Colour of heavily used motor oil. Intense nose and palate of brown sugar (molasse), clementines, honey, wet metal, kumquats, coffee, caramel, lime. Every sip a bit different. On the palate it is unbelievable balanced, intense, and nuanced. Impossible to give less than 20 points for this. 5/14/20/10. Better than the less evolved bottle (as the colour is any indication) three years ago. The only very very sad thing about this: It was my last bottle, I fear. The Eisweins from H.G. Schwarz are unattained in the Franzen era.
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Day 2. Turns out I had at least one more bottle of this. I hope maybe I have another. Boy I love this wine. The nose is an atom bomb of flavor and sugar and acid. Perfect barbell balance - tons of mandarins, kumquats, spices, horseradish, a touch of figs, maybe a bit of molasses or caramel. The palate and finish are perfection. Barbell again. How much acidity is this carrying? God knows. So potent and yet so electric - similar profile to the nose but more on the citric end. Goes on forever. I think this is the best showing of this wine I've had - and I've had a lot of bottles. Nose - 6/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 20/20
2/26/21 - a lot has happened since I opened this bottle, but I have a little left and it is still amazing.
4/10/21. You get the idea...
10/27/21 ...
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Brown with orange tint. Brown sugar, caramel, honey, plums citrus, maybe mandarin, grapy aftertaste. Absurdly concentrated with high acidity. This is more impressive than fun. But it is fun too. Long aftertaste. 5/13/19/10. This is akin to an Pedro Ximénez from andalusia with more acidity. If you have this you more believe in the myth that pedro ximénez is riesling. I don't know what this is going to be, but I'm quite sure that it can't get any better, maybe different. -2030 in a cool cellar.
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They don't make 'em like they used to (New York City, NY): #14-97. From half-bottle. Dark brown. You know that episode of Rick and Morty where Morty asks for a love potion but then Jessica has a cold so everyone gets infected with the mutated love virus and then Rick tries to reverse the effects of it but ends up turning everyone into Cronenbergs? This is Cronenberg riesling. Hilariously massive. Totally overripe, and completely in balance. 200 g/L of sugar, 20 g/L of acid? Probably not far off. If this was made in the old days, you could probably slap a Trockenbeerenauslese on the label as well as the Eiswein. Descriptors? Who cares?
Day 2 (like it matters - it could have been day 16,407 ...) The nose burns with tangerine, mandarin and quince, along with some brown spices, a touch of dried apricot and molasses, and some zingy chili pepper. Man, this is killer on the palate - just wicked. The sweet fruit and honey are the medium for the acid which ripples through them like gravitational waves caused by binary black hole inspiral. The flavor and power reserves are near-infinite, and for all the massive numbers and grip, this slides across the palate so smoothly. Terrible in its beauty. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 19/20.
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Excessibe Rhone and Riesling night (St. Marks Place Grand Sich, NY): The last bottle of this I had was amazing. This, somehow, was a step up from what I remember. This is incredibly dark in colour, and yet the flavours here remain amazingly fresh. All sorts of tropical and citrus fruits, high toned spicy ginger and horseradish notes, and sweeter honeyed and marmalade flavours all come together into a really complex, seamless whole. There's almost painful intensity and concentration on the palate - the sweetness and acidity both go to 11, and yet somehow this is impeccably balanced. Wild.
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Choucroute Garnie at Sarah and Jonathan's (Theater District, Manhattan, NYC): My 375ml. An old friend who never disappoints. Nose of molasses, apricots, figs, tangerine/mandarins, spice - fruitcake. Zing, 'it burns!' on entry - massive acid, figs, apricots, mandarins - marmalade - searing the back of the throat. Ripples of power, sweet as hell but not even a tny bit cloying. The finish is just silly: marmalade and mandarin burn and spices. Stunning. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18/20.
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Same bottle, day 3. Molasses, apricot, kumquat-tangerine, chili peppers, honey and spices. Even better on the palate with a brutal acid spice - burning, but balanced by great sweetness. starts with the marlemade, tangerine and apricot, and the acid builds, the molasses comes out in the mid palate and you get a quick herbal tea flash. Starts to sear the sides of the tongue into the finish. Weighty and rich, but the acid keeps it exciting. purifies on the finish to a brown citrus laser, with flavors of marmalade, apricot and spice that burn on and on. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 6/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18/20.
