Bought this from a local corner store. Not sure why they had it. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a perfectly sound bottle. Some burnt sugar and baked citrus aromas - ripe and cooked tangerine, a bit of zeltinger chili pepper, baked apple. Palate is soft with baked apple and baked citrus - no real zing. finish is soft and baked. Not my smartest purchase.
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Prior bottle was almost four months ago, but given where the acidity was on the last bottle, I didn't want to take any chances. As it turned out, there was some positive bottle variation tonight. Peach, apple, pineapple and spices on a much more aromatically engaging nose. Medium bodied and perhaps a bit above that with golden apple and peach upfront. Lots of density in the middle with pineapple, orange and guava (along other tropical notes) and retains the contrasting tartness (tart orange and lemon) and citrus qualities on the backside. Overall, it felt like there was a bit more acidity in this bottle than the prior one, the fruit complexity was a bit more defined and the wine felt like it had more contrasts and nuances than the prior bottle. Based on this showing, it feels like this wine should have a number of years in front of it at the present level.
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Deep gold in color with honey, peach, apple and spices on the nose. Between medium and full bodied (8.5% ABV) with golden apple and pear upfront. Starts off with richness and you think it's going to go full-bore honey, but then some green fruit notes and citrus kicks in. Mid-body shows of mix of gold orchard fruit (golden apple and peach), tropical notes towards the back (orange, guava) and then some light lemon and mixed citrus towards the back. Complexity is quite good, but I didn't find this wine to be quite at the level of the 2010 or 2012. It simply doesn't have the acidity or enough of the tart background notes to provide the level of balance that those vintages showed. This is still a very good wine, but simply a step behind those other two vintages. On fruit alone this wine has many years ahead of it, but given where the acidity is today, I'm not convinced that more time will be beneficial. It will certainly endure, but will it improve? Most likely I will have my last bottle before the end of 2018.
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These wines were purchased for Sean O'Keefe out of my personal cellar and a 'parallel' professional tasting at Chateau Grand Traverse with Stuart Pigott (writer in re German wines and worldwide Rieslings, Friday night July 25 2014 with appropriate foods and some 'sour' beers. Also most tasted at MoCool August 2014 at Boardman Lake, Dexter, MI.
<<<2008 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits (lieu-dit) (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph).>>> Made from the Marsanne variety.
*13 percent abv. $86/$30 sale price per 750 ml at Jerardi's little store; Terlato Wines Intl, Lake Bluff, IL. *Cork finished with yellow wax capsule; light gold, sheeting. Almond paste, peach, sweet yeast bread with Vietnamese cinnamon, twist orange peel and breath of herb honey. *Slightly hot or energetic entry. Crisp yet mellow with that sweet almond bread finish with fine length. Fine breadth but full of simple drinking pleasure, and great mouth feel, compared to more intense Hermitage blanc cuveês. Superb value for money at the sale price, and a good value even at moderate retail.
Drinking very well right now but no hurry. Now-2028. 92/100
<<<2012 M Cellars Riesling GRV (USA, Ohio, Grand River Valley) Wine and Vines District is new appellation.>>> Matt Meinike is owner; his fellow winemakers describe him as a passionate grower.
*12 pabv; $20/750 ml ex cellars; odd blue bottle; seller assisted with shipping cost of some bottles. *Bright yellow-green, with lots of fizzy spritz bubbles visible on pouring. *Lots of mango and slightly musky perfume apparent in the nose which is quite forward with tropical fruit-scented cultured yeast notes. Also tobacco and very slightly reduced scent.
