Suzanne and Kenny hosted a number of us at their place in Brooklyn for a feast of raclette, jamon iberico bellota and an array of other wonderful food. Of course we had a lot of wine. Jeff took more complete notes, hopefully he'll add the list of wines here later - but an incredibly fun event with great friends, food and wines. Thanks Suzanne and Kenny!
The Dönnhoff section:
2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs
Nothing to add to my previous notes on this; this is still outstanding with the same layers of fruit, mineral and other spicy and herbal flavours; depth, focus and balance, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this may develop with some time.
2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese
A really good showing. This is in a great place right now with a core of bright peachy and red fruited flavours framed by stony minerality, floral elements and developing smoky and creamy notes, lifted by an acid spine that keeps it very fresh and vibrant. Thanks Brad.
2004 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
Love this wine. Starting to show some development now; there's still a spectrum of youthful Riesling fruit with bright spicy, floral and minerally accents, but this bottle's also showing some smoky and fusel notes emerging around the primary flavours. The balance is outstanding with moderate sweetness, bright acidity beneath and that typical Dönnhoff sense of lightness and presence.
2005 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese
From magnum. Still incredibly primary, showing a spectrum of bright, sweet orchard fruits with a gentle minerality beneath, but it doesn't have the acidity and focus I normally look for in Brücke Spätlese, coming across a little soft in contrast to the other Dönnhoffs.
Other assorted young-ish Rieslings:
2009 Wwe. Dr. H. Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese
Pleasant though not profound; brightly fruited with ripe peach and apple flavours and gentle floral accents. It's moderately sweet with decent acidity underneath, enjoyable though it's rather one-note right now.
2000 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese Auction #6
Says a lot about the vintage when even Egon Muller's top Spätlese is not all that impressive (relative to Muller's usual standards). There's lots of dense, ripe fruit here ranging from sweet limes to riper peachy and tropical flavours, but also a burnished quality to the flavours and a dried orange peel note suggesting this is aging quickly. It's a little soft and acid deficient without the cut and precision Muller's wines usually have, and one to drink up now if you have em.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese
Doesn't seem too different from any of the really young Prums I've had recently; the fruit's still incredibly primary and fresh and augmented by fresh floral notes, a slatey mineral base and a light sulfury note. There's bright acidity underneath that balances the sweetness well, a long mouthwatering finish but this is still a baby and has a lot of time left.
2009 Müller-Catoir Mußbach Riesling Kabinett
Hey, they still make moderately sweet wines in the Pfalz! Very nice, ripe peaches and grapefruit with gentle mineral and floral accents and a bright acid spine beneath, not overly complex but very refreshing and easy to drink.
2002 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
From magnum. I like this wine a lot, but it's still incredibly young, certainly rather open for a young CFE but all about promise right now and rather tightly wound.
Older Rieslings:
1979 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Kronenberg Riesling Spätlese
A really lovely, mature Spätlese - the fruit's still remarkably vibrant and bright with a sweet and sour tang to the pear and lemon flavours, and there's a powerful minty/herbal topnote to the flavours that makes it feel incredibly refreshing. Lovely balance with just a hint of residual sweetness, a bright acid spine and a sense of real purity and clarity here. My favourite of the older Rieslings.
1983 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese
Another lousy cork, this one fell into the bottle and required decanting. The fruit's still remarkably fresh and bright though, a sweet and sour combination of green apples, limes and lemons with herbal, smoky and creamy accents and a bright acid spine beneath keeping it precise and vibrant. Very nice.
1975 Matthias Görgen Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Auslese
Quite dark in colour, showing a lot of botrytis with dominant dried apricot, honey and faint caramel notes. There's some fresh citrus fruit underneath, but it's showing its age right now.
1983 Bischöfliches Priesterseminar Trier Ayler Kupp Riesling Auslese
Dark in colour and smelling a bit tired, but it's another story on the palate - baked apples, sweet limes and golden raisins with a mature burnished quality to the fruit and gentle honeyed notes; there's still some lift and back end acidity here and it's very pleasant to drink.
Reds and other oddities:
1993 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Very pretty; bright floral and faintly herbal scents leading into a palate full of polished red fruits and damp forestal earth. There's still some fine grained structure here, but it's a lovely wine to drink with the depth and lightness of touch I'd expect from a fine Burg.
2004 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares
Beautiful. Polished, delicate, fragrant, just slightly green but so elegant and pure with layers of red fruits, flowers and earth with a touch of that 04 greenness peeking through.
2000 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes
Not particularly complex right now, still very youthful and primary in its flavours, but the textural finesse and polish here makes it so easy to drink.
2009 Sine Qua Non On The Lam
A white; not yet convinced if this came from grapes or if someone just shot some rubbing alcohol through some sort of jam. Vile, monstrously heavy and alcoholic, and impossible to drink.
Some later pulls:
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese
Like other bottles I've enjoyed this year, this starts out a little green and herbal, but the bright mango and other tropical fruited flavours emerge with a little air and it's a delightful wine to drink. Thanks Suzanne.
2002 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Eiswein
A little hard to enjoy this without remembering a transcendental bottle of the '98 Eiswein, which is one of the greatest wines I've experienced - this is fantastic, but not in the same league (though it's a steep benchmark). A powerhouse of bright tropical fruits and sweet limes drizzled with honey, incredibly pure and intensely sweet, but leaves me wanting a little more precision and acidity to cut through the sweetness.