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Brief Notes from Grand Sichuan: Deep, dark brown. Whoa! Very yummy, with *extremely* high, crazy, bracing acid balanced by rich syrupy (pruney) sweetness. Very yummy. Actually, the acid is not balanced -- this much acid *cannot* be balanced. There is nothing quite sweet enough to balance it known to man. The acid doesn't want to be "balanced." It wants to grab you by the collar and slap you around a bit. A lot. But damn good.
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Medium brown-red. Dark sweet nose of raisins, spices, molasses, kumquat and apricot. Very rich on the palate, but with that freaky high 96 acid that balances it: tangerine, mandarin, marmalade, with a murky molasses aspect as well. Again, balanced like a barbell - with huge acid on one side and immense ripeness on the other. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
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Such a dark brown colour that I wondered for a second if it might be oxidized; it's not, and this is seriously fiery, intense Riesling, showing the powerful acidity of the vintage beneath layers of ripe apricot, pineapple and other tropical fruits and burnished smoky, orange marmalade and honeyed notes. Incredibly powerful, sweet and very long, but superbly balanced and absolutely compelling to drink.
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Bought last year at auction from HDH. Darker color than the Selbach Oster - orange/Mahogany. Huge nose of marmalade and tea. Deep and dark - a real monster. Same on palate - immense acid and sweetness in excellent balance. Not quite poetry like the 90 Selbach Oster BA tasted along side, this one is more in your face. Citrus: tangerine-lime, along with the huge buffered sweetness. Really screaming, laser-like acidity. Very 96. Lively and electric, from nose through finish. Not subtle at all, but balanced, very HGS Muller Catoir in style. The Selbach Oster BA carried off its balance effortlessly, while this wine is full of tension. Two very different but excellent German dessert wines. The Selbach Oster is slightly better due to its elegance. Nose: 5/6, Palate: 5/6, Finish: 6/6, Je ne sais quoi (wild card): 2/2 = 18/20 = 96/100.
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Dark brown, mahogany. Nose of chili peppers and spices, citrus and honey, red fruits and cherry. Huge palate of chili pepper, sour cherry. The acid builds to apricot and kumquat flavors. The huge acid in the palate is really electric and sears the sides of the tongue. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 19/20.
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5/1/2022 - Caruso Likes this wine: 99 Points
Colour of heavily used motor oil. Intense nose and palate of brown sugar (molasse), clementines, honey, wet metal, kumquats, coffee, caramel, lime. Every sip a bit different. On the palate it is unbelievable balanced, intense, and nuanced. Impossible to give less than 20 points for this. 5/14/20/10. Better than the less evolved bottle (as the colour is any indication) three years ago. The only very very sad thing about this: It was my last bottle, I fear. The Eisweins from H.G. Schwarz are unattained in the Franzen era.
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11/27/2020 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 100 Points
Day 2. Turns out I had at least one more bottle of this. I hope maybe I have another. Boy I love this wine. The nose is an atom bomb of flavor and sugar and acid. Perfect barbell balance - tons of mandarins, kumquats, spices, horseradish, a touch of figs, maybe a bit of molasses or caramel. The palate and finish are perfection. Barbell again. How much acidity is this carrying? God knows. So potent and yet so electric - similar profile to the nose but more on the citric end. Goes on forever. I think this is the best showing of this wine I've had - and I've had a lot of bottles. Nose - 6/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 20/20
2/26/21 - a lot has happened since I opened this bottle, but I have a little left and it is still amazing.
4/10/21. You get the idea...
10/27/21 ...
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3/17/2019 - Caruso Likes this wine: 97 Points
Brown with orange tint. Brown sugar, caramel, honey, plums citrus, maybe mandarin, grapy aftertaste. Absurdly concentrated with high acidity. This is more impressive than fun. But it is fun too. Long aftertaste. 5/13/19/10. This is akin to an Pedro Ximénez from andalusia with more acidity. If you have this you more believe in the myth that pedro ximénez is riesling. I don't know what this is going to be, but I'm quite sure that it can't get any better, maybe different. -2030 in a cool cellar.
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2/20/2016 - acyso wrote: 98 Points
They don't make 'em like they used to (New York City, NY): #14-97. From half-bottle. Dark brown. You know that episode of Rick and Morty where Morty asks for a love potion but then Jessica has a cold so everyone gets infected with the mutated love virus and then Rick tries to reverse the effects of it but ends up turning everyone into Cronenbergs? This is Cronenberg riesling. Hilariously massive. Totally overripe, and completely in balance. 200 g/L of sugar, 20 g/L of acid? Probably not far off. If this was made in the old days, you could probably slap a Trockenbeerenauslese on the label as well as the Eiswein. Descriptors? Who cares?
