Old German Riesling et al.

Chicago, IL
Tasted Sunday, June 10, 2018 by acyso with 264 views

Flight 1 - Alii (5 Notes)

  • 2000 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    The last 2000 that I had was the Cristal, and that was drinking splendidly. The Dom is also in that sort of brilliant window, where the balance between the expressiveness and freshness is perfect to me. It's a little creamier than the minerally taut and acidic 1998 P2, and I think by and large, this is a better wine than its two-year-older brother. I like that sweet white fruit here. For sure, I think this can get better with age, but it's been released at a great point of its evolution.

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  • 1952 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Disgorged November 2000. This was a wine that was hard to pin down; it seemed to be a rapidly moving target. The colour on this in incredible -- it was pretty much a smidgen darker than the 2000 P2 that I had along side. The nose clearly shows pinot, with loads of mushroom and all sorts of other savoury, nutty, and briny stuff. It reminds me a little of the smell of the warm water when you put dehydrated shiitakes in it. Slight hint of fizz still, but that really only lasted for an hour before it dissipated. The palate is extremely rich and broad, and that's the aspect here that I loved the most. There's practically no fruit left here -- really it reminds me a lot of old red Burgundy (that's clean -- no dirt or stank here) than anything else. Extremely savoury, but with still a generous amount of acidity to cut through everything. With air, this got more and more vinous (see Jefford's nice essay in Decanter on the definition). An extremely interesting wine that was also quite good, and while I preferred it with a hint of bubbles, I don't think it was undrinkable flat.

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  • 1989 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Vintage Cave Privée 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    Honestly, if this were a smidge cheaper, I wouldn't mind putting some of this in my cellar. It's a very nice, if textbook champagne. Very creamy, with some sweet white fruit here. There's a round and yeasty component on the palate that sometimes turns me off, but it's not overdone here. The acidity's there, but not overriding everything else.

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  • 1993 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 90 Points

    France, Alsace

    This is actually a very nice comparison to the Auslese style. You can tell it actually has the same amount of fruit extract and there's a mild amount of botrytis here as well. Not as waxy as some Alsatian wines can get, but the vein of acidity helps here as well. However, there's clearly more heft and alcohol on this wine in comparison to the German counterparts.

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  • 1982 Gaja Barbaresco 95 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    Sat in a decanter for about eight hours before service (which is the correct treatment of old nebbiolo, I might add). An incredible nose, with extremely intense and expressive florals and a generous amount of red fruit as well. The palate is light and elegant, "like a little girl skipping around." It feels like this wine has such a light touch to it. There's delicacy here, but power behind it all. Easily one of the best nebbiolos I've had in recent memory.

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Flight 2 - Old German riesling (13 Notes)

  • 1976 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese Faß 75 Flawed

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #22-77. Corked and oxidized. Get all that bad karma out of the way in a single bottle, I hope.

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  • 1983 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #16-84. The cork on this fell into the bottle on its own accord after I had taken the capsule off. Initially, this was very stinky, and I had some worries with TCA, but it actually turned out that it was only bottle funk. Tons of petrol on the nose here, with a light smokiness too. The palate only shows a hint of sweetness at this point. There's a rounded creaminess on the palate here that is quite interesting as well, but at the end of the day, where I was expecting fireworks, I think this bottle just didn't make it to 35 years.

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  • 1985 Mönchhof Robert Eymael Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #08-86, 7.35% abv. The smokiness here is more intense than in the 1983 Haag, but there's also a lot more funkiness here as well. It's a fairly rounded and fleshy wine, showing still quite a bit of sweetness, as well as what strikes me as some more rustic winemaking. Relatively fleshy and broad on the palate, this doesn't really have as much cut as I would like, though that may be a function of the relatively weaker vintage too.

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  • 1996 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #03-97, 7.5% abv. This is a prototypical Mosel riesling. Lean, clean, and green. A relatively heightened sweetness helps balance all the acidity and minerality in this wine. It's the crystalline purity of this wine that I adore; it's so transparent, racy, and fresh. The disappearing work of a genius winemaker.

