Rieslingfeier - BYOB Main Event
Rouge Tomate, NYC
Tasted Saturday, February 16, 2013 by Seth Rosenberg with 832 views
Introduction
OK. This was nuts. All the bent up energy of a hundred Riesling fanatics, combined with some of the great German winemakers of our time, and a first rate set of Sommeliers. The event was the climax of Rieslingfeier - the BYO dinner. Each table had a winemaker, or another Riesling celebrity, two somms, and a nearby storage table for all the bottles. My father and I were sat at the 'Sonnenuhr' table with Justin C, Danielle K, Katharina Prum (and others). Rouge Tomate designed a meal to go specifically with Riesling, and the courses were ordered to pair with the various levels: dry to start, then sweeter wines in the middle, and then the bruising sweet wines at the end. I had never eaten there before, and the food was superb: delicious, but focused and elegant ... the perfect accompaniment to the wines. Please note - my scores here are rather high. There are two factors behind this: 1) the wines at this event were amazing, and 2) this list reflects triage that I did on the floor - spending time with and talking notes only on a fraction of wines that were circulating around.
Flight 1 - The Dry wines (3 Notes)
Flight 2 - Kabinett - Spatlese/Auslese (10 Notes)
Flight 3 - The monsters (10 Notes)
Closing
OK. That was just nuts. So many wines I didn't get to try, or drank to quickly and didn't get to spend enough time with - the amount and quality of the wine was simply stupid. I had serious palate fatigue from all the acid, and my teeth hurt.
1999 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Spätlese Trocken Auction 91 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
From a double magnum brought by Justin C and Danielle K. Spicy and creamy on the nose with tropical fruit, papaya, cherry, cherry pit, marzipan, bubble gum. Elegant, rich and concentrated. Palate shows creamy peach, cherry, cherry pit and almonds. Lean yet burly. Quite bitter in a good way. Lots of peach pit and bitterness on the end and finish. Lean and potent. I like this better than the last time I had it. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15.6-16/20.
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1995 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek 94 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
From magnum. brought by Joe. Dry savory nose - chicken broth, pear, fennel. Concentrated and very deep on the palate - tastes sweet: ripe red fruits, cherry, red apple, sweet & sour. Salty. Very extracted, but light. I really like this. Great power without heaviness. Nose - 4.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17/20.
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2011 Lothar Kettern Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling GC 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
From magnum. Brought by Justin C and Danielle K. Nose: brown spices, peach. Extracted - salty, peach pit, ripe red apple. Sweet , creamy, pure, and elegant. Spritz on the palate with ripe apple, slate, minerals. Really burns well - good acid. A touch burly, but overall nice balance. Evidently, Justin is importing this - Bravo! Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 16/20.
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