We had some lovely wines last night as we bid Salil farewell from Connecticut. I took short pours as I had to get home, and did not take formal notes, but all the wines left a notable impression. It was also good to catch up with Marco and John.
1995 Maximin Grunhauser Riesling Kabinett Herrenberg
We did a pop and pour, and initially that was a disservice to the wine, as it still, at 20+ years old, had some notable sponti/sulphury stink. Fast forward an hour or so, and it’s all laser sharp citrus fruit and cutting minerals. Shows as a halbtrocken at most, and could age a lot longer, but might become too austere for some folks.
1975 Maximin Grunhauser Riesling Spatlese Herrenberg
At first this seemed to be on its last legs, a shell of fruit and overriding spice tones that normally speak of “generic old wine.” As with the Kabinett, air improved things, and more fruit emerged to complement the spices. It was certainly a “drink now” wine, but not on its deathbed as originally feared.
1983 Maximin Grunhauser Riesling Auslese Abstberg No. 125
So here we go again with the early dominance of bottle funk. In fact this seemed corked, but with air the mustiness completely blew off and a beautiful peachy, spicy, lemony aromatic emerged with good depth, balanced sweetness and decent, if not impressive length. The more air this bot the better it showed.
1995 Maximin Grunhauser Riesling Eiswein Herrenberg
This followed a J. J. Prum Auslese Goldkapsul (see below), and was actually not as rich or as sweet. What it did have was a fascinating blend of zippy fruit, black tea and spices on a medium weight frame. What it also had was endless length. I still tasted it at the end of the evening. It was a real treat to get to drink this.
There were a number of other outstanding wines, including a shockingly youthful and bright 1983 ZIlliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese Goldkapsul, as well as a 1990 J. J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsul (or was that LGK – I did not get a photo record) that was by far the richest Riesling on the table, and probably needs another 15 years to come close to maturity.
There were reds as well. John brought 2. A constantly evolving 1985 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze that had been double decanted 4 hours earlier still needed an extra hour of air to shed some of its Faiveley structure and develop silken layers of earth, flowers, red fruit and stone stood out as the red wine of the night. It was served alongside a 1975 l’Evangile that was a typically ’75 mix of fading fruit surrounded by still aggressive tannin. I liked the entry and finish on the wine, but the tannins caused a dip in the mid-palate. Marco brought along a real treat, a 1934 Antonio Bernardino Paulo da Silva Collares. It had been reconditioned (re-corked) by the winery, and was still a deep-, dark red with all sorts of leather and floral notes. The high acidity kept it very lively. Marco compared the wine to a Nebbiolo, and with the florality I could see that.
An impressive evening to say the least!
