WineLovers Discussion Group

Getting back to Andrew's notes above, it's really sad that Helmut Mathern was lost to cancer a few years back. The estate had really begun to hit some high notes prior to his death. Now they are off the map in the USA.

JTN (Juice Tasting): 2010 Hart Wine Cellars Riesling (DeMaison Vineyard) I picked up 200 lbs. of Riesling yesterday, crushed and de-stemmed last night and just finished pressing and pitching the yeast. If anyone has ever had the opportunity to taste fresh pressed Riesling juice, it is wonderful stuff. I have about 15 gallons plus one gallon reserved in my freezer for sweetening before bottling. The numbers are perfect: 21.5 Brix, 7.58 TA, pH 3.14. If all goes according to plan, I should be bottling this by March and if doesn't turn out very well, the blame goes on the winemaker, as the grapes couldn't be much better.

The numbers sure sound good. I've only had fresh juice in 2003 when I was in Germany. Tasty stuff indeed.

JC (NC) wrote:2004 Muller Catoir Riesling Trocken Haardter Burgergarten Spatlese, AP # 5174079 09 05, Pfalz, Germany.
A Terry Theise Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines
Cork broke into two pieces and I pushed the lower portion back into the bottle and poured around it.
Light gold coloring. Pleasing stony impression with hints of grapefruit and lemon drops. Balanced. One of the "stonier" Rieslings I've had in recent weeks. Paired well wtih breaded tilapia and pretty well with wheat thins and cream cheese with chives. The slightly austere wine was a counterpoint to the richness and creaminess of the reduced-fat cream cheese.

Hi JC -

Thank you for the great note.

Do you recall if this the wine was labeled "Im Breumel" after the individual parcel in the Burgergarten vineyard? If so, I enjoyed that wine when I had it earlier this year. Unfortunately, I didn't record the AP number for that wine because of the aforementioned designation, which I assumed was the only such bottling that M-C made in 2004.

If it was a different wine, then I was not aware that M-C made a Spätlese Trocken from the Burgergarten in 2004 that was not from a particular section like "Im Breumel".

Salil wrote:This evening:

2001 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel Auction was oxidized. Ugh.

But the 1998 Kruger-Rumpf Münsterer Dautenpflänzer Riesling Spätlese was very pretty; lightweight to the point that it felt like a Kabinett in the mouth but with lovely developed petrolly/smoky elements around fresh citrus and pear fruit and a minerally base.

Salil -


The 1998 Kruger-Rumpf sounds like a really lovely wine. Too bad about the Loosen, though.

Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett -28- 1989 – Dr.Loosen – Alc. 7.5%.
This was another forgotten German bottle which I identified as needing to be drunk. However, like the 04 Schaefer feinherb from the same vineyard, it was a pleasant surprise. Aromas of lime-like fruit, petrol, fine paper and slate minerals were still remarkably fresh. The palate was not big and but pure and delightfully drinkable with some roundness and sweetness perceptible on entry and mid-palate with moreish crisp acidity becoming more prominent but never astringent towards the finish. The lively acid/sugar balance makes a Kabinett like this a versatile food wine and it went beautifully with salmon trout; 16/20+.

Andrew,

In 2004 there were exactly 4 Burgergarten Spatlese Trocken wines that were brought into the USA - Breumel, Aspen Gehren, and a spatlese trocken with no sub-parcel desgination. JC and I had a PM exchange earlier this month, and I seem to recall that she indicated her bottle was plain ol' spatlese trocken.

It`s not off-dry, medium dry, sweet, this one is dry!!!! Yup, a great offering from Cave Springs of Niagara Peninsula fame. How will it show up against the Wildass I posted on a couple of weeks ago?

WTN: `07 Cave Spring Riesling Dry, VQA Ontario Niagara Peninsula.

Took a while to find space on the shelves here in town, this offering is exceptional from the well-known Niagara winery who also produce a single-vineyard CSV Riesling. Around $20 Cdn, good natural cork, 11.5% alc.

Color is a medium straw, no sign of lemon yet. On the nose I found some minerally citrus tones, peach and brief hint of gasolein. No tropical fruits here folks!
Dry on entry with apple, zesty citrus and quite minerally. Very lively acidity here, "bone-dry.. this will fool them" from across the table. Non-honeyed, some grapefruit developed as it opened up. Very good effort from a fine winery and a lot different when one considers those German whites. The Wildass had some RS, this one is a style quite different but both good!

David is correct. My Burgergarten did not have any parcel designation.

