The first critical piece of information I have to give you is the following: Hans Josef Becker, for the first time in his life, swam in the Rhein River every day this winter, from November, through December, January, February, etc. up to this very day.
He told me about swimming in January, with the air temperature at five degrees below freezing, casually mentioning that, “…you only go in for a few minutes, absolutely no wetsuit…” at which point, for reasons that are not clear to me, he got up and opened a nearby door, casually looked outside, then came back and sat down. He then added: “Your brain can do anything.”
How this relates to the 2022 collection at Becker I’m not 100% sure. Yet the more time I spend with Hans Josef, the more I talk with him about, well, nearly anything, the more convinced I am that he is simply in, and of, his own universe.
At the same time, the deeper we go into history, the more awestruck I am by how his life is interwoven with the most important moments in 20th century German wine, from knowing Frank Schoonmaker (Becker’s father was his wine consultant in the 1950s) to the birth of the “GG” (the concept of which had its genesis in the Rheingau and which Becker influenced and absolutely pre-dated by nearly 30 years) to organic viticulture and natural fermentation.
His universe may be singular, but he has also, with almost no fanfare and very little recognition, understood the landscape of German wine sooner and has seen it more clearly than nearly anyone else from his generation.
For me, he is a giant of German viticulture, period. He is the producer defining, destroying and then redefining again the sleepy Rheingau. There is more on Becker here, including a beautiful video by my friend @ravingcave.
Today we present Becker’s formidable 2022ers. Becker releases his wines much later than most estates and, as always, gets one of the last words on the vintage.
For Becker, 2022 is truly a fabulous vintage; he himself calls it a “great vintage.”
After the rains and fungal pressures of 2021 (where he made no Kabinett Trocken), 2022 was easy. It was sunny and dry, but Becker sits there and casually talks about the healthy water reserves underneath most of his vineyards and notes that he has quite narrow rows, meaning lots of shade. In addition, he lets the vines grow high to provide more shade and keeps the grapes lower in the shadows.
There is no doubt the wines are expressive yet not at all heavy and very floral. They do feel cool. They also have a really lovely acidity and I ask Hans Josef about this. He concurs, “Yes, they have good acidity.” Then there is silence, so I push a bit more.
“How do they have such lively acidities?” I ask.
He looks at me with no expression and just says: “Because I love my vineyards.” He is absolutely sincere, not even smiling. I have no idea how his love for his vineyards has retained acidity in the wines these vineyards have made, but I can tell that this is his final answer. And in truth, a more concise or lovely answer I have never gotten.
In short, this is a superb collection. It’s also a somewhat concise collection (at least for a German). The Kabinett Trocken returns after missing 2021. There are our two Walkenberg Spätlese Trockens (one old vine, one young vine), an Auslese Trocken and an “Auslese Durchgegoren” which is crazy. Please read the notes on this. There are two Kabinetts and two Spätlesen.
There is also a “Rotweiss,” new for 2022. What is this? Maybe it’s a Weissherbst, maybe it’s a Blanc de Noir, maybe it’s just a rosé. We’re not sure, but read more below.
In fact, read about everything below – definitely delay doing any useful work to review our notes immediately. As a bonus for being you, as we sometimes do, we have a few cases of 16-year-old Spätlese from 2008 from the famous Eltviller Sonnenberg vineyard.
We’ve provided tasting notes on all the wines below. If you are “in the biz,” as they say, please reach out to your nearest vom Boden agent – or email orders@vomboden.com to find this person!
If you are also looking for the vigor of swimming in the Rhine in the winter, you can also email orders@vomboden.com and we will do our best to put you in touch with someone who can sell you the wines! All prices below are approximate retail. Please keep in mind these wines will arrive in late August or early September, 2024.
2022 “Rotweiss” (Pinot Noir Rosé) ~$38
In 2020 or 2021 Becker made a Pinot Noir rosé. It was lovely, very pure fruit, yet it was a bruiser – I think it had maybe 13.5% alcohol? It wove this alcohol into a decidedly floral quality, so that if you weren’t paying attention, you might not have noticed. Apparently, I was told by a friend, on hot summer nights at the Becker’s wine garden right next to the Rhein, it wasn’t totally uncommon for a couple to enjoy a bottle of this rosé, to pay their bill and then stand up, only to grab the table again, their new-found verticality being harder to completely manage after this bottle of rosé. Maybe this is why for 2022 Becker is calling it “Rotweiss?” John, Collin and I all visited Becker this spring, tasted this wine and asked about why it was called “Rotweiss.” To this moment, none of us 100% understand. I think it has some historical connotation? The old-school way of writing “Blanc de Noir?” Maybe it’s illegal to call a wine this and therefore Becker can’t resist?
Either way, this is 100% Pinot Noir and I’d say it lives in a world beyond a rosé and certainly closer to a red wine. It clocks in around 13% and shows herbal, smoky aromatics though the feel on the palate is a bit more fruit-driven, even tropical. It’s a sturdy wine, with a phenolic grip which will stand up to many foods, even fall and winter fare… the perfect rosé after that delightful January swim in the Rhein?
2022 Riesling Walkenberg Kabinett Trocken ~$35
So we are back after missing a Kabinett Trocken in 2021: God bless Kabinett Trocken. The 2022 version has the pulse of a Kabinett Trocken (a certain briskness, an energy, a diminutive form and bracing minerality) yet it’s also a bit more diffuse and floral than the 2020. It’s absolutely lovely and it’s also unfortunately something of a rare wine in 2022.
