Eiswein trinity

Adrian's place, Chicago
Tasted Thursday, April 16, 2015 by salil with 450 views

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2004 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Auction 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    A remarkable Kabinett that's all about power while still coming across more like classic Kabinett rather than declassified Spätlese or Auslese . The intensity here is remarkable - the lime, green apple, leafy and mineral flavours are conveyed with amazing concentration, yet it still manages to feel as light as a feather with a traditional Kabinett's sense of finesse. There's powerful acidity underneath, and each sip clings to the palate for minutes. Fantastic.

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Flight 2 (1 Note)

  • 2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese 95 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Consistent, exotic, and flamboyant as ever. A burst of ripe pink grapefruit, papaya, lychee, and countless other tropical fruits up front, turning a bit more floral and herbal with air as sage, lavender, and minty notes develop on the nose. There's plenty of sweetness here that's matched perfectly by that powerful '01 acid spine, and it has that signature HGS combination of flamboyant ripeness matched with incredible focus and precision.

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 2000 Noël Verset Cornas 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    This is developing into a phenomenal wine. The rustic, sauvage qualities are more prominent now than they were in my last bottle a few years ago, with a fragrance of animal fur, meat, coal smoke, and other savoury earthy, brothy, and briny elements that just keeps getting more complex with air. The palate is remarkable - a combination of those rustic Cornas flavours, and a remarkable sense of polish and calm at the same time, with gentle red fruits and black olives beneath, and a hauntingly long, saline finish. Singular.

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • 2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 95 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    What a treat to be able to sit and drink this, the 2010, and 2009 Brücke Eisweins side by side over a few hours. This is a spectacular wine that only suffers slightly in contrast to the other two Eisweins. Remarkable intensity and purity on the palate - an array of candied limes, peaches, and pineapples accented by honey and faint spicy notes, though it feels a touch softer and more lush on the palate than I usually find Dönnhoff's Eiswein to be. It firms up a touch with more air and time in the glass, also becoming a bit more herbal as some bright kaffir lime leaf notes develop.

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  • 2010 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 98 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    The most intensely ripe and exotic of the three Eisweins - this has a much more tropical character to the fruit, ripe, honey drenched passion fruit, pineapple and peachy notes up front, turning more tart on the back end with bright green apple and lime flavours and a rush of powerful acidity on the finish that cuts through the intense sweetness. So unbelievably powerful and long. (Adrian says AP #30. I was in too much of a "Homer Simpson with donuts" mode to take note.)

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  • 2009 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 99 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Holy god. How do you follow a wine like the '10 Eiswein? Apparently this works. It's not as flamboyant and tropical as the '10, but it's a bigger, denser wine with palate-staining intensity, and a degree of finesse and elegance that's hard to put into words. There's a core of ripe, concentrated fruit here - all limes, green apples, peaches, and some fainter tropical notes, but there's also a mineral undercurrent beneath, and a high toned aromatic topnote of ginger and horseradish that gets more intense with air. Unbelievably pure, focused, and long. Epic is an understatement for this lineup.

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