2005 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett (Saar) $16 Not very aromatic but good apple/pear/mineral flavor. Very lean but not quite enough acidity
2005 Jostock-Thul & Sohns Piesporter Treppchen Kabinett (Mosel) $10. Again, little aromatics. Big flavor with some red fruit but mostly a pear-like quality in taste and acidity. Again, a bit soft on the acidity and fairly tart. I’m not enamoured.
2005 Weingut Gebrüder Steffes Kaseler Nies’chen Spatlese (Ruwer) $12. AP# 11 06. Beautifully balanced slate and minerals. Great value. This is a keeper.
2005 Johannes Eser Johannisberg “G” Kabinett (Rheingau) $18 AP# 10 06. G = Goldatzel Vineyard. Yum. Very expressive nose, all kinds of fruit flavor, excellent acidity and balance. This is pretty large for a kabinett but it’s extremely tasty.
2005 Karl Joh. Molitor Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Spatlese (Rheingau) $17. Eh. Good balance but very simple.
And then to completely mess up my palate....
2004 Juan Gil Monastrell (Jumilla) $18. Termites delight. My gawd this is horrid
2004 Marques Phillips Shiraz (South Australia) $16 Smoky nose with chocolate and dark fruit. Pretty hot finish
2004 Seghesio Zinfandel-Sonoma (Healdsburg) A small portion is being released under Stelvin as a trial. Pretty consistently decent zin. Nice fruit, good depth of flavor, a bit hot but it will go well with grilled meats.