WTN: A Raft of Rieslings

Riesling notes

Gaston Chiquet Blanc de Blancs à Ay Champagne NV – bit of colour, lots of acidity, some complexity. Decent

2008 Sperling Old Vines Riesling (BC)slight lemon and petrol nose, very lemony and acidic in the mouth, over all quite decent. Gutsy move to bring a BC wine, but it worked out!

2005 Hirsch Heiligenstein Zobing Kamptal Riesling (Austria) – medium colour, a ton of petrol in the nose, lots of acidity, maybe just a tad short on mid-palate fruit.

2005 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese – grapefruit in the nose, slight spritz, some evident R, nice balance, some lime coming in late, full mouth feel. Nose loses grapefruit and picks up more petrol with time. Nice.

2004 Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese – young bright wine with apple nose, a little lively spritz and what seemed more like a Spatlese level of RS.

1993 Zilliken Saarberger Rausch Spatlese – the nose was more lemon than lime, with a hint of spice and honey, medium bodied, clean finish, ready.

1976 Ficht-Bergweiler Erben Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese – amber colour, some petrol but also a notable menthol that turns more to peppermint with time, intense melange of flavours including apricot, good length. This is why I risk keeping these wines so long – when you hit it there is no comparison.

1983 Hohe Domkirch Scharzhofberger Auslese – not much nose at first, then a burnt sugar caramel nose, not as bright or interesting as the 76, with more RS and less acidity.

2001 Pauly Birgweiler Bernkasteler Badstube – damn – didn’t make a note of this QMP wine – probably Auslese. Lighter middle of the road wine with good balance, but not in the right order after the old wines.

2002 Zind Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turkheim – medium colour and very dry after the German wines with good fruit concentration and clean finish, seeming a little austere after the fuller sweeter Germans.

1999 Dr. Dahlem Erben Oppenheimer Sacktrager Eiswein – a very unusual wine! The nose was salty black olive tapenade (I swear!) with a sweet spicy herbal element, not too sweet (probably attained auslese level) and some licorice in the finish. Not everyone liked this but it was at least interesting!

1999 Dr. Dahlem Erben Oppenheimer Sacktrager Eiswein – a very unusual wine! The nose was salty black olive tapenade (I swear!) with a sweet spicy herbal element, not too sweet (probably attained auslese level) and some licorice in the finish. Not everyone liked this but it was at least interesting!

That is interesting. 1999 was one of those warm vintages everyone moaned about before there was a 2003. I would think it was at least Auslese. Those flavors might be the result of abnormally high phenols gone wild and rapid ageing without the benefit of much acidity (of which the vintage had little) or RS (as you point out.) do you recall the alcohol level? I´d be curious to hear other ideas.

cheers,
Bill

btw, how was the color?

[David M. Bueker]

Well on the subject of the Eiswein, it is required by law to be at least beerenauslese level in terms of must weight, so yet it's certainly beyond auslese minimums by a long way.

As for getting odd aromatic/flavor elements in eiswein, it's not that unusual these days, as many producers cover areas of the vineyard with essentially plastic film to keep the birds from their grapes left hanging for eiswein, thus contributing to growth of rot - sometimes noble, sometimes not so noble. THis can then lead to a whole raft of different issues in the finished wines.

As for 1999 acidity - it's low, but in the modern context, not so low. On average (as always, specific wines will vary) 1999 acids are higher than 2003,comparable to 2005 and only slightly lower than 2007. 1997 was actually the first of these "low acid" years, and it's now viewed as having moderate, classical acidity. Heh!

Well on the subject of the Eiswein, it is required by law to be at least beerenauslese level in terms of must weight, so yet it's certainly beyond auslese minimums by a long way.

You are talking must weight while I am talking end product fermented RS - where the wine ends up when it goes into the bottle, and that depends on how much of the sugar was fermented into alcohol.

It seemed to have no more RS than an auslese does, certainly not BA levels. Sorry, I didn't note the alcohol on this one, but given the relatively low sugar, it was probably on the higher side.

Thanks for the info on the 1999 vintage, and the use of plastic sheeting - I hadn't been aware that it affected flavours. It would certainly help explain the unusual flavour profile of this one!

"Petrol"........This might be a good spot to link up this riesling article from Tom Stevenson.

http://www.wine-pages.com/guests/tom/ri ... petrol.htm

Very interesting article, thanks Bob.

I'm not sure, but I think David and I agree that some RS seems to go with the most interesting Rieslings, and while a dry version may last a long time, they just don't have as much going for them in many cases. There are exceptions - I've had excellent Trocken wines, but I'd have to say they are the exceptions rather than the rule.

My sweet spot (pun intended) is probably Kabinett to Spatlese (or old Auslesen) with anything above being in a separate class of dessert wines to be treasured separately.

If there are any chemists out there (Mark?) I'd be interested in knowing if the often preceived loss of sweetness in very old Rieslings is an accurate reflection of sugar content or if it is an artifact of changing acid levels with age. Do they lose sugar or do they just seem a tad more dry with age?

[David M. Bueker]

I'm not sure, but I think David and I agree that some RS seems to go with the most interesting Rieslings, and while a dry version may last a long time, they just don't have as much going for them in many cases. There are exceptions - I've had excellent Trocken wines, but I'd have to say they are the exceptions rather than the rule.

I am finding more and more interesting dry Rieslings. Certainly Trimbach has always set the bar, but there are many fabulous dry German Rieslings these days.

As for the "auslese' sweetness in a finished wine, there is no governance around style, typicity, or RS% in a finished wine (other than the trocken and halbtrocken maximums), so it's not really a meaningful comparison, since one maker's auslese is like another's trockenbeerenauslese (especially in these days of global warming and rampant declassificaiton from pradikat to pradikat).

