GA Schneider 2007 Niersteiner Riesling 03 08 (Rheinhessen) – Premature encreamulation. Short and gasaholic. And…scene. (7/11)
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rheinhessen
Safari behind
Kruger-Rumpf 2009 Binger Scharlachberg Riesling Spätlese 021 10 (Rheinhessen) – Pomelo. Completely dominated by pomelo. Hints of grapefruit, with a spicy sweetness, but having recently devoured pomelo by the wheelbarrow in Southeast Asia, the flavor is fresh on my palate. Fun. (5/11)
Heyden Caulfield
Dr. Heyden 2009 Riesling Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Spätlese 12 10 (Rheinhessen) – Nuclear. (Sorry, too easy.) The wine’s also too easy, bringing basic spätlese without much riesling. (12/10)
Hom hom hom
Bretz 2005 Bechtolsheimer Homberg Spätburgunder Rosé Eiswein 048 08 (Rheinhessen) – The pong of botrytis wrapped in silk flowers, strawberry candy, and layers upon layers of eventually unbearable sweetness. There’s big acidity, but nothing can save this wine from a fate likely to resemble a Jolly Rancher. (12/09)
Albalonga than there’ve been stars up in the heavens
Wittmann 1997 Westhofener Steingrube Albalonga Auslese 006 98 (Rheinhessen) – Sweet tropical fruit. Simple and pure in its intent, with good acidity. (6/08)
Gunderloch Lomond
Gunderloch 2005 Riesling Kabinett “Jean-Baptiste” (Rheinhessen) – Pineapple, ripe grapefruit, pomegranate. Lightly sweet with good acidity. Fresh and clean. (2/07)
TN:In heaven there is no beerenauslese
Ernst Bretz 1997 Bechtolsheimer Klosterberg Riesling Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen) – I missed the AP here…21 or 27, something like that, according to my nearly-incomprehensible notes. Anyway, this is curvaceous in a slutty, obvious way, with sharp red apple cider and dark brown sugar. Lots of sugar. Lots of sugar. You’ll note that I’m continually mentioning the sugar because there’s just not that much else to say about it. There’s acid, but not enough, and the whole thing’s a little formless. (6/07)
TN: Still more old notes
Gysler “Bundle of Scheu” 23 04 (Rheinhessen) – Off-dry dandelion pollen and other floral, leafy stuff of much unthinking goodness. (8/06)
Huet 2000 Vouvray Brut Pétillant (Loire) – Waxy and acidic with the faintest suggestion of bubbles, but otherwise giving up absolutely nothing. This is about as closed as a wine can be. (8/06)
Rodez Champagne Ambonnay “Grand Cru” Brut Blanc de Noirs (Champagne) – Soft strawberry and red cherry. The fruit is concentrated and almost liqueur-like, with sweet tones on the finish, and the overall impression is one of plushness. I’m not sure that’s an admirable quality here. (8/06)
Johannishof 2005 Johannisberg “G” Riesling Kabinett 010 06 (Rheingau) – Mixed heirloom apples dusted with nutmeg and ripe with piercing sweetness, turning quickly to overwhelming red fruit on the palate. There’s molten iron and a good deal of spice that emerges with air…as the wine gets redder and redder with each sip. Powerful stuff, though it bears about as much resemblance to a kabinett as does a Barossa shiraz. (8/06)
Lopez de Heredia “Viña Tondonia” 1989 Rioja Reserva “Viña Gravonia” (Center-North) – Dry toast with spiced butter and preserved lemon spread, dotted by buttered marshmallows. Long, with fine acidity and a drying element on the finish that eventually becomes a slight burn. Controversial, and though I finally decide that I like it, it’s definitely not for everyone. (8/06)
Trimbach 2000 Riesling “Cuvée Frédéric Émile” (Alsace) – Absolutely impenetrable, though it gives the impression of being nothing more than liquid minerality. Not even worth taking a peek at right now, but it should be much, much better in a half-dozen years. (8/06)
Mann 1998 Riesling Schlossberg (Alsace) – Intense, ripe and very dry banana skin shoved through a metal cylinder. It grows to an early climax, then quickly fades away, and the finish is surprisingly short. But from a site where most producers pursue some level of residual sugar, this wine is dry, dry, dry. (8/06)
Boxler 2000 Riesling Sommerberg “L31D” (Alsace) – Light sweetness…for Boxler, that is…backed by such terrific acidity that it really doesn’t register after the first sip. Otherwise, there’s a brilliantly-structured wine running the mineral gamut from coal to diamond, with ripe red apple and strawberry blossom. An extremely vertical riesling, with power and presence and many, many fantastic years ahead of it. (8/06)