2005 Braun Niersteiner Rheinhessen Grauer Burgunder Kabinett Trocken (Germany) 12% – appears beautiful bright gold, few tiny clingers, smell pineapple/apple, sweetness of fruit, fruit/pineapple tart, with air, tons more fruit, quite ripe, simple nose, mouthfeel medium thick, not dense, taste little upfront at first, flavors glide in, tropical pineapple, apricot, also some drier fruit, pear, finish is much drier and tarter, grapefruit, this wine had an unusual two-sided approach, with lurking elements of overripeness (especially apricot) in midpalate, but tight green underripe berries on finish, made wine kind of odd, not unpleasant, but not an integrated whole, paired well with food (in this case, a celery root, potato and olive gratin) that emphasized the drier finish and muted down ripe fruit
2005 Braun Rheinhessen Riesling Spätlese Rote Erde Trocken (Germany) 13% – appears light gold, reflective, beautiful color, smell wet rocks in the woods, with air, more evergreen, pine needles and the sweetness thereof, aroma totally reminds me of camping, mouthfeel thick, substantial, but not too heavy, taste ripe super-juicy peach with the hint that such sweetness is coming, but it is never truly realized, instead mouthwatering aspect with touches of stone dryness, quite nice, finish is delicious, repeated wafers of granny smith apple, all of the aspects of this wine play off well with each other and the bottle is delicious from top to bottom, kind of funny as this was a reluctant purchase as my first impression didn’t catch any of the delicious mouthwatering appeal, glad I ended up with this one
2005 Pojer e Sandri Palai Vignetti Delle Dolomiti Müller Thurgau (Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy) 12.5% –appears light foggy gold, smell dark, rock, muted fruit, citrus, hint of fresher berries, muted nose but fresh, mouthfeel smooth, strains of light acidity, good bite, full, taste spritzy acid, lime, very clean stone, hint of woods, melon or soft fruit background, wine changes quite a bit as it gets warmer, I preferred it most at nearly room temperature, where strong senses of tropical pineapple and papaya came through, it also paired nicely with cheeses in its warmer stages, much more memorable when warm, fun to figure out, but still didn’t make significant positive impression for me
2003 Kellerei Kaltern Caldaro Alto Adige/Südtirol Lagrein Dunkel (Italy) 13% – appears purple-black, intense color, somewhat see-through, though very dark, smell intense yet soft and lush fruit, grape juice, with air, more floral, sweetness, cloves, orange rind, mouthfeel silky and super slippery, taste dense fruit, sweetness varies, less at first, significantly more later, dripping juicy, light background of spice and toast, pleasant, but by second day, the lightness and excitement had faded and the wine had dulled into more syrupy and alcoholic mixture, still did okay with pork chops, but promise of the wine had fluttered away, alas