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2/20/2016 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 98 Points
Day 2 (like it matters - it could have been day 16,407 ...) The nose burns with tangerine, mandarin and quince, along with some brown spices, a touch of dried apricot and molasses, and some zingy chili pepper. Man, this is killer on the palate - just wicked. The sweet fruit and honey are the medium for the acid which ripples through them like gravitational waves caused by binary black hole inspiral. The flavor and power reserves are near-infinite, and for all the massive numbers and grip, this slides across the palate so smoothly. Terrible in its beauty. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 19/20.
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2/20/2016 - salil wrote: 98 Points
Excessibe Rhone and Riesling night (St. Marks Place Grand Sich, NY): The last bottle of this I had was amazing. This, somehow, was a step up from what I remember. This is incredibly dark in colour, and yet the flavours here remain amazingly fresh. All sorts of tropical and citrus fruits, high toned spicy ginger and horseradish notes, and sweeter honeyed and marmalade flavours all come together into a really complex, seamless whole. There's almost painful intensity and concentration on the palate - the sweetness and acidity both go to 11, and yet somehow this is impeccably balanced. Wild.
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2/28/2015 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 96 Points
Choucroute Garnie at Sarah and Jonathan's (Theater District, Manhattan, NYC): My 375ml. An old friend who never disappoints. Nose of molasses, apricots, figs, tangerine/mandarins, spice - fruitcake. Zing, 'it burns!' on entry - massive acid, figs, apricots, mandarins - marmalade - searing the back of the throat. Ripples of power, sweet as hell but not even a tny bit cloying. The finish is just silly: marmalade and mandarin burn and spices. Stunning. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18/20.
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5/9/2013 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 96 Points
Same bottle, day 3. Molasses, apricot, kumquat-tangerine, chili peppers, honey and spices. Even better on the palate with a brutal acid spice - burning, but balanced by great sweetness. starts with the marlemade, tangerine and apricot, and the acid builds, the molasses comes out in the mid palate and you get a quick herbal tea flash. Starts to sear the sides of the tongue into the finish. Weighty and rich, but the acid keeps it exciting. purifies on the finish to a brown citrus laser, with flavors of marmalade, apricot and spice that burn on and on. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 6/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18/20.
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5/7/2013 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 98 Points
Brief Notes from Grand Sichuan: Deep, dark brown. Whoa! Very yummy, with *extremely* high, crazy, bracing acid balanced by rich syrupy (pruney) sweetness. Very yummy. Actually, the acid is not balanced -- this much acid *cannot* be balanced. There is nothing quite sweet enough to balance it known to man. The acid doesn't want to be "balanced." It wants to grab you by the collar and slap you around a bit. A lot. But damn good.
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5/7/2013 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium brown-red. Dark sweet nose of raisins, spices, molasses, kumquat and apricot. Very rich on the palate, but with that freaky high 96 acid that balances it: tangerine, mandarin, marmalade, with a murky molasses aspect as well. Again, balanced like a barbell - with huge acid on one side and immense ripeness on the other. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
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5/7/2013 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Such a dark brown colour that I wondered for a second if it might be oxidized; it's not, and this is seriously fiery, intense Riesling, showing the powerful acidity of the vintage beneath layers of ripe apricot, pineapple and other tropical fruits and burnished smoky, orange marmalade and honeyed notes. Incredibly powerful, sweet and very long, but superbly balanced and absolutely compelling to drink.
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4/11/2011 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 96 Points
Bought last year at auction from HDH. Darker color than the Selbach Oster - orange/Mahogany. Huge nose of marmalade and tea. Deep and dark - a real monster. Same on palate - immense acid and sweetness in excellent balance. Not quite poetry like the 90 Selbach Oster BA tasted along side, this one is more in your face. Citrus: tangerine-lime, along with the huge buffered sweetness. Really screaming, laser-like acidity. Very 96. Lively and electric, from nose through finish. Not subtle at all, but balanced, very HGS Muller Catoir in style. The Selbach Oster BA carried off its balance effortlessly, while this wine is full of tension. Two very different but excellent German dessert wines. The Selbach Oster is slightly better due to its elegance. Nose: 5/6, Palate: 5/6, Finish: 6/6, Je ne sais quoi (wild card): 2/2 = 18/20 = 96/100.
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3/9/2011 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 98 Points
Dark brown, mahogany. Nose of chili peppers and spices, citrus and honey, red fruits and cherry. Huge palate of chili pepper, sour cherry. The acid builds to apricot and kumquat flavors. The huge acid in the palate is really electric and sears the sides of the tongue. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 19/20.
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