Riesling bash at CHIKO

What an incredible Riesling dinner. Great seeing so many friends that I hadn't seen in several years. The food prepared for Riesling matched really well. The wines amounted to an embarrassment of riches, and I tried my best to take notes on what I could. Riesling is king!

• 2014 Weiser-Künstler Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling Brut Rieslingsekt 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This is so racy and bright – a real eye-opening Sekt for me. Crunchy green apples and kiwi, with tons of minerals and these flinty, slate, mountain stream vibes. Nuanced graham cracker and bread crumbs. The focus and depth are really impressive.

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• 1987 Peter Lauer Sekt Réserve Brut Nature 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This was intense and a rather extreme experience, but I found it delightful -- like listening to a great black metal album, not a comforting experience, but an awesome one. Deep brioche, almond, dried honey on the nose, with chalk, pear butter, lemon zest, shaved ginger. The palate is a brisk, zippy, crunchy punch with searing minerals and acidity. The orange, apple, and lemon fruit mixes really well with notes of almond cake, honey, shaved ginger, there's even like a green olive in brine vibe going on here. Really takes some time to open up, but it gets expressive and floral, and the minerals and mountain stream verve continues long on the finish. A lot of fun with beautiful depth.

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• NV Laherte Frères Champagne Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nice to revisit this wine, as I'm a big fan. Crunchy red apples, bright raspberries, with vibrant acidity and lots of flint, mineral, and some nettle and dandelion, dried roses. Delicious.

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• 2014 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Love the crunchy red and green apples and orange peels, with the brioche and honey, almond cake. Bright, minerals, zesty, but lovely honeyed depth, too. Would love to see this in 10 years.

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• 2007 Weingut Keller Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs 96 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Wow. What to say – so expressive, deep, exotic. Aromatically fantastic. The palate is polished and balanced with some rich texture, juicy fruit, and a mineral-encrusted, crystalline presence. Lemon and pineapple, laced with honey, notes of shaved ginger, some green herbs, hints of gasoline, and candle wax. What a stunner, one of my wines of the night, and a wine I’d absolutely love to revisit in five to eight years. From magnum.

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• 2008 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Großes Gewächs 94 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  This has a lot of plush, ripe, tropical fruit (pineapple, kiwi, white peach). Seems generous but precise, however, with great balance and laser-like minerals. In a very good spot now. I’d drink up or hold for another year or two.

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• 2004 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal Flawed

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  What a shame! Two bottles of this wine were badly corked. Sad that it was stored so long when it never had a shot.

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• 2016 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Steinertal 95 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  The nose shows a mix of denser, honeyed fruit with bright chunks of chalk and smashed rocks. The palate is deeply texture but dry and bracing with a mineral intensity. Tangy green apples, papaya, drizzled with lime, the fruit is matched with complex notes of mint, crushed stone, some white pepper, and honey. This will continue to age very well for a long time, but this was a great showing. Really needs a bit of air to get cranking. A real stunner.

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• 2015 Schloss Lieser Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 89 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Ripe and fun aromas with a plush texture and medium acidity. Like honeyed pears and baked apples topped in some minerals, white tea, and whipped honey. Fun, but came across a bit simple relative to others.

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• 2011 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett 88 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This had a vibe full of cinnamon baked apples, honeyed biscuits, almond cake, some spiced apple cider. Fun and tasty but lacked verve and seemed past prime.

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• 2007 S.A. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Exotic nose of lemons, pineapple, green apples, flowers, honey. The palate is packed with sweet peach nectar and pineapple juice but the acidity is on point. A bit fat around the edges, but it is welcomed because it’s delicious and accented with all sorts of honey, crushed stones, white tea, and almond skin.

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• 2018 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  This has a deep and inviting nose of baked apples, honeycomb, pear nectar, with yellow flowers, candied pineapple. The palate is rich and honeyed but balanced with brisk acidity and a stony mineral essence. Notes of biscuits, almond skin, and honey butter. Long, zesty, mineral-encrusted finish. This deserves a whole lot more time in the cellar. From magnum.

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• 2018 Weingut Keller Riesling RR 92 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  This wine was really briny, in a good way. Like a seaweed bed along some rocks with big, cold crashing waves. Drizzle some line, add in some oyster shells, honeysuckle, daisies, dandelion. Fun and interesting!

