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[David M. Bueker]

So a few things...

The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr and Zeltinger Schlossberg are both Einzellagen (single vineyards), not Grosslagen (collected sites under a single name).

The Sonnenuhr is more sun-drenched these days, and so things get riper, and in the end often sweeter than wines from the Schlossberg, which is also a bit higher on the hill, thus getting less reflected heat from the Mosel River than the Sonnenuhr.

A few years in bottle might blunt the sweetness a bit, if you have that amount of patience.

I admit that I am shocked that the Sonnenuhr was cheaper, as it is nearly always more expensive by a few dollars.

...it seemed well-matched only to vanilla ice cream...

That's impressive. I've never found wine to be a good match with ice cream, regardless of the sweetness of the wine. Something about the temperature clash deadens the palate.

[Jenise]

David's post was actually about the 2014, not the 2019.

[David M. Bueker]

David's post was actually about the 2014, not the 2019.

Richard knew that. He was only able to find the 2019.

[Jenise]

And I knew that. But in case he'd forgotten, I was reminding him.

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[David M. Bueker]

Yes, there are two sundials. Wehlen and Zeltingen each have one.

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I sympathise with what Richard is saying. Kabinett used to be my favourite style of Prädikat wine until too many downgraded Auslesen masqueraded under that label. Mosel Fine Wines has written about producers still trying to make Kabinett and Spätlese in the old lighter and fresher style; apparently the wines are much sought after and consequently expensive. This is now a bit academic for me given the sparse availability of German wines in this part of France.

[David M. Bueker]

This is of course why I source my Selbach-Oster Kabinett from the Schlossberg or the Zeltinger Himmelreich. The Himmelreich especially, with the Kabinett Halbtrocken bottling, gives a nod to the older style.

Thank you, Tim and Dave. I assume halbtrocken means half-dry. The Himmelreich does sound promising. Richard L

[David M. Bueker]

Thank you, Tim and Dave. I assume halbtrocken means half-dry. The Himmelreich does sound promising. Richard L

Yup - half dry. It's a stupid term (a German winemaker told me that when I was tasting with him), but it sort of conveys the point.

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[David M. Bueker]

Trocken still has the same 0-9 g/l of residual sugar limits that it has had since the 1971 wine law went into effect.

On the third night the wine unfortunately seemed sweeter again. It did not even go well with Tres Leches cake, but again it went well with vanilla ice cream. Fortunately my wife likes it, though she found it "rather sweet". I wonder if we should try a Trocken wine, as we developed a liking for them with the food served on a Rhine cruise on the Deutschland years ago, and they may well be g/la bit less dry now. Richard L

Most trocken is not bone dry. The following is Wikpedia's definition.

"The maximum amount of sugar allowed for a trocken designation depends on the level of acid in the wine. For wine low in acid, a maximum of 4 grams per liter (0.64 oz/imp gal) sugar is allowed. If the acid level exceeds 2 grams per liter (0.32 oz/imp gal), the sugar may exceed the acid level by 2 grams per liter, up to a maximum sugar content of 9 grams per liter (1.4 oz/imp gal)."

IMO 4g/l of sugar in a low acid wine will give some distinct sweetness; "tendre" as the call it in the Loire country. OTOH where the acidity is decently high, the wine can seem subjectively quite dry with 9g/l sugar and even more. I recall Noël Pinguet saying that sometimes Huet's admirable Vouvray sec had up to 12g/l sugar in his day.

[David M. Bueker]

Bone dry trocken is generally quite painful to drink, except in low acid vintages.

On the fourth night the wine tasted much better, much drier and like a totally different wine. Of course the med. ctr. had fouled up (not unusual) and it WAS a totally different wine (though at least it was one of mine). Not the best National Nurses' Day here for many reasons, though I did thank several earlier in the day.

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