It's always a good sign when you are in a room full of people who know more about German wine than you. And so it was at the lovely holiday tasting held by the local branch of the German Wine Society. Many interesting folks and many interesting conversations, it would've been hard to concentrate on the wines 'cept they were so delicious. And all the prädikat levels in one tasting!
A good cleansing start with the 2005 Josef Rosch Leiwener Klostergarten Riesling Sekt (Middle Mosel) with a broad expressive and almost muscaty nose, followed by a lot more rieslingesque depth. It was light, it was crisp, it was delicious yeasty cookies, bits of greenness, but all around one of the tastiest German sekts I can recall. The 2004 Solter Rheingau Riesling Sekt, on the other hand, was a brighter, fruitier approach with lots of apricot, and while I wasn't enticed by the elements of syrup, the texture was not like syrup at all, it was noticebly nice. But its apricots didn't float my boat after the wonderfully crisp Rosch. I learned that Solter, who've I only ever encountered at Dee Vine Wines, worked at one time with Deutz, the big champagne producer, and now bottles large amounts of sekts for other labels. Solter uses Beerenauslese as a dosage (which I found very interesting indeed).
The initial signs of the 1999 Franz Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Rheingau) were slightly worrisome, a lot more browning in color and smells of aging than I would have expected from a wine not so old. But, all was well, well-bound, soft watery flavors, beautiful light presence, salty and delightful, a beauty. The nose on the 1999 Robert Weil Rheingau Riesling Kabinett was a savory delight and made me think of chicken. Soft, multilayered, texture was thick, much more spätlese or even auslese level, but the texture worked well with the flavors. Struck me as a wonderful food wine. The 1999 Langwerth von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett (Rheingau) was all about fresh, young honey on the nose, but in the mouth it was completely different. The sweetness was much gone and replaced by a soft honeyed crispy version. Light touch of white pepper. Too much oopmh going on for me here, felt unbalanced. More reluctant showing on the nose of the 1998 Langwerth von Simmern Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Kabinett (Rheingau) but taste was minerals and acid upfront, integrated and easy to drink, crisp mineral finish, wow. Not so complex a wine here, as say the Weil, but delightful savory lime and minerals, yum. The 1998 Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen Riesling Kabinett (Rheingau) had a glorious, glorious nose. Dear Heavenly Being Above, it was mouthwatering to smell it. Perfect balance, depth, light faint notes being played on the piano. Funny both when I had the wine and read back my notes, piano playing came to mind both times. Light faded herbal elements, but beautiful, beautiful stuffing. Have I mentioned this wine makes one repeat themselves?
A bit tighter was the nose of the 2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlehner Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese (Middle Mosel), but very precise as well with floral notes and peaches. A solid dollop of light acid introduces the tongue to an incredible binding, seamless. Exquisite rocks, integrated sweeteness. Drink-a-ble. Made me think of a moped travelling on a rocky trail. The seamlessness of this wine was stunning. Perhaps it was the somewhat closed nose of the 2001 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abstberg Riesling Spätlese (Ruwer) that made some of my fellow enthusiasts initially indifferent to the wine. But with my urging, many did catch the wonderful elements of light savory hints, floral hints, crazy savory notes, marinated turkish meats before being thrown on the grill, fantastic, incredible. This wine was so unlike anything else on the table. It was stunning and when I drank it I felt like I was Turkey, or at least that many miles away. Wow. Stunning. There was lots of honey and candy on the nose of the 2000 Langwerth von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese (Rheingau), it had me thinking Beerenauslese based on the nose. The wine itself was kind of an odd thick, crisp/woodsy/herbsy drinkable carmelized wine. Long finish of library books. Lots going on here, but the honeyed package was not my thing. The 1998 Langwerth von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese (Rheingau) had the fantastic nose of Indian spices and Indian cooking. Fantastic nose. Taste was crisp integrated acid, stones with depth, spicy finish. Wow. Fantastic!
The nose of the 2004 Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Auslese (Rheinhessen) reminded me pretty much of burnt popcorn. But the taste was lots of fizzy acid followed by purity, clouds, godliness. Heavenly. Delightful and barely present. Just when I need some sort of reality check to recalibrate my palate, I have the chance with the 1999 Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Auslese (Nahe). Lots of savory depth on the nose, but the taste is rusty bolts at first (not a bad thing) but elements of what I think was botrytis, concentration, so sweet it is sharp. A dessert feel to it. Too sharp and intense for my tastes. A light fanciful nose on the 1999 Erben von Beulwitz Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Beerenauslese (Ruwer). I mean the nose was positively airy. Makes me wonder what I was thinking a Beerenauslese smells like. Drinking it there was certainly a heaviness, but no stickiness whatsoever. Purity, lightness and delicacy return. Touch of structure. Mighty tasty. Could drink, most certainly would drink.
The nose of the 1999 August Kesseler Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Rheingau) reminded me of fried food, motor oil, and a scene in Primary Colors. Intense honey texture, bright lavender and spice on the tongue. Crisp honeyness about it. A piece of honey pie that is delicate enough to enjoy. Very nice. The 2004 Johann Peter Reinart Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Eiswein (Saar) had a huge nose. I was thinking hot dogs. I was thinking ketchup. (Neither of which I think smell good, but they smelled good here). Purity. Delicacy. It was like drinking snow flakes. A light honey touch but very bright without any noticeable acid. Not refreshing, but not a bad thing here. Pure, pure, pure. An accomplishment. The 2002 Johann Peter Reinart Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Eiswein (Saar), on the other hand had a rather boring nose and tasted of intense pear juice syrup. Rounded pears with over-the-top sweet and tart and hot pears. Not my thing.
My unstructured thoughts:
1. I can't believe how stunned I was with as many of these wines as I was. This was quite a lineup.
2. Interesting indeed to taste that much Langwerth von Simmern. Some that caught my fancy quite a bit. No real surprise that I was as stunned as I was with the Weil, Maximin Grünhaus, and Prüm--though Í've had little Prüm, so this was a very nice opportunity to learn a bit more.
3. Auslese seems to be the thing I could really develop a taste for, more than BA, TBA or Eiswein so far. Some pretty incredible things can happen there. But an icewine like that 2004 would never be unwelcome for me at any time.
A delicious eye-opening experience.
