WTN: Two Inexpensive 2004 German Rieslings

2004 Loosen Bros. Dr. L, Riesling QbA (Mosel)
$11. 8.5% abv. Imp: Classic. Screwcap.
Nice off-dry quaffer. There is more heft to this wine since last having it 7 or 8 months ago. The fruit is all bright and the acidity is still very well balanced.

2004 Karl Joh. Molitor Hattenheimer Heiligenberg Riesling Kabinett (Rheingau)
#016 05 $11. Imp: Classic. Cork.
Flavorful enough but lacking in acidity. Disappointing.
Three days (in the fridge) later, the acidity is more noticeable and it's somewhat refreshing.

I think Bill and I have been fans of Dr L for quite a while!! We have it on the winelist at the Grill and it sells well. Many come in and want Piesporter, so a good selling job is in order by the waiting staff. Seems to pay off.

I have a tasting note on the `04 somewhere, will look up.

WTN: `04 Dr L Riesling.

Staff training exercise on the new winelist (last winter). I have to admit I was surprised at some of the comments from the staff, who certainly know their wines! "My mum would mix this with 5 Alive"....." is it possible to blend this with some chardonnay"..."I like it but most of last night tables only wanted Piesporter". Lots of giggles from the female servers who are in the majority at the Grill (that can soon be changed).

Colour. Light straw, thin legs. Looks appealing, no green with this vintage.

Nose. Floral, peach, apple. Nuances burst out of the glass, good riesling character to me.

Palate. Light bodied but builds in mid-palate after a while (I had put a glass aside to retaste).One taster thought"it was a tad flabby" but maybe too warm? I found puckery granny smith apple and greengage. Good acidity and nice entry level wine. The finish lingered on, gonna have to retaste soon. maybe the `05 vintage.

*** I also tasted this wine on my recent bird survey trip down to the Alberta/Montana border and really enjoyed it on a hot early summer evening. No notes that time around.

Funny thing, looking at the posts here. Lots of fors and against, just like at the staff session. They did not mention del Monte, but 5 Alive got a plug!!

[David M. Bueker]

Bob,

If people are looking for Piesporter, then you could try a wine like Hoffmann-Simon's Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett which is only marginally more expensive (around $1) than the Dr. L.

Thanks David, as usual all your comments are valid. BTW I think you asked where in Alberta I live? Edmonton which is sort of central, on the edge of the boreal forest and south of the oilsands.
Yippee....found the `05 vintage today. Think we might be looking at Dr L Riesling again pretty soon! Stay tuned forumites.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks David, as usual all your comments are valid. BTW I think you asked where in Alberta I live? Edmonton which is sort of central, on the edge of the boreal forest and south of the oilsands.
Yippee....found the `05 vintage today. Think we might be looking at Dr L Riesling again pretty soon! Stay tuned forumites.

Rats. I was hoping you were a Calgary guy. We fly in and out of Calgary just about every year. Oh well, maybe someday.

2004 Loosen Bros. Dr. L, Riesling QbA (Mosel)
$11. 8.5% abv. Imp: Classic. Screwcap.
Nice off-dry quaffer. There is more heft to this wine since last having it 7 or 8 months ago. The fruit is all bright and the acidity is still very well balanced.

Out of interest, is there more than one version of this around? The '04 Dr. L I tried recently was listed as 10.0% abv.

[David M. Bueker]

2004 Loosen Bros. Dr. L, Riesling QbA (Mosel)
$11. 8.5% abv. Imp: Classic. Screwcap.
Nice off-dry quaffer. There is more heft to this wine since last having it 7 or 8 months ago. The fruit is all bright and the acidity is still very well balanced.

Out of interest, is there more than one version of this around? The '04 Dr. L I tried recently was listed as 10.0% abv.

Multiple bottlings. Similar to what happens with the other larger products (e.g. Dragonstone, Kesseler 'R').

2004 Loosen Bros. Dr. L, Riesling QbA (Mosel)
$11. 8.5% abv. Imp: Classic. Screwcap.
Nice off-dry quaffer. There is more heft to this wine since last having it 7 or 8 months ago. The fruit is all bright and the acidity is still very well balanced.

Out of interest, is there more than one version of this around? The '04 Dr. L I tried recently was listed as 10.0% abv.

Multiple bottlings. Similar to what happens with the other larger products (e.g. Dragonstone, Kesseler 'R').

Thanks for that clarification. I'll have to make sure I note down the AP number when I taste them in future.

The `05 vintage!! I just turned off the Damnation of Faust so I could give my full attention to the `05 Dr L Riesling. Of course I will be posting some notes on Wine of the Month over on Netscape...get on with it Doris!!

