by Salil » Thu Jun 04, 2009 1:03 am
Part of a phenomenal wine dinner in New York Wednesday night that was mostly Riesling, though some rogue Gewurztraminer and Rieslaner showed up somehow. Wines ranged from old to young and dead to drinkable, but two 1976s stood out from the rest of the pack by a long way and provided incredible pleasure. I'll post notes on the whole thing soon, but 2-3 hours later I can still feel the velvet of that 76 Johannisberg on my tongue. What a wine!
1976 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese (Saar)
AP #8-77. Light gold colour in the glass, and good grief - what an insane nose! Ginger, spearmint, chocolate and white fruits - the whole thing smells like chocolate-mint cookies dusted with spices and served with a plate of fresh fruit. With air this just keeps expanding on the nose and palate, developing elements of basil and other herbs, earth and honey, and a gentle, floating mouthfeel with plenty of acidity. The fruit here still feels very young and this just kept getting better with time - hard to imagine how long this will actually last for.
And somehow... this wine topped it. Among the greatest wines I've had the privilege to drink so far in my life.
1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese Rosalack (Rheingau)
Liquid velvet. It's not just how this wine tastes and smells; the way it FEELS on your tongue is enough to make one go 'WOW'. Somehow this conveys tremendous richness and power with so little apparent weight, with an incredibly smooth, slightly oily mouthfeel and flavours that slowly build up with air, keep expanding and then stay with you minutes after the last sip is finished. Beautiful aromatics; at first there's honey, caramel, tobacco and savoury earth, then with time apple, lime and cardamom flavours emerge. Like the Egon Muller, there's a sense of incredible freshness to the fruit with plenty of acidity underneath, and incredible length. And this was also getting better with air through the night; the last sip I had was the best and I can't imagine how long this will age and last for.