Somewhat herb-soupy, gentle fumet, imperial linden tree leaf comes through on palate, with delicate lime peel too. Fine length. Today still young and a bit disjointed; give it about 12 months and it will integrate. A very promising bottle from a new maker, who needs to find his own expression for Riesling. Has some of the terroir notes of the Conneaught Creek region nearby. 89/100/
<<<Reinhold Haart Coldtropfchen Erste Lage Kabinett 2008, AP 17.>>> $22/750. Cork. Floral, rosewater, apple, verbena, quite complex and floral. Semi-sweet, with twists of lime peel and quinine, mouthgrabbing, with a vibrant green finish. Perhaps not a 'classic' Kabinett, but on its own quite complex, expressive, and good with a broad range of foods, 'green' and cool. 91/100,
*Light gold. Cork. Nose deep, complex, harmonious, with green tea, pear, pine needle/forest floor, ethereal. *Crisp vivid acid on ehtry, relatively light in body for type, savory but somewhat neutral finish. Light in the mouth for such an intense wine. 93/100
*Cork stoppered, light gold. Delicate,almost completely neutral high-toned, like ether; apple peel, lacquer shoe polish, lime zest, and a touch of green tea. Harmonious, caressing mouthfeel. *Much richer and sweeter in the mouth, with a fine bite of lime-tinged grapeskin, tailing away to the same neutral, acid-laced finish. 93/100
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95 Amarillo pálido, viscoso. En nariz hay mucho mineral, cítricos, lichis. En boca es un prodigio de equilibrio entre una acidez muy marcada y un dulzor que llena la boca. Es muy amplio, muuuy largo en boca y perfecto. Quisiera tomarlo dentro de 20 años...
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Clear and yellow, green hues with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Pleasing and balanced nose of honeydew, terpene, Fuji apple, forest floor, lavender, white tea, honey and citrus. Secondary pear and carmel. Medium-full body, sweet and off-dry. Honeydew, apple cobbler, tropical fruit, honey, maple syrup, wet flowers, wet stone and lychee on the palate. Secondary tea and herbs. Superbly balanced, structured, complex and mouth coating fruit. Long finish. Endlessly versatile…paired amazingly with everything we threw at it, including hot peppers that would bring most structured whites to their knees. Fantastic!
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poured off into a split, and returned to a couple nights later. On the first night, it did take about 45 minutes to open up. A bit richer than I had expected, perhaps a bit more in the auslese mold. white fruits and minerals on the nose and palate. There was sufficient lemony/citric acidity to keep it from being cloying. Longish finish.
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Another year, another great Rotlay. A spectrum of bright fruit, ranging from riper tropical flavours to more classical Mosel apple and lime, combining seamlessly with florality, honeyed elements and a vivid slatiness. Rich, sweet but superbly balanced with bright acids; fantastic balance and length. Great wine.
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Pop and pour. In the glass, very pale yellow and perfectly clear. On the nose, pear juice, honeysuckle, and a very slight note of summer rain (I know, it's pretentious, but that's the aroma). On the palate, a bit of zesty acidity is followed a blend of lychee fruit, pears, syrup, and subtle minerality, with an unctuous texture, and a long finish that leaves fruit on the teeth. Really luscious and enjoyable wine, and I may have scored it too low.
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Oktoberfest: 2009 Germans (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): Wow this is so seductive and delicate, the aromas of crushed stones, sweet white stone fruits, and lime are complex and profound. The first thing you notice about the palate is the explosive stone essence, that component is just so dense and striking. The acidity is fresh and the flavors are sweet and infused with pear, stone fruits, and citrus notes. I have to say the fruit has ideal balance with the mineral aspect of this wine. This is a stunning effort that has tremendous balance, complexity, and elegance.
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5/1/2023 - thalver wrote:
showing just a bit of petrol, sufficient cut to balance the sweetness
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4/8/2022 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: flawed
Bought this from a local corner store. Not sure why they had it. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a perfectly sound bottle. Some burnt sugar and baked citrus aromas - ripe and cooked tangerine, a bit of zeltinger chili pepper, baked apple. Palate is soft with baked apple and baked citrus - no real zing. finish is soft and baked. Not my smartest purchase.
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8/2/2021 - Vas19 wrote:
It is a bit too sweet at the moment, but the substance is there. Will give the next bottle a few years.
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1/5/2020 - millej Likes this wine:
Currently a bit sweet, simple and syrupy. Hold.
