The days are getting longer and beautiful sunlight was still shining as folks found their way into the spring tasting for the San Francisco German Wine Society. Rheingaus all—with lots of interesting contrasts in store. After guzzling some water to quench my thirst from the walk, I started right off with one from the western edge of the Rheingau—the 2007 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone which was thick and full on the nose with slight elements of peanut brittle, peaches, and flowers and tasted a tad thick as well. Some tartness meshed nicely with lots of sweetness. I thought it nicely balanced and a good intro—it didn't seem like others fancied it as much as I—but even upon revisiting it later I thought it quite quaffable. Switching off to the other extreme on the eastern pocket of the Rheingau above the Main was the 1999 Franz Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Kabinett Trocken. The nose was interesting with some rust and fruit salad with marshmallows—promising, but, alas, the taste was far duller than the nose—leather, nuts, some iron fillings. A bit rougher than I remember it being last time I sampled it. Today the dry iron dustiness of it felt more tired. But the nose of the wonderfully longwinded 2001 Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Kabinett Goldkapsel Auction was very classic and very approachable with slight honey and edgy grass. Thicker in texture, it was sweet, a tad salty, had a touch of chalkiness, and was beautifully light. It was a kissing wine—beautiful, light, fleeting, I was quite taken with it. Some in the room saw it as classic Rheingau, others found it short and lacking expression. I found it quiet and beautiful. Very light grip on the finish that faded nicely as well.
The next set offered an interesting comparison of three wines all of the same prädikat, same vintage, and same producer with only the vineyards varying—a good chance to taste the impact of those environmental conditions.
First up was the 1998 Langwerth Von Simmern Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen Riesling Kabinett with lots of floral depth, lots and lots of depth on the nose. Rather spicy and sometimes herbal on the palate—it was coming across as rather intense today. The nose of the 1998 Langwerth Von Simmern Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Kabinett was rather focused, though far less intense than the Nußbrunnen—more rocks and minerals here. Finely tuned with tamarind, white pepper, seemed a bit fiery at times, but that could've been a lingering effect of the Nußbrunnen. This was a bit more to my taste. The 1998 Langwerth Von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett had a quieter nose, but still nice perfume wafting in. Delicate and lighter in the mouth, layers of salt and spice, crispy rust, toasted coriander, light citrus zest on the finish. For today, the Nußbrunnen seemed a bit too intense for my tastes, whereas the Rauenthaler Baiken offered promising ground indeed as the 2001 from another producer worked fantastically and this 1998 did admirably as well. The distinctions among the wines were interesting indeed.
Next it was off to the vineyards near Kiedrich for the 1999 Robert Weil Riesling Kabinett with cellar and stone and slight depth on the nose. The taste however seemed quite reserved, some mustiness, roundedness with a touch of tartness, not particularly expressive, even upon a retaste.
The rubicon was crossed and the excitement in the room grew as folks moved up a prädikat level. First the zippy fun nose of the 1998 Langwerth Von Simmern Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese with elements of greenness and almost herbal qualities went well with the embedded spritz, spiced, crisp deliciousness, apple pie with acid, crispy and chewy, yum. Lots of hay and grass on the nose of the 2001 Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel Auction which offered a nice combination of lime acid, chalk, and was just tasty, tasty, tasty. I was basically trying these wines blind and made a note of how much the switch over to the last two wines (which turned out to be the prädikat switchover) made in terms of allowing the wines a bit more room for expression. Next up, the fabled #10 that was likely the favorite of nearly everyone in the room was the 1998 Hans Lang Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese. I enjoyed the nose on this one for minutes before moving on. It smelled like cooking. Like that moment when you walk into the kitchen and smell all those wonderful fresh ingredients and savor them for those seconds before you can identify any of the smells. Sure there was freshly cut herbs, honey, savory, lots of other things. But mostly it just smelled fresh and delicious. In the mouth it was delicate but intense, honeyed depth, delicious light fading qualities, beauty. A wine delicious to drink and worth appreciating. The nose on the 2004 Prinz Hallgartener Jungfer Riesling Auslese was very different and the wine itself tasted like a scrumptious mandarin tart with light hints of kiwi and apple. Delicious as well, but more about fruit with maybe a tad of spiced elements thrown in. Finally, moving on to the dessert of desserts was the 2002 Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Auslese with a heavier nose of honey and fields. Juicy and chewy in the mouth, very clean, it tasted of juicy grapes and honey, very nice. And a sweet finish indeed.