2002 Rieslings (Austria/France/Germany)

A group of regular enthusiats gathered yesterday night at Weinhandel Boehme in Frankfurt to taste some 2002 Austrian rieslings, with the odd bottle from Alsace and Rheingau thrown into the mix. What I found interesting in this tasting was that we tried globally the same producers than during the Grüner Veltliner tasting and interestingly enough I ranked the same producers high and low this time.

• 2002 Domaine Muré Riesling Clos Saint Landelin

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Very nice fruit on the nose, lemon, a bit of yeast (I was thinking it was the Muré because of that, I always seem to notice some yeast on the nose). Very fresh, crisp, energetic. The nose (and the palate) is moving towards polish wax and acetone after a while. Very slight RS, same notes on the palate than on the nose but with some bitterness (grapefuit), very round in the mouth with a focused acidity and great freshness. Very nice finish but still overall rather simple. 3rd out of 6.

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• 2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Very strong, slightly sweet notes of lemon, orange and "grape" which made me think of the nose of a muscat. Very powerful nose but somewhat lacking finesse. Slightly sparkling, rather "heavy" palate but still quite fresh, good acidity. Nice finish on lemon notes. Ranked 5th out of 6 due to its simplcity compared to other wines.

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• 2002 Nigl Riesling Privat

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

  The nose is not very expressive (and that's an understatement). It's slightly better in the mouth but not much - almost impossible to assess for me since it basically tastes of nothing. Extremely acidic, even searing acidity on the finish that actually burns the tongue a bit. Either it's severely shut down right now, or it's a real disappointement. 4 tasters out of 6 ranked it last, but 2 tasters enjoyed it a lot and gave it first place in their rankings, which lead to quite a bit of disbelief and head-scratching.

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• 2002 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Schütt

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  The nose is very different from all the others with strong reduction notes that never blow off completely. The colour is also much more intense. Very powerful nose with honey, wax, a bit of oak, botrytis, slightly sweet. On the palate the botrytis is clearer for me, caramel and especially flowers with significant RS. Nice finish on flowers and wax. Very good balance and nice acidic structure. However it is a bit too flashy and has some alcohol noticeable especially on the finish, which means it reaches for me only 4th place out of 6.

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• 2002 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Very light reduction aromas on the nose but blowing off quickly. A bit of lemon moving towards white flowers with a clear salinity that begs for food - after a while aromas of honey and beewax start to appear. In the mouth the wine is very round, with some rather "heavy" aromas compared to the lightness, crispness of the nose. I had the impression there was a little of RS with some botrytised notes. Incredibly balanced and harmonious. The best wine of the tasting for me.

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One wine that wasn't available in CellarTracker and that I don't have the necessary information to set-up:

2002 Flick Riesling Wickerer Mönchsgewann Erstes Gewächs, Rheingau, Germany
Rather weird nose at first with yeast, cheese (!), mineral notes, flintstone. Quite sparkling at first but develops itself very nicely in the mouth, huge acidic backbone, very powerful on the palate but still retaining finesse and complexity with a good finish. 2nd out of 6.

Overall it was interesting to see that there were somehow 2 groups of tasters. Those who liked wines #5 and #6 (Hitzberger and Flick) and thought #3 (Nigl) was a little bit of wine diluted in a lot of water, and those who thought... exactly the reverse! I am firmly in the first camp, though.