Wine Focus - Wine 203: Summer of Riesling 2021

[Jenise]

. I certainly see a stylistic difference, as this is one of the most fruit-forward GGs that I have tasted.[/list]

Must have been. Since Donnhoff is the imprint GG in my head, I went "HUH?" at just about your first word, "peachy."

I have some dry Aussie reislings, including my first Pewsey Vale 1961, I look forward to opening when I'm off the meds.

[David M. Bueker]

Discussions elsewhere have highlighted the power in the Keller GGs. Not really what I am looking for in Riesling.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2012 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (6/12/2021)
  Two+ years since my last bottle, and this is now in the zone. Still very bright and fresh, it also has an underlying touch of creaminess. The fruit is yellow and green, and the minerality turns electric on the finish. Lots of stuffing left, so drink now, and over the next 20+ years.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2019 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (6/14/2021)
  Shockingly explosive on the palate, this has Spätlese intensity, even if contained in a Kabinett frame. The bones of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr are apparent in the wine, supplemented with a fresh, zesty top note of a juicy clementine orange. The intensity of flavor reverberates through the mid-palate and finish, making it a rave experience in a green Mosel flute. Ian Anderson as Riesling, madly jumping around the stage, eyes bulging and flaring, hair flying as he alternates between impossible rhymes and staccato instrumental runs. Skating away on the thin ice of a new daaaaaaayyyy.

2018 Lothian Vineyard Limited Release Riesling, Elgin S Africa

SC, $26 Cda, 12.5% alc, Kogelberg area of Elgin, purchased for the Focus.

Very light straw color, inviting aromatics with floral, lime, apple, pear. No diesel.."from a cool climate" quote website.
Dry style for sure, not as acidic as the infamous Oz Pewsey Vale!. Acidity seems to build as it opens..green apple, melon. Solid limestone foundation, overall thought finish a big plus espec on day 2.
Food was chicken cordon bleu.
.

[David M. Bueker]

Good one Bob.

I do not think I have ever had a South African Riesling.

Alsace Riesling is apt to surprise by unsuspected sweetness but this one was the opposite. The producer was not to blame for the surprise because there is a little sketch on the back label showing this wine at the extreme dry end of the scale but I only noticed it when I got well into the bottle.

2018 Domaine Barmès-Buecher Riesling Clos Sand - France, Alsace (20/06/2021)
This is the driest Riesling I have had since one from Grosset in S.Australia. So bone dry that at first it seemed dumb and acidic but air and a little warming let it open up and reveal a crisply focussed wine with citrus dominated fruit, bright minerality, underlying roundness and saline backbone. It was still a bit simplistic but may reveal more Riesling type complexity along with touches of hydrocarbon a bit down the road. It was not far away from last Friday's Muscadet and would probably have been a better match for oysters than the lobster we served. Good though.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

I'll have to look for that bottling.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Riesling Erster Zweieiiger Zwilling - USA, California, North Coast, Cole Ranch (6/23/2021)
  The back label says “complete dryness”, and while I am totally willing to believe Morgan and Chris, the palate richness, and sappy fruit feels like there’s some sweetness. Maybe it’s the alcohol providing a sense of sweetness. All that said it’s a delicious wine that has a level of palate depth that belies the myth that dry Riesling doesn’t work in California. I do not think I would place this wine in the USA if it was served it blind, but I would definitely flag it as Riesling. The acidity is always present, there’s ample fruit in the Rhine peach, tropical direction, and the finish shows off some earthy and chaparral tones, with a little hint of creaminess popping in at the end. Impressive stuff, especially for dry Riesling, where there is little margin for error.

Not sure if this belongs here, but here are some vague impressions on Rieslings I tried in the Okanagan recently. Orofino still had the two 2018 base rieslings for sale, and they are still both excellent wines and excellent values: one drier (Clone 239), one off dry (Clone 21B). The new 2019 Old Vines (only 70 cases made) was very good, with a little more concentration and richer texture, at the edge of the dry style. Again, great wine, great value.

Synchromesh has three of the 2020 single vineyard rieslings out, and they were all wonderful rieslings as usual. Hard to choose between them - Long's View, Stormhaven and Thorny Vines. The Stormhaven was drinking the best at the winery, but all were good, and all displayed the amazing high wire act that Synchromesh rieslings have: an ability to have extremely high acidities, extremely low alcohol levels (some in the 7.8% range) but still have good fruit and a refreshing nature. Again, at the global level, these are great value wines and just fun to drink. Not the highest complexity, but the intensity of the wines are extremely impressive. The reds don't move me so much, but I am a big fan of these rieslings. The 2020 Stormhaven Blue Label rieslings - their reserve wines, if you will - won't be out until November.

The above are my two favorite riesling producers in BC. Kitsch has two rieslings that are very good wines. Esther's Block was destroyed by frost, so the 2018 vintage is the last one. Maria's Block is still being made, and the 2019 is available. La Frenz also has two nice rieslings from the new 2019 vintage, one on the dry side (Clone 21B), one off dry (Clone 49).

Thanks John..my upcoming visits should be interesting.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2019 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Riesling Schiefergestein trocken - Germany, Nahe (7/2/2021)
  High hopes when I opened this last night. First sip was like sucking on an underripe lemon. No issue with the acidity, but the tartness was downright unpleasant. Two hours later it was a bit less aggressive, but still lacking in pleasure. So I corked it up, and tossed it back in the fridge overnight. Night two it had shed some of the tartness, but the finish was very watery. It never turned into anything that was enjoyable to drink. Unfortunate.