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• 2015 Weingut Keller Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs 94 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Tangy, primary, but so energetic, lots to unpack from this well-wrapped package. Lime zest, ruby red grapefruit, kiwi, the fruit is mixed with complex minerals, smashed rocks and shells. Has lovely textural depth, balancing out the racy and laser-like focus, briskness, and minerality. A bit too young to fully parse through, especially in such an overwhelming setting, but wow this will be good for the long haul.

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• 2015 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Pfalz

  Young but beautiful. Perfumed and full of citrus and flint. The palate is crunchy, vibrant, salty, and perfumed, with grapefruit, green apples, laced with flowers and honey, some almond, some slight green herbal tones. A bit compact, but I'd like to revisit in 3-8.

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• 2016 Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling Josef Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, New York, Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake

  Very pretty, seems young, with a lot of concentration of fruit, honey, flowers. The acidity livens up things nicely and the pear and bruised yellow apple fruit is pure and juicy. Nice to have a FLX Riesling in the mix and have it show so well. That said, I'd bury this for like seven years or something if I had some.

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• 2017 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Plush and sweet but maintains focus. Pineapples and peach nectar, with yellow flowers, and some slate and sea salt. Fun stuff. From magnum.

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• 2005 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Dense and rich, this one, but in a great way. Apricot jam, orange marmalade, and candied pineapple, with rich honey and clover, it all bounces off these mineral, slate, mountain breeze, and sea salt vibes. The plush texture is great, but it’s harmonious and zippy, too. Aging wonderfully, I’d love to revisit in three to five years.

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• 1998 J.B. Becker Riesling Spätlese 86 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Well, they can't all be winners. This was just tired out. Fun, apple juicy, but not much complexity and life in it. Maybe an off bottle because recent reviews seem to indicate a lot better showing.

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• 2011 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 95 Points

  France, Alsace

  Exceptional showing from magnum. The nose is perfumed with white and yellow flowers, slate, crushed chalk, salt brine, over top of orange peel and juicy white peach, drizzled with lime. The palate is concentrated and bold but balanced expertly with racy acidity. Flavors of dried apricot and pineapple, lime zest, mix with tones of almond skin, slate, quinine, hay, some honeyed ginger tea – all sorts of stuff packed in here. Complex, balanced, this will continue to age well for a long time to come.

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• 2015 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 96 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This shined bright! Beautiful aromas of citrus, orange blossom, perfume, crushed sweet tarts, some mint and nettle, too. The palate is deep and smooth with punchy fruit and racy acid, combining for an intense but balanced approach. Granny smith apples, limes, oranges, white peach, the fruit is matched with flinty minerals and floral and herb tones galore. Young but promising – I’d love to bury this for a decade.

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• 2015 Weingut Reinhold Haart Piesporter Grafenberg Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Rich and honeyed on the nose with guava and pineapple. Juicy, ripe, sweet but fresh on the palate, with honeyed pears and bruised apples, some papaya nectar. Nice apricot jam and floral accents, too.

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• 2020 Peter Lauer Unterstenberg Riesling N°12 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This is such a mineral-focused wine, showing lots of crushed rocks, limestone, oyster shells, with zesty citrus. The flavors are great, but what stuck with me most about this wine is how clear and intense it is. A long life ahead of this, and I would lay any of these down for at least five to seven years.

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• 2019 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Beautiful focus, plush fruit, nice balance between crushed sweet tart sugar and racy acid. Nice tangy, pithy, mineral vibes as well. Too young to really parse through in full in such a spread, but I'd love to spend time with this in five years.

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• 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I wish I had more time with this, but it was beautiful. Dense and rich a full tropical appeal but the taut, racy acidity and crunchy minerals give this a brisk, lip-smacking feeling. Lovely, with so much life ahead.

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• 2017 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 93 Points

  France, Alsace

  Ripe and plush, honey and almonds, but bright with all sorts of floral tones, sugar cane, orange peel. Maybe my palate was overwhelmed, but if I had some of these, I'd forget about them for three to six maybe? But lovely stuff with a lot of potential.

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• 1993 Weingut Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Auslese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Really nice showing. Plush, rich, full of yellow plums, key lime pie, candied mango, and an array of flowers and minerals. Stays focused with the acidity and clarity, and I get tones of crushed sweet tarts and shells that linger long on the finish. Yummy! Showing really well -- very alive and kicking, so if the bottle's in good shape, it should still be good to cellar.

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• 1976 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Beerenauslese 96 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Intense, dark, but so nuanced and alive. Fig paste, apricot jam, orange marmalade, laced with minerals and chalky-salt dust tones, lots of sweet flowers and almond cake. A great experience.

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