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  • 1975 Dr. H Thanisch Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #9 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #09-76, 10% abv. Fortunately not corked unlike the last bottle. The nose goes very far away from the fruit and acid elements and we land in lots of umami, petrol, and earthy tones. A bit of minerality, and some slightly off-putting blue cheese aromas developed with more time in the glass (I guess it happened with the 1969 Spatlese Cabinet that I had last year too).

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  • 1983 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel Flawed

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #13-84, 7.8% abv. Almonds, intense botrytis, and some sweet peaches, but enough of the taste of oxidation to make me sad.

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  • 1973 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 98 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #04-77, 10% abv. This still impresses me how fresh and youthful it's showing. I'm super lucky that this bottle (and my previous one) came from spectacular provenance. This has held up incredibly well, and is really, in my mind, the pinnacle of Kabinett. It's a light touch, but there's so much freshness that this evokes a sunny summer day. And the fruit -- the fruit! It's still there, nestled between the minerals and acidity. There's just a slight hint of sweetness left here too. It was my last bottle, but it was thoroughly enjoyed.

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  • 1992 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    #08-93, 7.5% abv. The last bottle of this was corked, but this one was superb and a return to form. This is easily fleshier and rounder than the brilliant 1973, and there's a little more meat and fat on those bones. The mineral structure here doesn't seem as clearly delineated to me, and there's just a mild bit of diffuseness here that the 1973 didn't have. I'm really nitpicking though -- this truly is pretty close to perfect Kabinett. The freshness here also belies the 26 years that this wine has under its belt.

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  • 1995 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    It appears in my excitement I forgot to take down the AP number of this one. In any case, this bottle showed just slightly advanced and not as pure and crystalline as I would have liked it to show. On the other hand, there's still the classic signature of Egon here, with the intense slate flavours on the back end of this wine. There's still a good amount of sweetness, but it's really the minerality that makes this wine stunning. I think pristine bottles would be spectacular. This one was sufficient.

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  • 1991 Weingut Johannishof (H.H. Eser) Johannisberger Goldatzel Riesling Eiswein 93 Points

    Germany, Rheingau

    #18-92, 7.5% abv. A slight bit of horseradish (still?!) on the nose, along with a nice mix of sweet stone fruit and orange peel. The palate is where I really enjoy this -- despite it's sweetness, this is unequivocally an acid-driven wine, with an attack that drives through into a very long finish. Alongside for the ride is a nice mix of tropical fruit. It's not the most profound and complex Eiswein I've had, but it's still enjoyable all the same.

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  • 1992 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Beerenauslese 90 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    #12-93, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. The colour of motor oil. This bottle, sadly, didn't show as well as how I remembered it from that epic Grand Sichuan dinner a few years ago. This still certainly had the same scale as the previous wine, and the balance was, for the most part, still there too, but it seemed to have lost some of the electricity along the way. The caramel tones seemed a little more pronounced too; it's possible that this may have had some heat damage in the past?

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  • 1997 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Auslese 95 Points

    Germany, Rheingau

    #28-98, 8% abv. So much guava! This is incredibly tropical and just so exciting to drink. Sure, it doesn't have the scintillating acidity of the Mosel, but there's a fat and rich sweetness here that's just delicious nonetheless. I've never understood why Weil seems to fly below the radar (admittedly, they are relatively expensive in comparison to many Mosel gems), but these are unique, singular, and just as important expressions of riesling. Perhaps it's the relatively attenuated acid that makes these wines feel heavier and weightier? It's not like the alcohol is higher; nor do these feel cloying, despite having less acid (I think these end up balanced by their minerality instead). In any case, I'm happy to pick up the "dregs".

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  • 1976 Weingut Schneider Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese 88 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Either #189-77, or, more likely, #89-77, 10.3% abv. There's a sauternesien quality about the botrytis in this wine, in that it gives an intense orange peel flavour both to the nose and palate. It's a little higher-toned than I'm used to in riesling (especially Mosel) too. The palate is surprisingly not as thickly textured as I would expect, nor is it as sweet. The orange peel note shows up again, here, but the midpalate and finish feel a little weak and there's some bitterness to finish up.

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