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10/14/2018 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
Prior bottle was almost four months ago, but given where the acidity was on the last bottle, I didn't want to take any chances. As it turned out, there was some positive bottle variation tonight. Peach, apple, pineapple and spices on a much more aromatically engaging nose. Medium bodied and perhaps a bit above that with golden apple and peach upfront. Lots of density in the middle with pineapple, orange and guava (along other tropical notes) and retains the contrasting tartness (tart orange and lemon) and citrus qualities on the backside. Overall, it felt like there was a bit more acidity in this bottle than the prior one, the fruit complexity was a bit more defined and the wine felt like it had more contrasts and nuances than the prior bottle. Based on this showing, it feels like this wine should have a number of years in front of it at the present level.
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6/28/2018 - RGCM Gananda wrote: 92 Points
Deep gold in color with honey, peach, apple and spices on the nose. Between medium and full bodied (8.5% ABV) with golden apple and pear upfront. Starts off with richness and you think it's going to go full-bore honey, but then some green fruit notes and citrus kicks in. Mid-body shows of mix of gold orchard fruit (golden apple and peach), tropical notes towards the back (orange, guava) and then some light lemon and mixed citrus towards the back. Complexity is quite good, but I didn't find this wine to be quite at the level of the 2010 or 2012. It simply doesn't have the acidity or enough of the tart background notes to provide the level of balance that those vintages showed. This is still a very good wine, but simply a step behind those other two vintages. On fruit alone this wine has many years ahead of it, but given where the acidity is today, I'm not convinced that more time will be beneficial. It will certainly endure, but will it improve? Most likely I will have my last bottle before the end of 2018.
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8/20/2014 - sweetstuff wrote: 93 Points
These wines were purchased for Sean O'Keefe out of my personal cellar and a 'parallel' professional tasting at Chateau Grand Traverse with Stuart Pigott (writer in re German wines and worldwide Rieslings, Friday night July 25 2014 with appropriate foods and some 'sour' beers. Also most tasted at MoCool August 2014 at Boardman Lake, Dexter, MI.
<<<2008 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits (lieu-dit) (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph).>>> Made from the Marsanne variety.
*13 percent abv. $86/$30 sale price per 750 ml at Jerardi's little store; Terlato Wines Intl, Lake Bluff, IL.
*Cork finished with yellow wax capsule; light gold, sheeting. Almond paste, peach, sweet yeast bread with Vietnamese cinnamon, twist orange peel and breath of herb honey.
*Slightly hot or energetic entry. Crisp yet mellow with that sweet almond bread finish with fine length. Fine breadth but full of simple drinking pleasure, and great mouth feel, compared to more intense Hermitage blanc cuveês. Superb value for money at the sale price, and a good value even at moderate retail.
Drinking very well right now but no hurry. Now-2028. 92/100
<<<2012 M Cellars Riesling GRV (USA, Ohio, Grand River Valley) Wine and Vines District is new appellation.>>> Matt Meinike is owner; his fellow winemakers describe him as a passionate grower.
*12 pabv; $20/750 ml ex cellars; odd blue bottle; seller assisted with shipping cost of some bottles.
*Bright yellow-green, with lots of fizzy spritz bubbles visible on pouring.
*Lots of mango and slightly musky perfume apparent in the nose which is quite forward with tropical fruit-scented cultured yeast notes. Also tobacco and very slightly reduced scent.
