Had David Bueker over for dinner yesterday. As usual we ate and drank well - the menu consisted of garlic bread, chilled balsamic-glazed chickpeas, black truffle and green pea risotto and wiener schnitzel, and was accompanied by plenty of Riesling.
2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Trocken "Schmitt"
Very pale and aromatic, showing fresh herb-tinged pear and apple fruit over a minerally base. It comes across a little austere and light in the mouth though, certainly pleasant but I wonder how far even a little bit of residual sugar would go here in rounding this out.
2005 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel
Starts out a little closed and four-square at first, but with some patience it unravels and gains in depth while becoming more streamlined and finessed. This is layered with ripe yellow fruits, herbal, smoky and mineral elements, and honeyed and spicy notes suggesting at a little botrytis. Power conveyed with precision and fantastic length - superb.
2009 Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Vieille Serine Domaine de Pergaud
Second release - this is the unsulfured version. Starts out a little closed; dominated by dense Syrah fruit and some reductive flavours, but over a couple of hours the reduction clears up and the fruit takes a back step as pretty floral and peppery elements emerge. There's a sense of real polish and gloss in the mouth, with the tannins fairly civilized and bright acids keeping it very fresh and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of my bottles age.
1999 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese
A remarkably different showing than I experienced a couple of years ago, where it was dominated by a lot of botrytis and honey. This bottle (AP#14 again) is all about clarity and freshness; a spectrum of orchard fruits and flowers in fall conveyed with amazing purity and a lightness of touch that makes it incredibly easy and refreshing to drink. Outstanding Riesling.
