WTN: Gobelsburger Riesling 2006

Someone out there please tell me there is more to Riesling than this.

There is.
Charles

Bob,
There are certainly better Rieslings in the world, but Gobelsburgers entry level is no slouch for the price. Here is my tasting note on it.

Schloss Gobelsburg 'Gobelsburger' Riesling 2006
Plenty of lime and Lemon fruit, mint leaf, peach skin, sage, salty, crushed mineral. It has some heft, but isn't flabby, more coiled and springy with more texture and tone than the price indicates. Seabiscuit!!! 12,5% Alc. $18

I'm curious about your impression of the wine. Why were you so disappointed? For $18, what do you want?

All the Best,
Bill

[David M. Bueker]

Indeed - what's the problem?

I guess at $15 I got a good deal from Whole Foods. I admit to a rather hasty reaction, and my post was intended of course to provoke a bit of conversation about a wine I know little about. And sometimes one's mood and a particular wine are just not suited to each other. I did find the nose suggestive, subltly complex and quite lovely. My problem was with the wine's sweetness (the standard rap on Riesling I guess) which I found unbalanced by enough acidity or tart notes. Perhaps my palate is not subtle enough to pick up on the virtues of this wine, but I found it lacking in guts - the term "lite" came to mind. It didn't give me enough to hold onto and engage me. Just to show you where my tastes lie, while I am generally a red wine drinker, I have yet to meet a Gruner Veltliner I didn't like. Not the same thing I know, but still...Anyway, I'm here to learn. Teach me.

[David M. Bueker]

Well now we have somewhere to start.

Interesting comment on "sweetness" since Austria is the bastion of dry Riesling, and when they say dry they mean dry. 2006 is likely the fruitiest vintage in recent memory, so I would submit that you're mostly tasting boisterous fruit and not actual residual sugar.

As for 'lite' that is exactly what the wine is meant to be, so if you're looking for guts then look to Austria's larger scaled wines (e.g. Gobelsburg's much heartier 2006 Heiligenstein Riesling which has enough guts for 6 men).

Oh, and $15 is not a deal. The wine retails for $12 near me.

David, great info from you as always! The `04 Urgestein Riesling from Gobelsburger has shown up here. Any thoughts?

Bill, you are always on the ball...tried this one?

[David M. Bueker]

I have not had that bottling Bob.

Thanks David,
I figured I'd get your attention. There is a half bottle left over of the Gobelsburger which I will put my attention to tonight and try to be a little more concise about. Have you tasted much USA Riesling?

[David M. Bueker]

Have you tasted much USA Riesling?

Yes.

On bended knee I must ask forgiveness from all of you for my hasty and ill considered comments about this wine. As Gilda Radner in her role as Emily Latilla would have said, "never mind." Tonight this is a different wine. But of course it's me that is different, not the wine. Perhaps I had an expectation, and when it was not met, I was unable to see what was actually there in its stead. In any case, tonight it delights me with a flowery nose, suble peachy apricot nectars and citrus, plus beautiful acidity and minerals. "Boisterous fruit"? Yes! (nice turn of phrase David). That cloying sweetness I got last night? Gone. Once again, a bottle of wine has been an education.

David, great info from you as always! The `04 Urgestein Riesling from Gobelsburger has shown up here. Any thoughts?

Bill, you are always on the ball...tried this one?

I haven't tried the '04 Bob, but the '06 is very good. It's all Gaisberg and Heiligenstein fruit but from newer (higher-elevation?) plots. -I'll dig up a half bottle and post a TN soon. I'd certainly buy a couple if I was you!

[David M. Bueker]

I'm glad you enjoyed it Bob.