Educational opportunities abound as Solano Cellars continues their classes on riesling—this episode on wines from the Rheingau. First up was the very popular 2006 Solter Sekt Brut which was firm, peachy, and even. At first I found it excessively fruity, but to be honest, it was pretty nice. But delicious for a glass in a cocktail setting—whereas I prefer sparklers with a bit more acid. Very interesting contrast to other vintages of Solter I've sampled in the past. In any case, it had quite a few fans amongst my fellow students. Though it was technically a riesling class, our host was very ambitious and threw two German pinot noirs into the lineup—alas, I think most did not care for the experience. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed the 2007 Prinz Spätburgunder Trocken which was soft and elegant on the nose and had fantastic recessed fruit and food-friendly acidity. It was actually precisely the type of more rustic pinot noir I enjoy (and priced accordingly). The 2007 Robert König Assmannshäuser Höllenberg Spätburgunder QbA Trocken, however, was smelling of pool and chemical cleaner and tasted only of anonymous fruit—certainly not my thing here—wasn't a fan the last time I tasted it a year ago either.
Onto the riesling! Lots of focus on dry rieslings, being a significant part of the Rheingau's production. I appreciated the focus as I encounter German trockens more rarely than I'd wish. The 2008 Gerhard Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken was limey, fresh, and fun, but it's easygoingness went a bit too far for me—it felt unfocused. Then came a whole lot of Kühn—a producer I'm not so familiar with, but found lots to appreciate about with real wines of interest for my taste. The 2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Riesling Trocken was peppery, fresh, and juicy—simple but thorough. Though I did agree with my neighbors that it had a pretty weird nose—not a dealbreaker for me as it was for others. The 2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Riesling Quarzit was likely my wine of the class—beautifully recessed, low-strung, refreshing—which contrasts greatly with the sugary nose. Lots to contemplate about this wine. Not forwardly delicious—but a wine I love to keep returning to. Actually the 2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Riesling Landgeflecht was undoubtedly my wine of the night—and one of the few favorites that I and my neighbors shared. A firm, spicy, fantastic nose paired with fresh and pure elegance. It was pretty insane. The nose on the 2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Oestricher Doosberg Riesling Trocken sparked tons of chatter about the room—reminded me a bit of saffron. But despite being open and expressive on the nose, the taste was very tight and very ungiving. Seemed like a wine to experience again after some aging—though I have no idea how it would taste then. The 2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Mittelheimer St. Nikolaus Riesling Trocken raised concerns of brett for a few. This indeed was a wine with a bit of crunchy funk. More weird in an interesting way than particularly giving of pleasure.
Then came a neat aged contribution from when Germany was still divided—the 1988 Schloss Schönborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese had lots of fans. I enjoyed its firm aged grip and pleasant peach and chrome, but didn't experience the catching complexity that a few folks were chatting up. The 2007 Fürst von Metternich Schloss Johannisberger Riesling Kabinett was a real oddball—smelled something like pumpkin marshmallows, and though it was pretty clean, it just didn't come together in an interesting way for me. Finally, the 2007 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spätlese was another very popular wine, and even though the expressive fruit and sugar were fun, it lacked any interest for me beyond its bright and chipper exterior. Very interesting selection of wines and very interesting crowd—lots of different opinions around the room.