2022 Riesling Walkenberg Spätlese Trocken ~$40
As much as I love Kabinett Trockens – and you know I do – I’m loath to say that the Spätlese Trockens are probably the heart of the vintage here again. The younger-vine bottling (this one) is explosive, fruity, airy, aromatic, all-encompassing, as it normally is. In 2022 it’s perhaps a bit more floral and herbal than the 2020, and perhaps also a bit more structured. Still, this I think has to be considered the “go to” bottle for the lineup – just a perfect mix of serious and pure joy.
2022 Riesling Walkenberg Spätlese Trocken “Alte Reben” ~$42
As per normal, while the Spätlese Trocken is gregarious and outward-looking, the old-vine bottling is more stern and structured. The vines here are all over 40 years old (some up into their 70s) and the concentration is there. Yet the 2022 feels to me more juicy, expressive and friendly than the 2020. It also has a very serious structure, chewy and phenolic. This is a triumph of a wine.
2022 Riesling Rödchen Auslese Trocken ~$70
Becker’s Rödchen Auslese Trocken is a gut-punch of a wine, burly and powerful while also being pretty delineated. This is ripe stone fruits, almost a nectar, apricots and stones. Deep with great length and energy. This will make old bones.
2022 Riesling Walkenberg Auslese “Durchgegoren” ~$70
OK, take a seat. As with the “Rotweiss,” neither John nor Collin nor myself understands, exactly, what inspired Becker to write “Durchgegoren.” It would translate to something like “fermented through,” indicating that the fermentation went through and stopped naturally. In most cases, this would happen when the wine was dry, yet here the wine finished with some residual sugar (around 15 grams residual sugar per liter). In short, I guess this is an Auslese Feinherb – or maybe something closer to a riper, Rheingau-version of Lauer’s “Senior.” But it was important to Becker that you know he didn’t stop the wine to achieve any sweetness. This is a natural wine, though the grapes definitely had a bit of botrytis and the wine was filtered and sulfured. But other than this it is totally natural.
I like John’s notes: “Wacky and pristine succulent peach notes but with a structure like a 30-foot stone wall. This will live 60 years.” If you age this for 61 years and it’s dead, it’s not our fault.
2022 Riesling Berg Bildstock Kabinett ~$35
Here are some rarities; Prädikat Rheingau wines like they were made 100 years ago – which is to say very little residual sugar. This whispy Rheingau Kabinett has only 11 grams of residual sugar; at most places in the Mosel this would be a dry wine and even here the vigor is apparent (it is over 8 grams of acid). This is superb, angelic, floral and flinty, citrus and grass, brisk apple and mineral. I think this is sorta an epic wine, the absolute last of the real Rheingau Kabinetts.
2022 Riesling Sonnenberg Kabinett ~$35
Here are some rarities; Prädikat Rheingau wines like they were made 100 years ago – which is to say very little residual sugar. This whispy Rheingau Kabinett has 16 grams of residual sugar – which is a lot more than the Berg Bildstock, above, but so little that it’s laughable. This has less residual sugar than Lauer’s Barrel X. This is denser for sure, and more mineral and structured. At the moment it is a bit coiled up, though likely it just needs a little time to unfurl. Will be longer-lived than the Berg Bildstock?
2022 Riesling Oberberg Spätlese ~$38
Here are some rarities; Prädikat Rheingau wines like they were made 100 years ago – which is to say very little residual sugar. Becker’s Spätlesen have less residual sugar (by probably 20-30 grams?) than nearly everyone else’s – both the Oberberg and the Sonnenberg (below) clock in at under 30 grams total. The Oberberg in fact has a bit more residual sugar than the Sonnenberg (27 grams), but also more acidity and in general feels more structured and tart, brisk. This is just a superb energetic old-school Spätlese. Drink this with dinner!
2022 Riesling Sonnenberg Spätlese ~$38
Here are some rarities; Prädikat Rheingau wines like they were made 100 years ago – which is to say very little residual sugar. Becker’s Spätlesen have less residual sugar (by probably 20-30 grams?) than nearly everyone else’s – both of these clock in at under 30 grams total. The Sonnenberg has only 24 grams residual sugar, but also a bit less acidity and in general feels to me (as it always does) decidedly elegant and suave. This is more serpentine and relaxed, though again, this is a Spätlese to drink with dinner!
2008 Riesling Sonnenberg Spätlese ~$55
This is a release directly from the cellar. I have imported a small bit of this wine, years ago, and I remember loving it, but I did not taste it with Becker when I was there. To be honest, I have zero idea why he is offering me some now, but I never ask questions about this sort of thing. Collin did taste it and wrote that it has 34 grams of residual sugar and a seamless tension and is über-elegant. Hans Josef apparently responded: “It was not an easy wine to drink for the first five years.”
Either way, it is an honor to represent this history and we’ll all take it for granted, until it’s gone. And then we’ll tell stories to our grandchildren about Spätlesen that one could have with dinner, and about how Hans Josef Becker kept this in his cellar for nearly 20 years and only released it after he had spent the winter of 2023/2024 swimming in the Rhein, every single day.