Typically, I try to attend any retail tastings of German wines in my area, so I stopped into Marty's in Newton for their German Riesling tasting this past Saturday. Although I am was already familiar with each of these producers, this was a good opportunity to try some recent vintages of wines that I have enjoyed in the past.
von Othegraven's wines continue to impress me, and I am hoping that I'll eventually be seeing more of them around than what has been a very limited selection to choose from. Although Altenberg is an excellent site (Jean Fisch and David Rayer of Mosel Fine Wines named it one of the nine best vineyards in the entire Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region), I'm curious to compare the Altenbergs with von Othegraven's bottlings from other sites.
2009 Spreitzer Riesling QbA Rheingau “101”
Light to medium-bodied, barely off-dry, balanced, with moderate acidity; shows notes of bread, limes, petrol, and minerals. Good.
2010 Kruger-Rumpf Münsterer Rheinberg Riesling Kabinett
Medium-bodied, lightly crisp, off-dry, well balanced, with good underlying acidity. Shows notes of citrus fruits, minerals, red berries, and mixed flowers. Very good/excellent; this seems like a particularly strong vintage for this wine, which I always enjoy anyway.
2010 Leitz Rüdesheimer Klosterlay Riesling Kabinett
Pretty closed on the nose. Medium-bodied, off-dry, well balanced, with good acidity. Moderately mineral, with orange, apricot, and floral notes. This wine is almost always a good value, and I like that this is a little less ripe than the 09 version.
2010 von Othegraven Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Kabinett Erste Lage
Moderately full-bodied, lightly round, off-dry, well balanced, with good underlying acidity. Very mineral, with red berry, peach, and citrus notes. An excellent Kabinett.
2009 Alfred Merkelbach (Geschwister Albertz-Erben) Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese #20
Some light petrol on the nose already. Medium-bodied, off-dry, rather compact and more understated for an 09 Spätlese; well balanced, with moderate acidity. Slaty, lightly spicy, with apple, pear, and peach notes. Very good.
2010 St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese Erste Lage
Full-bodied, moderately sweet, still rather tightly wound, well balanced, with good underlying acidity. Currently showing notes of blackcurrants, oranges, and minerals. Very promising – should be excellent with some age.