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:WTN: `07 Cave Spring Riesling Dry, VQA Ontario Niagara Peninsula.

Bob - the '06 version of the CSV was my favorite when we did a NiagaraCOOL tour of the Niagara Peninsula in 2008. Too bad they don't sell it on our side of the border. http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16448

Incredible game at the MCG today. For the uninformed, the Australian Rules Football final was played today and for only the 3rd time in the long history of the game the two combatants, Collingwood and Saint Kilda, finished on the same score - a draw - and now will have to replay the game next Saturday afternoon. The 100,000 stunned mullets at the ground when the final siren rang out was a very strange moment that I'll never forget. I've been polishing off the remnants of the 2002 (Watervale) and 2003 (Eden) Leonay Riesling's that have been sitting in fridge for I don't know how long! Both still sensational drinking, although the 2003 Eden is just starting to lose some freshness but has not oxidised one iota. The Watervale still worthy of an incredible 95 points, 6 days after being opened and the Eden, 93 , almost two weeks after being exposed to oxygen! (you can see my earlier notes on both somewhere above in this thread) Only a few days to go before we finish this month's fantastic wine focus. Anyone else enjoying a good Riesling this weekend in this wonderful Spring/Autumn weather?

Only 10K at the MCG for that game, David - or did you mean to say 100K? On topics of sports, are you paying any attention to Australia's tour of India?

Just stuck a few fun Rieslings from Emrich-Schonleber in the fridge to open this evening (along with a few other bottles - there's a Muller Catoir Scheurebe I'm quite excited about opening with chicken biryani later tonight).

Salil wrote:Only 10K at the MCG for that game, David - or did you mean to say 100K? On topics of sports, are you paying any attention to Australia's tour of India?

Just stuck a few fun Rieslings from Emrich-Schonleber in the fridge to open this evening (along with a few other bottles - there's a Muller Catoir Scheurebe I'm quite excited about opening with chicken biryani later tonight).

Typo and fixed.

I will be looking at the Indian tour in due course. I suppose you will ripping your hair out not knowing which side to support!

David Lole wrote:Incredible game at the MCG today. For the uninformed, the Australian Rules Football final was played today and for only the 3rd time in the long history of the game the two combatants, Collingwood and Saint Kilda, finished on the same score - a draw - and now will have to replay the game next Saturday afternoon. The 100,000 stunned mullets at the ground when the final siren rang out was a very strange moment that I'll never forget. I've been polishing off the remnants of the 2002 (Watervale) and 2003 (Eden) Leonay Riesling's that have been sitting in fridge for I don't know how long! Both still sensational drinking, although the 2003 Eden is just starting to lose some freshness but has not oxidised one iota. The Watervale still worthy of an incredible 95 points, 6 days after being opened and the Eden, 93 , almost two weeks after being exposed to oxygen! (you can see my earlier notes on both somewhere above in this thread) Only a few days to go before we finish this month's fantastic wine focus. Anyone else enjoying a good Riesling this weekend in this wonderful Spring/Autumn weather?

I have a feeling this thread might continue well into October as I still have some gems lined up. Grosset `05 Watervale, `03 Petaluma, `79 Cristoffel Wehlener Sonnenuhr etc.
Northern Spain next month so going to be busy here!

Alsace grand cru Kessler Riesling 2002 – Dirler-Cadé – Alc.12.5%.
After several recent Mosels, marked structure and less ingratiating acidity stood out on this wine. Body was medium weight, fruit was quite dense with touches of apple and kiwi and honeyed petrol notes were marked especially on the nose. It was not quite bone dry analytically, I think, but the acidity led to a subjectively dry impression. Turbot and Hollandaise sauce was an adequate pairing but let the acids seem a bit aggressive against the soft subtlety of the fish; with the assorted cheeses, however, it came into harmonious balance showing tamed and more mouth-watering acidity and stronger minerality; goats were predictably best but it even stood up to wine-unfriendly Camembert bearing out the advice of Normans to take a dry mineral white wine if cider is not available. Hardly 16/20 with the turbot but 16.5/20+++ with the cheeses.

After all these glowing reports about Aussie Riesling, I really should face the Brussels traffic jams to get to the only relatively nearby supplier of Grosset and Petaluma. Only 5 days left for Riesling .

Dirler has been very spotty in terms of availability in the USA. I have had a couple I liked though.

Actually, Alsace as a category is nearly dead and buried in the USA (sad to say).

