Wine Focus November 2023 - Benchmarks of Riesling

[David M. Bueker]

It's finally time! Riesling - Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, anyone still remember the Rheingau? How about Austria? Australia? And has anyone heard from Alsace lately?

[David M. Bueker]

• 2021 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Nahe (10/31/2023)
  Looking back this is the 25th vintage of Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett I have tasted over the years, only missing out on a couple here and there since 1996. Over the years the wine has gone through some stylistic changes - growing bigger for several years, but slimming back down in recent vintages. The 2021 is still a touch big in comparison to say classic Mosel Kabinett, but after all it's a Nahe wine. In that respect it's a definitely Kabinett-style, with delicacy, freshness, and excellent finishing zip. Good extract/material to allow for aging and development, and based on some older vintages I have opened in the last several months (e.g. 1999, 2001, and 2004) I would expect this to easily go 20 years or more if desired - or if a bottle gets lost in the cellar.

Have an Austrian riesling to report on. Next Tuesday am invited to a Cantonese meal so German Riesling on the cards. Sure someone will bring a bubbly!

[David M. Bueker]

Maybe bubbly Riesling!

I have a bottle of von Schubert Sekt that I would like to open soon, but I doubt I will get to it this month. Maybe December.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2001 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (11/5/2023)
  Perhaps my prior bottle was not pristine, as this is luscious, delicious, and a noteworthy addition to the extensive list of outstanding 2001 Mosel Rieslings. Zesty passion fruit, dusted with caramelized brown sugar leads the way, and then the wine expands on the mid-palate until the acidity slices through, carving a path to the finish, and reintroducing the passion fruit, this time with a tartness that clears away the Auslese sweetness, leaving just the flavor to echo into the distance.

Another riesling from Austria. 2019 Weingut Markus Huber Riesling Engelsberg.
Classy stone fruits on the nose with expected mineral tones. Some floral " peach, lemon" from across the table. Noted pineapple as it aired. Very good acidity, precise, salty and a long finish. $30 Cda.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice one Bob. The Huber wines show up at a couple of U.S. shops I frequent. Will be on the lookout.

Hiedler is another name to look out for David.

[David M. Bueker]

Hiedler is another name to look out for David.

I have been buying Hiedler since the 1997 vintage!

[Jenise]

Maybe bubbly Riesling!

I have a bottle of von Schubert Sekt that I would like to open soon, but I doubt I will get to it this month. Maybe December.

I've got the Von Buhl on deck. Pretty great stuff for around $30.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2020 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (11/11/2023)
  Early check in on one of my very favorite Spätlese wines. I have been enjoying this Selbach bottling for 30 years, and had high hopes for the 2020. It did not disappoint.
  
  Crisp apple and peach aromas were echoed on the almost Feinherb style palate, that veered a touch toward the tropical while staying anchored to tree fruit. I kept trying to pinpoint what it was reminding me of, and finally realized it was a crisp fall apple called Kinsei that has a tropical bent to its flavors.
  
  The one thing I will add is that the wine might actually be a bit closed, as there was a tightness on the palate that masked what was clearly a lot of depth. I suppose at three years post vintage it’s quite possible the wine is shutting down. Either way it was still quite delicious, just need to be patient for it to fully emerge. I generally prefer this bottling with 15 years or so of age on it.

Very nice, have to post on a recent 2013 S-O.

[David M. Bueker]

I have written about it many times before, but the Dönnhoff Estate Riesling (formerly known as the QbA) is IMO the best value white wine on the planet. I first tried it back in the early 1990s, and while it has undergone a couple of stylistic changes over the decades, it’s as good or better now. Cornelius Dönnhoff has tweaked the residual sugar to more of a Feinherb style, which works great for sipping and also with food. The 2019 I opened last night (fifth from a case) is my favorite version since the 2012.

I had a very informative afternoon visiting Thörle, chatting with winemaker Christoph, and expanding my understanding of Rheinhessen riesling. My mental image was always of broad rich powerful wines (although obviously some can also be fine and elegant), but I should have known there was more to it than that, given the new fresh vivid rieslings of Saalwächter. But here at Thörle we went into even more depth.

