2002 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe (12/17/2017)
We had a fascinating experience with this wine. Upon opening, and on its own the wine was very, very good. Still showing cherry and peach fruit, along with some honeyed and saline notes. It was exactly what I expected it to be. We took the bottle along to a dinner that we started with a pu-erh tea ceremony. After numerous cups of tea we moved on to the wine, and while having more tea we also had the wine. When we would have a sip of tea, and then a sip of wine the Kirschheck blossomed into something incalculably greater than it was on its own. The fruit brightened and deepened, and the finish was positively explosive. It was a completely unexpected result, and one that stunned all four of us, and the restaurant owner who was handling the tea. What a positively shocking experience that went beyond anything we could have hoped for.