Riesling & Gruner Dinner

Thanks to Tim for organizing the menu and working with the team at Mandu to set this up.

• NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Cuvée Rosé Brut 85 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nice champagne with good citrus and yeast notes. Wasn't overly complex, but I thought it was a nice bottle.

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• 2007 Bernhard Ott Grüner Veltliner Der Ott 86 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wagram

  Very ripe, gruner with dense tropical fruit, white flowers and subtle herbs. A bit too forward and modern for me, but I could see this being a popular wine with many folks.

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• 2007 Weingut Meinhard Forstreiter Grüner Veltliner Tabor 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

  Not as exciting as my first bottle. I opened this about 90 minutes prior to service, and I should have given it about 3-4 hours instead. The nose was a bit hot to me at first, with tidal pool tones, flint, dill, white melon, petrichor, and oil. The palate was dense but lithe - showcasing lanolin, lemon oil, oyster shells, and white flowers. Much like the nose, I got a bit of heat coming through on this one that I didn't get on my first bottle. It clocks in at 14% alcohol, so this is not a bashful wine in any way.

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One of the finer flights of wine I've ever had.

• 2007 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 95 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  An extremely impressive wine, and one of the finest Gruner's I've ever had. Pichler's rarely fail to impress on the nose and this one had copious amounts of dense lemon, exotic roasted herbs, freshly cracked white pepper, and a distinct dandelion stem bitterness. The palate features beautiful mineral tones that flow like a torrent beneath a sturdy layer of pineapple, waxy meyer lemon and meadow dew. There's an incredible floral lift to this wine that's hard to describe...but as the citrus and tropical fruit notes of the palate fade off a bit, the florals rush in and give you a wonderful lift creating a lengthy finish. Monumental effort here.

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• 2008 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  While not as impressive as the 2007 Kellerberg drank alongside this, there's no doubt this is another serious Kellerberg from Pichler. Great white floral tones with the signature cracked pepper and roasted herb nose that I'm becoming more and more accustomed to with Pichler's Gruner's. The palate was a bit greener in my mind, more driven by herbs, pepper, and dandelion tones. There was nice fruit, especially meyer lemon, and white peaches. Great finish with zippy acidity.

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• 2008 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 'M' 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Exotic nose of grapefruit, beeswax, white flowers, and subtle, underlying tobacco. Compared to its Kellerberg companion, this was far more open and expressive. While the Kellerberg made you work to understand its complexities, the "M" was the bombshell that made you stare. Hard to complain though about what's going on here. Yes, the style is forward but what the bottle may lack in subtly, it makes up for with its remarkable balance. Underlying minerals with sharp acidity keep the tropical fruits in check.

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• 2007 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 'M' 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Another great bottle of '07 M. Exotic herbs and citrus on the nose with lots of pepper, tobacco, and petrichor. Palate wasn't as overtly exotic as the 2008 M, but it had incredible balance and finesse.

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• 2002 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This came after a flight of gruners from F.X. Pichler and was an enjoyable reprieve! While this didn't have the exoticism and depth that the Pichler's had this had a subtle elegance to it that I enjoyed quite a bit. Nose had waxy lemons, some tropical fruits and hints of petrol. Palate was lithe with citrus, chalk and lanolin...lots of lanolin. Very nice finish. While I think this is a 90 point wine now, I love aged kabinetts...so there's certainly potential to put this away for a while.

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• 2007 A.J. Adam Riesling Kabinett 88 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Lots and lots of waxy apples on the nose with slate, lemongrass, and petrichor. Palate was fresh and vibrant with dense white florals, peaches and meadow-scents. Enjoyed this wine very much.

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• 2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Nose was filled with apples, pears, white flowers and diesel...think NJ Turnpike in Spring. Palate was incredibly vibrant with lithe dandelion stem tones, tidal pool scents, a good dose of apple and a subtle density reminiscent of honeycomb. Great length, clarity and depth at this point. Drinking VERY well at the moment, but for a vintage like 2007, there's incredible upside here. I recently had a 1981 Prum Kabinett that was incredibly fresh...and if that's any barometer, this wine could easily go that distance plus another 10-15 years (if stored properly).

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• 2008 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This drank really well for such a young Prum! Nice tropical fruits on the nose with wet slate and some chalk-dust. Had nice depth and complexity too . Will certainly mature well.

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• 2009 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Steinertal 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  I've been a big fan of the Steinertal wines from Pichler over the past couple of years - this one was different. Incredibly exotic, dense tropical notes on the nose. We're talking freshly squeezed guava, pineapple, mango, pina colada....get a chair on the beach, kick off your flip-flops, type of tropical fruits. From the get-go, this is a decidedly different Steinertal from the previous two vintages - lacking the herbs and slate, but with much more exotic fruit. Palate had dense fruit that was teetering on the cloying edge for me. To their credit, the wild fruit was balanced by a fine vein of acidity that drove the finish. This may sound bizarre, but this was an exhausting wine. Flavors pinging off all of my sensory glands with a deep acidity ripping apart my palate - it was sensory overload! This is my first 2009 Pichler wine, and if this is any indication of what's in store, hold onto your butts.

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• 2009 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  I liked this more than the 2009 Pichler Steinertal drank alongside it. It was a classier, more refined cuvee. Despite being a very young wine this has incredible depth and verve on the palate. Great tones of beeswax, smoke, and complex florals. This is a wine that I will keep coming back to...great clarity and depth on a lithe palate.

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• 2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 94 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Wow. What a wine. The 2001 vintage is getting more and more interesting to me. This has developed a deep nose of lanolin, orange oil, roasted herbs, and crushed vanilla beans. Palate has that wonderful combination of depth and complexity with a sexy weightlessness. I mean, good, god! Just a great bottle.

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• 2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Really a shame that this bottle was drank so young. Nose already has deep diesel, orange blossom, lanolin, and meyer lemon. Palate is dense, and just a hair heavier than the 2001 Donnhoff drank alongside this. The sweetness is substantial here, but to Prum's credit it's balanced very well with acidity and minerality. Should evolve over the next 30-40 years.

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Great night, looking forward to episode III.