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:I have a feeling this thread might continue well into October as I still have some gems lined up. Grosset `05 Watervale, `03 Petaluma, `79 Cristoffel Wehlener Sonnenuhr etc.
Northern Spain next month so going to be busy here!

Ooh, 05 Grosset Watervale ought to be awesome right now. But I'm with you: too much Riesling (heck I still have a few cases of 09s pending from Crush), not enough time. We need longer months to schedule Riesling focuses in.

Salil, I`m not worried, just keep posting away till Xmas! David B will always be around to nudge us along and besides the Oz guys will be replenishing their glasses as it is summer down there..prime riesling weather eh.

Müller-Catoir Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2009 - Pfalz, Germany 13,0% alc.

Trockener Riesling need more time to open up it seems, and this needed a very long two hours to show its stuff. Finally though, a peachy succulence emerged through the initial tarragon, red pepper, mace, mint and coriander spice. Substantially powerful, dry, and balanced with exceptional aroma. Neo-classic Pfälzer Riesling for a steal at 16€.

Cheers,
Bill

David M. Bueker wrote:
Actually, Alsace as a category is nearly dead and buried in the USA (sad to say).

Curious. Do you have any idea why? I guess that the sweetwards drift does not help, particularly with rarely any indications on the label.

I don't think the sweetness is close to the only answer. It's a factor, but there's also sporadic distribution, a very broad product portfolio (producers with 15++ wines), grapes that people do not understand (chiefly Gewurz & Muscat), one they do understand (or think they do) that is totally different from what they know (Pinot Gris, which is so different from mass market Pinot Grigio), not to mention bottles that don't fit in the fridge!

There's more - I was in this same discussion elsewhere, and I do not see a way forward unless more winery personnel emulate Jean Trimbach and get out there with the wines.

David M. Bueker wrote: I do not see a way forward unless more winery personnel emulate Jean Trimbach and get out there with the wines.

Very interesting.

According to my reference books, Trimbach produces some 1 200 000 bottles/year. Hugel produces about the same, Beyer 700 000 and Schlumberger 1 000 000 and some of the Caves Coopératives are much bigger than that; these are all businesses which have the volume to emulate Trimbach's marketing drive but without quality standard bearers close to rivalling CFE or CSH.

Most of the other fine estates produce no more than 100 000 bottles/year. Even Zind-Humbrecht, Weinbach and Deiss are at only around 150 000 bottles/year though the average selling value of those bottles is much higher than at most of the other estates. This may give the financial resources for independent promotional visits to the USA; the two Faller daughters both speak good English and I guess that Olivier Humbrecht does too given his MW and Scottish wife.

It looks as if the other small quality estates need to get together to do joint marketing in order to make an impact on the leading overseas export markets. However it is hard to see this happening given the individualism of most quality vignerons. Maybe they are happy as they are selling GC wines for, in many cases, less than €20/bottle to European customers and, of course, I am happy too ; if their wines became too fashionable in the USA and Asia, they might become as out of reach as GC white Burgundy .

David Lole wrote:Leo Buring Leonay Eden Valley Riesling DWG17 2003

12% A/V and closed with a stelvin screw cap. Brilliant starbright appearance with a lime green/straw hue. Superb mineral-infused bouquet with crystalline lime juice, kaffir leaf with just a dusting of gunflint. The palate equally auspiscious with a rapier-like attack and line housing tightly coiled and explosive lime and mineral flavour that leads to a fascinating departure loaded with bucketloads of crunchy, juicy fruit and mouthwatering acidity. 93 points with a minimum 10 year evolution to peak and perhaps another decade of longevity in store for those with the patience and storage facilities to preserve the treasure trove inside the bottle.

David.

Your note regarding the kaffir leaf is of interest `cos I have thought currant leaves in the past when tasting certain Oz rieslings, and especially with the Grosset I have just opened? Need to google kaffir however!!

Edit...I see lime leaf, interesting......>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_lime

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Kaffir-Lime-Leaves

Bill Hooper wrote:Müller-Catoir Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2009 - Pfalz, Germany 13,0% alc.

Trockener Riesling need more time to open up it seems, and this needed a very long two hours to show its stuff. Finally though, a peachy succulence emerged through the initial tarragon, red pepper, mace, mint and coriander spice. Substantially powerful, dry, and balanced with exceptional aroma. Neo-classic Pfälzer Riesling for a steal at 16€.

Cheers,
Bill

Bill - Thanks for the great note! I'll keep an eye out for this one - most of the 2009s have not hit my area yet.