WTN: Sonoma Cab, Aussie and Rheingau Rieslings

Tuesday while a big storm approached, we had chili (turley and chorizo) I had made Sunday before we were invited out.
1987 Kalin Cabernet Sauvignon
Black currant and cherry, tobacco leaf, herbaceous. Bright, funky, and long. A-

Wednesday Betsy made yaki udon, we had friends over and went Riesling v. Riesling

2001 Leitz Rudesheimer Kirchenpfad Riesling Spatlese
Lively, though a little less zip than I expected from 2001. Peach, citrus zest, a little petrol. Decent length, not a star ‘01 but fun. B

2022 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling (Clare Valley)
Green apple, citrus, and a light piney note. With air there’s an almost Chenin- like waxy/wooly note. I’ve had Polish Hill before but it’s been awhile, I remembered as more like an Austrian Smaragd, this was more delicate. Fun, B/B+


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

2022 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling (Clare Valley)
Green apple, citrus, and a light piney note. With air there’s an almost Chenin- like waxy/wooly note. I’ve had Polish Hill before but it’s been awhile, I remembered as more like an Austrian Smaragd, this was more delicate. Fun, B/B+

Interesting. It's also been a while since I've had Polish Hill, maybe 15+ years. But my memory was completely different, I had it more like entry-level Trimbach - tight and steely.

Regardless, your 2022 sounds nice.

[David M. Bueker]

Another reason I need to dip back into Aussie Riesling.

I read a note on the 87 Kalin cab here a few years ago (I don’t think I’d ever heard that Kalin made a cabernet before that), and managed to score a 3 bottle lot of the 87 Kalin cab reserve. The first 2 bottles have been stellar, I wish I could find more.