Some spritz, tiny bubbles on the glass and definately pear. This would appear to be pretty light stuff this time around but we will see with my Teriyaki Chicken.

Thats it for now. Del Monte rules.

The `05 vintage!! I just turned off the Damnation of Faust so I could give my full attention to the `05 Dr L Riesling. Of course I will be posting some notes on Wine of the Month over on Netscape...get on with it Doris!!

Some spritz, tiny bubbles on the glass and definately pear. This would appear to be pretty light stuff this time around but we will see with my Teriyaki Chicken.

Thats it for now. Del Monte rules.

Bob,

Looks like we're on the same page regarding the 2005 Dr. L

BP

Thats it for now. Del Monte rules.

I picked up a bottle of the '05 Dr. L yesterday. I plan to drink it on July 4th. Perhaps I will do a 'pear' themed cook-out; grilled pear, with pear kabobs, and a pear tart covered in pear sauce for dessert. I'm going to be very disappointed if I taste anything in that wine other than pear, and pear by-products.

Thats it for now. Del Monte rules.

I picked up a bottle of the '05 Dr. L yesterday. I plan to drink it on July 4th. Perhaps I will do a 'pear' themed cook-out; grilled pear, with pear kabobs, and a pear tart covered in pear sauce for dessert. I'm going to be very disappointed if I taste anything in that wine other than pear, and pear by-products.

Sam,
That sounds like a great "pearing" for the 05 Dr. L.

LOL. I also found some...........peach! Reminds me, how about a Pear Melba with a nice strawberry sauce. That will go nice with the wine.
I do not know what the newbies over on Netscape would make of this, we are supposed to be enlightening and encouraging them!!!!! Guess I will have to trim down my comments when I post. I am really keen to get impressions from you lot.

[David M. Bueker]

LOL. I also found some...........peach! Reminds me, how about a Pear Melba with a nice strawberry sauce. That will go nice with the wine.
I do not know what the newbies over on Netscape would make of this, we are supposed to be enlightening and encouraging them!!!!! Guess I will have to trim down my comments when I post. I am really keen to get impressions from you lot.

Well I will say that it would be a valuable service if you could also enlighten people on how sometimes a big name makes poor wine; like this time.

[Robin Garr]

Well I will say that it would be a valuable service if you could also enlighten people on how sometimes a big name makes poor wine; like this time.

I agree with that ... Call it WT101 or Wine Focus or WOTM or all three, part of wine education is learning that it's OK to find fault with a wine, and to learn a proper vocabulary for expressing criticism as well as praise.

Another useful lesson here, frankly, is that wine geeks can fairly differ over some aspects of a wine while generally concurring over others (generally agreed-on flaws like massive TCA) and debating others (more controversial flaws like brett or spoofulated/Parkerized style).

LOL. I also found some...........peach! Reminds me, how about a Pear Melba with a nice strawberry sauce. That will go nice with the wine.
I do not know what the newbies over on Netscape would make of this, we are supposed to be enlightening and encouraging them!!!!! Guess I will have to trim down my comments when I post. I am really keen to get impressions from you lot.

Well I will say that it would be a valuable service if you could also enlighten people on how sometimes a big name makes poor wine; like this time.

Don`t know any big names up here!!!!! Interesting point David how a winemaker can screw up! Reminds me of a while back when a Guigal Cote du Rhone (vintage??) was one of the worst reds I have ever tasted from him. Used to be so consistent eh.

[David M. Bueker]

Don`t know any big names up here!!!!! Interesting point David how a winemaker can screw up! Reminds me of a while back when a Guigal Cote du Rhone (vintage??) was one of the worst reds I have ever tasted from him. Used to be so consistent eh.

That is one of the perils of the "name" wines. Something like the Dr. L or the Guigal CdR has to come out in a certain volume every year. What then happens is that is poor years there is a big batch of less than good wine. There's not always enough good grapes to go around.

I was checking out a restaurant wine list on-line last night and I noticed that they had the 2004 Dr. L available. Get this, $40 per bottle!!! If it's expensive it must be really good... right? I don't think you're going to be paying $40 for a can of any Del Monte pear juice in those restaurants! I do believe that I'm going to hold on to my remaining '04 Dr. L so that I can make a big fat profit when the market soars. Don't any of you haters (*cough*David*cough*) be calling me for a good price on my '04 Dr. L either!!!

PS: I posted my '05 Dr. L tasting note in the thread about the wine of the month. I don't know what the policy is regarding cross-posting to another thread.