the "nose" of the 05 Riesling

I drink very little Riesling. I did purchase a number of the 05's and decided to sample a couple. Bothwines had a strong "nose" of kerosene. Is this typical?

It is "typical" in the sense that it's not a surprise and is known to occur with riesling.

It is not "typical" in the sense that many people consider it a rare and undesirable trait.

What 05 rieslings did you purchase?

From my abbreviated notes on what I consume- 05 Willi Schaefer Gr. D. Auslese & a 05 J.J. Christ. Erben Erdener Trepp. Kab. The nose on the J.J. was so strong of kerosene that I couldn't even get it to my lips.

I don't mind some Bret in Burgundies or some essence of horse barn in some Red Rhones but this strong lamp oil smell is just too much.

From my abbreviated notes on what I consume- 05 Willi Schaefer Gr. D. Auslese & a 05 J.J. Christ. Erben Erdener Trepp. Kab. The nose on the J.J. was so strong of kerosene that I couldn't even get it to my lips.
I don't mind some Bret in Burgundies or some essence of horse barn in some Red Rhones but this strong lamp oil smell is just too much.

Geo,
It's not too uncommon to find the smell of kerosene (or...gout de petrol as they say in Alsace). Many connoisseurs of Riesling (mostly Germany/Alsace...
but also in Calif/NZ/Oz as well) have come to regard this character as a big positive. It is a learned response.
Why does the smell of a rose elicit a pleasurable response?? Because, for many of us, we observed our Mom (or someone) take a big
smell of a rose and we noted the pleasurable response on her face. If you had been given, as a child, a rose to smell and then were given a whippin'
by her w/ that same rose branch...your reaction to a rose aroma would be a whole lot different.
For many of us, we've observed a Riesling fan whiff such a wine, utter "gout de petrol" w/ a pleasurable demeanor on her face, we learned to regard
this aroma positively. However, if upon smelling a "gout de petrol" Riesling and it brought back bad memories of sucking on a hose to steal gasoline
out of a tank...and you swallowed some & had to have your stomach pumped, then got arrested by Officer Murphey..."gout de petrol" is a smell in
Riesling you will only come to appreciate after many yrs of intense psychotherapy. Not worth it, I'd say. Your Dad did admonish you not to steal
gasoline..didn't he??
Tom

Possibly of interest to the original poster:

http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/documen ... y_2011.pdf

The whole “petrol” matter stirs some controversy. Some growers accept the adjective sanguinely, but others detest it. All I can say is I wish I knew where some guys go to tank up, ‘cause I’ve never smelled refined oil products that smelled like Riesling.

But, I know what y’all mean by it, and I want to correct a misconception. That “petrol” flavor is not a signal of maturity, but rather of adolescence. It will vanish when the wine is truly mature. By which time we’ll all be driving electrical cars anyway.

The author Tom Stevenson of whose scholarship I stand in near-awe, summed up the petrol thing neatly. “The so-called petrol aroma is a well-known varietal characteristic of a classic... Riesling wine of some maturity. The active chemical compound has been identified as trimethyldihydronaphthalene, or TDN for short. TDN develops during the bottle aging process through the degradation of beta-carotine, an antioxidant that is itself derived from lutein, another antioxidant. The ratio of beta carotine to lutein is higher in Riesling than in any other white grape variety. Studies show that the lower the pH of a wine, the higher its potential for developing TDN. The longer it takes for the petrol aromas to emerge, the more finesse they have. Interestingly, cork absorbs 40 percent of TDN, thus screwcaps preserve more petrol aromas.”

In next month’s edition, Tom will demonstrate how you can use this information to get all the girls you want, so don’t miss that issue!

If nothing else reading Terry is a good time!