| | big Thai lunch at Ben and Estella's...various lovely starters and then for the mains it was Pork hock poached in masterstock then deep fried with a coconut/caramel dressing and a hot & sour sauce, Coconut braised beef shin with a hot and sour salad and lamb shank red curry...bit of rice as well - 2004 Louis Sipp Riesling Osterberg - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Medium minus intensity aromas are savoury, slightly rocky minerality, very slight petrol, herbaceous, a little citric note. Juicy, textured grip, muted fruit; very slight lemon, a little glycerol, slight alcohol on the finish. Perhaps a little tired?
- 1983 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives - France, Alsace
Honey, caramel, slight lychee, waxy notes. Juicy, tangy, toffee, off-dry, honey, slight bitter on the finish with a little non-intrusive alcohol warmth. Sliding rapidly to full tertiary, very happy I've opened this with chums now.
- 2012 Grosset Riesling Alea - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
Low intensity aromas of slight petrol, lemon, lime and slight apple. Medium plus intensity acidity, slight residual sugar, tangy with a textured burr to the mid palate, medium minus intensity flavours…overall this is quite muted. Disappointing
- 2019 Dry River Gewürztraminer Lovat Vineyard - New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Massive lychee, rose petal, Turkish delight. Juicy, probable smidge of residual sugar, tastes like it smells. Wonderful by itself and shines with the food.
- 2007 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Nahe
As per earlier notes, peach fruit, pretty, yum - with the food the slight lack of balance is not so problematic
- 2013 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Riesling trocken Rheingau - Germany, Rheingau
Medium minus intensity aromas of a little peach and citrus, clean, simple. Medium plus intensity acidity, tight textured grip, muted stone fruit, quite simple on the palate as well. Hmm.
- 2018 Rieslingfreak Riesling No. 8 - Australia, South Australia
Kerosene, green apple, lime. Juicy, off-dry, same flavour profile as the nose but no kerosene, long, nice especially with food.
- 2020 Hugel Gentil "Hugel" - France, Alsace
Pretty, musky, grapey, a little lychee, generic citrus, floral elements. Nice nose. Juicy, equally nice on the palate, fleshy, fresh, beautifully balanced but doesn't really work with these dishes for me.
- 2015 Van Volxem Riesling Alte Reben - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Initially very slight kerosene, peachy, ripe apple, smells 'fat' and generous. And so it proves on the palate, juicy, fleshy, lovely. An evaporating wine.
- 2016 Dopff au Moulin Riesling Schoenenbourg - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Stone fruit, peach, orange, slight lemon, mandarin. Juicy straying to medium plus intensity acidity, fleshy and generous with a little fattiness to the mid palate enhanced by a leesy burr. Similar flavour profile to the nose. Yum.
- 2021 Arfion Gewürztraminer Smokestack Lightning - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
On the nose there is some lychee, sour cider and a lot of wood glue but in the mouth this is pretty awful stuff: I can imagine it might have been okay when it was first bottled but this is already on the descent to sour oxidised cider
A lot of fun...my favourites of the day were probably the Dry River Gewurz, the Dopff Grand Cru, the Van Volxem, Rieslingfreak no. 8 and the Schaefer Frohlich...lots of lovely food as well...it was a positive waddle to the train station afterwards... |