Yes the rieslings (and all wines) had more body and power than the feathery Saar wines. But they also displayed a range of textures and flavors. The 2022 Thörle Probstey riesling had a nice blend of golden fruit and firm phenolics that gave such shape and layers. The 2022 Thörle Hölle riesling showed much juicier deeper fruit and more overtly dazzling minerality, probably more of my mental image of Rheinhessen reisling, but in a very elegant and focused way. Good stuff across the board.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting report. I have heard good things about Thorle, but never the kind of detailed information you provided.

Yes, as always with wine, it comes down to the details. My mental image of the Rheinhessen was of flat land vines baking in the sun. And of course that exists, but there's all the 'usual' variation in elevation, exposition and soil type for the better vineyards that give them their distinctive character. In this case Probstey being the lower elevation wine that gets a bit friendlier in youth, but also with the flinty phenolics linked to the limestone.

Thörle is also very well known for Spätburgunder, and I was impressed, but that's a different Wine Focus...

[David M. Bueker]

We walked many Rheinhessen vineyards in October 2003. Flat was not a word that came to mind.

2013 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreicht Riesling halbtrocken.

First of 2 bottles I purchased in Calgary four yrs ago for only $30 Cda! SC, opened 2 hrs before pouring at a Cantonese dinner with the highlight of beef and broccoli. Light gold in color, lemony with slate and white stone fruits. Great mid-palate and a long long finish, drinking at its peak? The sweetness is totally in balance. A serious MSR wine as we all expected.

Some of my very favourite white wines come from Riesling. Unfortunately we see very little non-French wine here in Normandy. The only French region using Riesling is Alsace and their wines don't benefit from a large selection here. I have a handful of Germans left (but no Austrians) and these all have some RS which is not popular with the rest of the household in spite of a usually delicious acid balance.

I picked up this unfamiliar Alsatian GC from an unfamiliar grower at a Foire aux Vins in 2022 for the modest price of €14. It is no better than the delicious merely lieu-dit wines from two growers stocked by local cavistes, namely Agathe Bursin and Barmès-Buecher but these wines cost substantially more than €14. I opened my second bottle yesterday which did not differ from my last year's TN which I reproduce below.

2019 Jean Becker Riesling Froehn - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru (09/12/2022)
This is a very nice Alsace Grand Cru showing typical aromas white fruit and flowers laced with petrol and spice and a medium bodied palate which replays these aromas, adds fine minerality, is not quite bone dry but is lively and fresh due to moreish acidity and good backbone. Very Good.
Posted from CellarTracker

[Jenise]

I posted this a few days ago in a different thread but realized I should have posted it here, so I'm adding it in because it makes a point: when is riesling as good or better than chardonnay, for those of us who love the latter grape? When it's like this:

2021 Adega on 45th Riesling Okanagan Valley
It was true seven months ago and was true again yesterday: "I am just about the last person to get on the Riesling bandwagon, but I'd have been there earlier if I'd had rieslings like this. With superb fruit, typicity, acidity and balance, this wine was the scene stealer at a dinner party last night, with a sweet moment on entry that turned elegant on the midpalate and dry on the finish. Just outstanding."

Though not oaky per se there was likely some oak, and that's probably why it "turned elegant" and impressed me so much. When my host handed me a glass I instantly recognized it as riesling, so it had that typical fruit and spice, but it was dry with a creamy mouthfeel and both as sipper and food pairer it was perfectly ready to handle any job one might normally hand to chardonnay.

[David M. Bueker]

What part of the Okanagan?

The winery is in Osoyoos, right near the US border, but it is unlikely (but possible) the riesling grapes were that far south - it is usually grown north of this area.

Interesting winery with some diverse wines so check out their website.

The Niagara region in Ontario, Canada is not well known in global wine circles, and hardly ever mentioned in major wine sites or blogs (including this one). This is mainly because they are rarely seen outside of Ontario. I think riesling is one of the best varieties in this region (especially the Beamsville bench section of the greater Niagara region); chardonnay is a close second though, or maybe even first if you aren't a keen riesling fan like me. Pinot and sparkling wines are also improving here. The presence of limestone in the Beamsville area usually gives the wines grown in the area a real minerally flavour and attribute. This is the top riesling from this high - but not highest - quality producer, and 2019 was a very good year.


2019 Henry of Pelham Riesling Speck Family Reserve

Hazy notes from last night. This started out with a blast of somewhat sweet fruit (a combination of citrus and stonefruit) and then became dry or perhaps just barely off dry on the nice, sleek finish. Some minerality on show as well on this well balanced, medium bodied, crispy riesling. Always a well made wine with good QPR (B+/A-).