Somewhat herb-soupy, gentle fumet, imperial linden tree leaf comes through on palate, with delicate lime peel too. Fine length. Today still young and a bit disjointed; give it about 12 months and it will integrate. A very promising bottle from a new maker, who needs to find his own expression for Riesling. Has some of the terroir notes of the Conneaught Creek region nearby. 89/100/
<<<Reinhold Haart Coldtropfchen Erste Lage Kabinett 2008, AP 17.>>>
$22/750. Cork. Floral, rosewater, apple, verbena, quite complex and floral. Semi-sweet, with twists of lime peel and quinine, mouthgrabbing, with a vibrant green finish. Perhaps not a 'classic' Kabinett, but on its own quite complex, expressive, and good with a broad range of foods, 'green' and cool. 91/100,
<<<2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling 'Rotlay' (Qualitätswein 'Selection Massale') 8.5 pabv, AP 8, $33/750, Skurnik/Theise, WineBid.com.>>>
*Light gold. Cork. Nose deep, complex, harmonious, with green tea, pear, pine needle/forest floor, ethereal.
*Crisp vivid acid on ehtry, relatively light in body for type, savory but somewhat neutral finish. Light in the mouth for such an intense wine. 93/100
<<<2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling 'Schmitt', (Qualitäswein 'Selection Massale'), 8.5 apbv, AP 9<<<
*Cork stoppered, light gold. Delicate,almost completely neutral high-toned, like ether; apple peel, lacquer shoe polish, lime zest, and a touch of green tea. Harmonious, caressing mouthfeel.
*Much richer and sweeter in the mouth, with a fine bite of lime-tinged grapeskin, tailing away to the same neutral, acid-laced finish. 93/100
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12/19/2013 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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1/7/2012 - gallu wrote: 95 Points
95 Amarillo pálido, viscoso. En nariz hay mucho mineral, cítricos, lichis. En boca es un prodigio de equilibrio entre una acidez muy marcada y un dulzor que llena la boca. Es muy amplio, muuuy largo en boca y perfecto. Quisiera tomarlo dentro de 20 años...
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12/29/2011 - christophee Likes this wine: 94 Points
Clear and yellow, green hues with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Pleasing and balanced nose of honeydew, terpene, Fuji apple, forest floor, lavender, white tea, honey and citrus. Secondary pear and carmel. Medium-full body, sweet and off-dry. Honeydew, apple cobbler, tropical fruit, honey, maple syrup, wet flowers, wet stone and lychee on the palate. Secondary tea and herbs. Superbly balanced, structured, complex and mouth coating fruit. Long finish. Endlessly versatile…paired amazingly with everything we threw at it, including hot peppers that would bring most structured whites to their knees. Fantastic!
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12/27/2011 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous tasting note.
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10/12/2011 - thalver wrote:
poured off into a split, and returned to a couple nights later. On the first night, it did take about 45 minutes to open up. A bit richer than I had expected, perhaps a bit more in the auslese mold. white fruits and minerals on the nose and palate. There was sufficient lemony/citric acidity to keep it from being cloying. Longish finish.
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7/13/2011 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Another year, another great Rotlay. A spectrum of bright fruit, ranging from riper tropical flavours to more classical Mosel apple and lime, combining seamlessly with florality, honeyed elements and a vivid slatiness. Rich, sweet but superbly balanced with bright acids; fantastic balance and length. Great wine.
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5/21/2011 - jshufelt wrote: 94 Points
Consistent with previous tasting note.
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4/18/2011 - jshufelt wrote: 94 Points
Pop and pour. In the glass, very pale yellow and perfectly clear. On the nose, pear juice, honeysuckle, and a very slight note of summer rain (I know, it's pretentious, but that's the aroma). On the palate, a bit of zesty acidity is followed a blend of lychee fruit, pears, syrup, and subtle minerality, with an unctuous texture, and a long finish that leaves fruit on the teeth. Really luscious and enjoyable wine, and I may have scored it too low.
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10/30/2010 - Badfish wrote: 95 Points
Oktoberfest: 2009 Germans (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): Wow this is so seductive and delicate, the aromas of crushed stones, sweet white stone fruits, and lime are complex and profound. The first thing you notice about the palate is the explosive stone essence, that component is just so dense and striking. The acidity is fresh and the flavors are sweet and infused with pear, stone fruits, and citrus notes. I have to say the fruit has ideal balance with the mineral aspect of this wine. This is a stunning effort that has tremendous balance, complexity, and elegance.
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