WTN: 15 year old Austrian doing fine

For Saturday dinner Betsy made "Happiness Soup" (lemon, turmeric and yellow squash, from Nigella Lawson via Frank Deis) and flounder with ginger-garlic mustard greens. Due to the ginger factor, I was thinking dry Riesling, and went down to grab an Alsace. But ended up with an Austrian, the 1993 Willi Brundlmayer "Zobinger Heiligenstein" Riesling (Kamptal). I've been trying to practice with my Ah So, but quickly managed to slide cork...in. Ugh. A decant later, I watched as the very pale Riesling turned golden. I was worried this was cracking up as I watched (was that cork loose?), but it turned out fine, and lasted over several hours. Bone dry, though the fruit itself had a bit of sweetness to the peach flavors, with accents of ripe tangerines and lime. Some earth and wet stones, no real petrolly notes. Good length, fresh, and a good match with the fish dish. B+/A-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
 

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the note. As for petrol, the '95 version of this same wine was dominated by petrol 5-7 years ago, but it seems to have gotten past that. Your '93 might be in the same boat.

Interesting. I've never charted the "life of petrol" in a dry Riesling. Is this fairly common, petrol as an adolescent, then disappearing with more age?

[David M. Bueker]

I find it happening with dry and off-dry Riesling. Terry Theise first pointed it out to me (what a shock), and I've seen it in action where a wine goes through a petrolly phase & then comes out the other side.

Glad to hear. I've found too much petrol in mature Rieslings to be a curse in disguise. There's so many other nuances and too much petrol can obscure them as well as the trademarks of the individual vineyards.

Of course, it is a very lovely aroma so I want some. Just not too much.