weissherbst Trocken) 2020
Tim considers this traditional style of wine a Blanc de Noir rather than a rose. The color certainly backs up his claim as it's more onion skin in appearance than pink. The Pinot Noir grapes come from Stromberg-- a very steep vineyard full of volcanic rock and planted with 40+ year old Spätburgunder vines. Tim seeks "maximum elegance;" and achieves this by using only free run juice and no skin contact. Direct press. Made like a white wine . Some steel and some halbstück (600 liter barrels). The texture, acidity and minerality belie the light color. Limited. The 2019 was mentioned in a NY Times article entitled There’s More to German Wine Than Riesling.
Weissherbst Definition: white wine made from black grapes of a single variety, the must being separated immediately from the skins.
Origin
25-40 years old Pinot Noir vines
Volcanic soil (Porphyry) Wine
Grapes collected into small boxes
No maceration
Gentle pressing for maximum of elegance
Fine and delicate
500 cases produced
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Dry Vulkangestein 2020
Vulkangestein consists of vines planted to holdings with volcanic soils in and around Schlossbockelheim as well as younger vines from the grand cru Felsenberg, planted to weathered volcanic porphyry soils and quartz. Fermented naturally in a combination of 600 liter halbstück barrels and stainless steel tanks. Smoky and fruity. Great balance with a textured palate and a mineral finish that goes on and on.
Review of the 2019 Vintage: “The 2019 Bockenauer Riesling Trocken Schiefergestein opens with an exciting, complex and terroir-driven bouquet that reminds of crushed slate rock perfumed with lemon oil. Fabulous! Juicy and round but pure, filigreed and stimulatingly salty on the palate, this is a frisky, nervy, serious, stunningly aromatic and terroir-driven Riesling with ripe stone fruit aromas and fine grapefruit bitters on the tight, salty, still pure and nervy finish. This Village Riesling from Tim's home base, Bockenau, is light and finessed yet tight, intense and seductive in its roundness—a gorgeous Undercover Felseneck, in fact, that needs a while to unfold its true class. 93 Points” – Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate, 8/13/20
Schafer Frohlich Riesling Felsenberg GG 2020
In addition to the dry wines, Tim makes a range of pradikat level wines from this vineyards of weathered volcanic porphyry soils and quartz.
"The 2018 Felsenberg Riesling GG opens with a deep, intense and rich, concentrated and aromatic but also flinty bouquet full of ripe Riesling fruits and coolish herbal/vegetal as well gooseberry aromas. On the palate, this is a lush, intense, very mineral, salty-piquant and tightly structured dry Riesling from volcanic rocks. It's a powerful but elegant, fresh and precise Riesling with great complexity and lingering salinity. A fabulous Felsenberg with lots of vitality and youthful grip. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2019. 95+ Points" - Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate - Oct, 2019
Schafer Fröhlich Riesling Kabinett Bockenauer Felseneck 2020
Knee bendingly good. Stunning and spicy. Lifted. Goes on and on - signature smokiness here too.
"Picked ahead of even this year’s generic Riesling, this delivers scents and infectious juiciness of fresh lime, apple and white peach with cooling mint and fennel as well as crushed stone and pungently smoky struck flint accents. At 9.5 grams of acidity, there is a vibrant and animating cast to the wine’s buoyant, subtly silken palate. Invigorating nips of cress and mouthwatering mineral minerality add to the irresistible appeal of a vibrant, refreshingly sustained finish. (The preceding note was taken from a natural cork-finished bottle, representative of the majority of bottles. A screwcapped bottling tasted alongside displayed more pronounced salinity but marginally less silken texture, vivid fruit or cooling green herbal character. It also introduced an overt albeit subtle charge of tingling CO2.) 92 Points" - David Schildknecht , Vinous.com, April, 2018
"From a steep, terraced, southwest-facing plot on weathered phyllite slate, the 2016 Nahe Riesling Felseneck Kabinett was picked early at 83° Oechsle. It is a lovely, clear, piquant and crystalline Kabinett with lush fruit and a long, stimulatingly salty finish. It is light, fresh and buoyant, a highly elegant and filigreed Kabinett classic at its best. It is ripe but nevertheless vital and piquant. The finish is long and aromatic. A great Kabinett from the Nahe. 91 Points" -Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate # 235, Feb 2018
Schafer Frohlich Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) Estate Dry “S” 2020
Review of 2018 Vintage: “This is sourced from fifty year-old vines and raised in a combination of tank, cask and used barrique. Around half of its volume was yeasted, because although spontaneous fermentation now completely dominates his Riesling vinifications, Fröhlich says he has found it inexplicitly tricky when it comes to his deeper-soiled, less stony, Pinot-suitable sites. Sweet corn, zesty lemon and apple, almond, ocean breeze and chicken stock on the nose anticipate the lusciously fruited but also umami-rich impression on a creamy but generously juicy and animatingly tart-edged palate. The mouthwatering finish here evokes the saline tang and complex savor of oyster liquor. This surprisingly Chablis-like libation is as fine a Schäfer-Fröhlich Pinot Blanc as I have yet tasted, and I won’t be surprised if I end up to have underestimated its window of prime drinkability.” 91 Points– David Schildknecht, Vinous, Apr 2019