Maureen comes to town and there's not a Burgundy to be had. Riesling and Morgon with Szechuan.

Maureen Nelson was back in town and a few of us that did not have Valentine's Day plans got together for an evening of Szechuan food and Riesling, with a Morgon thrown in for good measure. With the queen of Burgundy in our midst, it was quite a surprise that not a single bottle of Burgundy made it to our glasses. Certainly the cuisine had a factor in that, though the tea smoked has always been a wonderful match for Pinot, providing one takes it easy on the hoisin. But, such is life and no one was complaining and a good time was had by all.

• 2011 Weingut Bergdolt Kirrweiler Mandelberg Weissburgunder Großes Gewächs

  Germany, Pfalz

  Crisp apple and pear aromas with yellow and white flowers. Bone dry, but ripe on the palate with similar flavors as aromas. There's upfront richness, but the wine is a bit bulky at the back end and it shows too much alcohol on the finish. Hand carried back from Germany.B/B-.

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• 1998 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese Auction

  Germany, Nahe

  Maureen brought this expecting Salil to be at the dinner, but he had to drop out after she had already schlepped it to New York. His loss was our gain. Seemingly more Auslese than Spatlese, it spans a broad spectrum of fruit, from tropical, to stone to red with stone notes bringing up the rear and a swirl of honey. For a long while it showed surprisingly soft. I think most of us expected more vibrancy and zip from a '98, but by the end of the evening the structure started to assert itself more forcefully. It sort of seems like a celebrity that knows their status, is perfectly fine keeping their head up high and looking pretty, but doesn't want to say too much lest any mystery or close details get out. I think everyone's WOTN, though that said, while there's a lot of life left, it's peaked to my tastes. A/A-.

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• 2009 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  A bit of a schizophrenic showing this night. It really didn't exhibit the rich texture and jammy fruit it did on release. Indeed, at the outset, its seemed a bit in a shell and showed light and thin. Initially there was some cherry before a bizarre watermelon and citrus character popped up, though that could be due to something in the Szechuan food. By the end of the evening the wine seemed on its way to sorting itself out as a richer grapey profile started to emerge along with fresh cherries. I'm thinking best to leave my remaining bottles alone for at least a coupe of years, if not a little longer. Low B+.

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• 1999 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Friendly and easy going with the vintage's relatively soft acidity, it shows nice slate and stone fruit character with just a bit of apple and citrus on the finish. Sweet, but far from cloying, in the overall scheme of things there's not a tremendous amount of substance or depth here, but it's quite tasty with enough interesting things going on to give one pause to reflect on the wine a moment before slugging it down. A-/B+.

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• 1994 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  A deep yellow color, but, surprisingly, it shows the most zip and structure of the night. Plenty of mineral with still light petillance to the acidity. There's pleasant stone and star fruit flavors with a hit of lemon and apple. No real petrol, but the wine seems mature and not likely to go anywhere better at this point and it doesn't have as much stuffing as the Donnhoff and Prum. Solid B+.

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