[Jenise]

Bill, oh the pain of what I missed! Interesting: I had three wines standing up, two plus a backup which was the 04 Prum Himmelreich. Would have been interesting to unknowingly have a second one in the lineup. It's happened at a few tastings I've been to in my life and never once yet has anyone managed to ID the dupe as exactly that.

If there are any chemists out there (Mark?) I'd be interested in knowing if the often preceived loss of sweetness in very old Rieslings is an accurate reflection of sugar content or if it is an artifact of changing acid levels with age. Do they lose sugar or do they just seem a tad more dry with age?

It is true, Bill. The sugar is gradually consumed by chemical reactions with alcohol and the phenolic constituents of wine in much the same way that sulfites are converted to their "bound" form by those same components.

Mark Lipton

It is true, Bill. The sugar is gradually consumed by chemical reactions with alcohol and the phenolic constituents of wine in much the same way that sulfites are converted to their "bound" form by those same components.

Mark Lipton

Thanks Mark.

So (for once) I wasn't deluding myself!

[James Roscoe]

I love this site! Thanks Professor for enlightening the masses!

Great notes Bill, and great conversation. I was just lurking on this one, but I just couldn't contain myself when Mark popped in with such a good answer!
At the $10 spot where I generally hit there seems to be a lot of decent Riesling quaffers coming on the market recently.

I was just lurking on this one, but I just couldn't contain myself when Mark popped in with such a good answer!

Not only that, but he says at least some of his answers are not only credible, but also true!!

[James Roscoe]

I was just lurking on this one, but I just couldn't contain myself when Mark popped in with such a good answer!

Not only that, but he says at least some of his answers are not only credible, but also true!!

No kidding!

Finally got my notes together...

• N.V. Gaston Chiquet Champagne Blanc de Blancs d'Aÿ - France, Champagne
  Tasted blind - light straw in colour. Yeasty nose with hints of citrus and apple. Mainly citrus flavours with toasty notes and a little bit sweetness. Nice acidity, fine mousse with some pleasant tartness on the palate. Medium length finish with a medium body. Drinking well now but this should be even better in a few years. Excellent. 90+ (90 pts.)
  
  
• 2008 Sperling Vineyards Riesling Old Vines - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Valley VQA
  Tasted blind - light straw in yellow. Nose of citrus and pear with hints of petrol and latex. On the palate flavours of lime, lemon and pear. Very tart. Off-dry with medium to high acidity, medium body and medium length finish giving more lime notes. Drink now but no rush. Very good. (89 pts.)
  
  
• 2005 Weingut Hirsch Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal
  Tasted blind - medium yellow in colour. Nose of petrol with nectarine and hints of tropical fruits. A ton of lemon and lime on the palate. Dry. Medium acid and body. Just a slight sensation of spritz on the finish which could be a little longer. Drinking well now but will be better in a few years. Very good. 89+ (89 pts.)
  
  
• 2005 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Medium yellow in colour. Sweeter smelling nose of dried tropical fruits, botrytis and hints of citrus. Similar on the palate but the citrus seems to be mostly lime. This is full in the mouth with a ton of acid with a healthy dose of residual sugar. Long finish. Really enjoyable now but this has more to give. Excellent. 92+ (92 pts.)
  
  
• 2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Tasted blind - a few bubbles in the glass. Lighter straw colour with a greenish hue throughout. Notes of lemon and lime dominate both the nose and palate. Some sweetness kicks in the lengthy finish. Lighter in body and fruit than the previous wine. Has a bit of spritz on the palate. Another one that's drinking well but should improve with time. Excellent. 91+ (91 pts.)
  
  
• 1993 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Medium yellow in colour. On the nose there's a saltiness/saline note coming through with some petrol and slate as well with a hint of citrus fruit. Nose seems a little compared to previous bottles. Great tartness on the palate with fresh herbs and some citrus on the palate. Way more youthful then previous bottles. Based on this bottle this wine will go a long time further. Excellent. 91+ (91 pts.)
  
  
• 1976 P. Licht-Bergweiler Erben Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Tasted blind - medium copper in colour. Notes of charred apricot, dried papaya, menthol and a good amount of oxidized notes too. Flavours come across slightly fortified. Beautiful old Riesling. Lots of acidity and very well balanced. Ready to go. Excellent. (92 pts.)
  
  
• 1983 Hohe Domkirche Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Tasted blind - medium copper in colour. Pretty muted on the hose giving hints of burnt sugar and dried apricots. More alive on the palate with more sweetness than the '76 before it but not at the same level in terms of quality and complexity. Could use more acidity. Still very enjoyable. Drink now. Very good. (88 pts.)
  
  
• 2001 Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Tasted blind - medium yellow. On the nose slight hints of petrol but mainly citrus fruits. More lemon and lime on the palate with a nice and refreshing tartness. Medium body with a healthy dose of acid and good length. Off-dry. Excellent. (90 pts.)
  
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  Tasted blind - medium yellow in colour, slightly deeper than the previous wine. At this point in the evening note taking took a backseat to the conversations going on at the table so my notes are pretty basic. Mainly petrol nose with some lighter fruit notes. Very dry and tart. Slightly bitter finish. Seems slighty austere after following all the German wines. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  
  
• 1999 Dr. Dahlem Erben Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Eiswein - Germany, Rheinhessen
  Tasted blind - Deep copper in colour. Pronounced nose of salty black olives, spice, herbs and honey. On the palate sweet and burnt apricots. Liquorice on the finish. Seemed to be much more advanced than I would expect from an 11 year old Eiswein. Interesting. No rating.