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Seattle Tasting Group does German Riesling
Issaquah, WA, USA
Tasted January 10, 2004 by Eric with 1,710 views
Introduction
Earlier this evening Jason Goldberger & Tracy Leonard hosted a meeting of the Seattle Tasting Group where we delved into a variety of German rieslings. Each taster was told to bring two wines, one from 2001 or 2002 and the other from 1990 or older. The wines were served blind with only Jason knowing enough about their identities so that he could arrange properly ordered flights. We started off with several whites to warm up.
Flight 1 (1 note)
This first wine was tasted non-blind with cheese and crackers before we got going.
White
2000 Dr. M. Prüm Riesling
83 points
AP No. 2 576 511 15 01. This had lots of plastic on a beautiful nose with a hint of diesel. Unfortunately the nose was the best part, as the palate is slightly bitter and oily with a lemon pith element. Also, the acidity is simply not on the same level as a 2001.
Flight 2 - White Flight 1 (3 notes)
White
2002 Paumanok Riesling
87 points
Exceptionally light in color. This had some talc and an intriguing nose of stonefruits with very noticeable apricot and peach, much different than I am used to in German Riesling (that should have been a hint). I got an initial hit of acidity on the sweet entry, and then the palate moved towards something a bit more simple and sugary. The finish showed more peach with a slight hint of bitter almond.
White
2001 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand
Something is wrong here. Very golden color with a gorgeous, honeyed nose. However, the palate is very flat with an oxidized feel and some obvious notes of burned rubber. The finish is unbalanced with searing, unpleasant acidity. After the bag was pulled a number of tasters went back and tried again, but this continued to disappoint. Part of the problem was that the bone-dry nature of this wine was a tough comparison to the sweeter German counterparts. However, there was more amiss here.
White
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
92 points
AP No. 2 576 511 26 02. The nose on this was very distinct compared to the other two wines with a lot of sulphur but also talc, and a very slatey, mineral driven explosion of smells. On the palate this is gorgeous with impeccable balance between the vibrant acidity and the sugary sweetness. There is also remarkable minerality and bright, red fruit. The finish is very long and impeccably balanced. This is the fourth bottle I have had of this wine, and it continues to deliver the goods every single time. Awesome!
Flight 3 - White Flight 2 (4 notes)
Jason Domanico arrive late with the second bottle of 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese (different AP# than the first), so we had it on the heels of this flight.
White - Off-dry
2001 Milz Laurentiushof Trittenheimer Altärchen Riesling Spätlese
89 points
AP No. 2 607 184 07 02. The aromatics on this wine were fairly faint as compared to the others in the flight with just a hint of talc. On the palate this shows nice vibracy with lots of lemon custard. Medium finish. This is a very clean riesling, very nice, a perfect summer sipper.
White - Off-dry
2001 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese
92 points
AP No. 2 602 041 007 02. The nose on this shows fresh rain on hot stones with a very slate driven character and some talc. On this palate this has a lot of depth with expressive minerality, very nice balance and a certain delicate, poised nature. The finish is extremely long with candied lemon. Beautiful!
White - Off-dry
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
93 points
AP No. 2 576 511 27 02. I picked this blind, as it seemed like the big brother of the Prum WS Kabinett we had in the prior flight. More sulfur with intense minerality, this nose was very similar to the Kabinett. On the palate this was much thicker and more intense with a long finish. This still has a huge amount of sugar to burn off before it comes into focus, but wow this is intense and impressive.
White - Off-dry
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
89 points
AP No. 2 576 511 15 02. (Notice the different AP from the other Prum WS Spat, #15 instead of #27.) The nose on this was intensely sulphured, moreso than all of the other Prum's tasted this evening. This had the continued minerality of the other Prum's from WS, but this bottle also showed a streak of bitter lemon and seemed much more disjointed. Was it damaged in some way? We had the same wine 10 minutes apart from two different bottles, no one recognized it, and no one liked the second bottle as much as the first. Hmmph.
Flight 4 - Blind Challenge (4 notes)
In the midst of these we stopped to enjoy some stuffed pork roast in a cider reduction which indeed matched beautifully with the wine. Then Jason decided to torture us with a blind tasting contest where we had to taste 4 reds, totally blind, and identify characteristics of the wines. The worst scorer would be forced to take home a bottle of their least favorite wine, and the best scorer would take home a bottle of their favorite red from the flight. I gained a huge early lead by nailing the first wine blind. Unfortunately from here I squandered my lead as Scott Thornber skillfully and methodically worked his way to victory.
Red
2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
92 points
This had an explosive nose of blueberry and some latex paint (again I found that in a young Quilceda). Unlike the other two bottles I have tasted, this one showed the heat that a lot of folks have been complaining of. Wow, this was seriously hot! On the palate there is lots of blueberry with a distinct taste of vanilla ice cream. On the finish this is showing absolutely HUGE structure and feels nowhere near ready, the least approachable of the three bottles of this I have tasted since Thanksgiving. (I successfully picked this double-blind.)
Red
2001 Marquis Philips Cabernet Sauvignon S2
89 points
Caramel, toast and lots of wood on the nose. On the palate this confused me a bit as I thought there was a lot of acid (bzzzt, this is a pretty low acid wine). Compared to the 2000 Quilceda, the fruit on this one is actually lean by comparison. This shows a lot of structure and is very spicy with a brown sugar sweetness. It is very tight though,and I don't find it very approachable right now.
Red
2001 Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon
75 points
Jason is CRUEL for tossing this in. The nose was green and somewhat herbal, and guessing blind I thought this was Cabernet Franc. On the palate this continues to show some green with a prickly mouthfeel and a sickly sweet palate. I actually retched uncontrollably the three times I tried to taste this, as it was unnaturally sweet, almost as if sugar had been added AFTER the the wine was bottled. Blech!
Red
2000 Château d'Armailhac
89 points
Tobacco, brett, earthy and lovely on the nose. This is an awesome, earth-driven wine, but the fruit is currently hiding. Is it losing? (Actually, once I saw the label I worried less.) The finish is medium in length, a bit tart but quite nice. I think this is pretty shut down right now.
Flight 5 - White Flight 3 (3 notes)
Finally we finished with three flights of the most beautiful white wines I have ever enjoyed. Awesome!
White - Off-dry
2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
93 points
AP No. 2 576 511 13 03. Slightly green in color. Green apple on the nose. On the palate, oh my, this is very unctuous, very heavy stuff. It is long delicious, and did I mention it was long, Long, LONG. Wow! This is awesome and surprisingly approachable, but it also has a lot of sugary baby fat to burn off.
White - Off-dry
1988 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese **
95 points
AP No. 2 576 609 32 89. The nose on this is gorgeous, with honeyed diesel and all that you could ask for in a aged Riesling. On the palate this is smoky and complex with remarkable depth. The interplay of acid and sugar on the palate is unreal. This wine is in a REALLY good place right now and is really delivering. This was definitely the surprise of the night for me.
White - Off-dry
1990 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Gerümpel Riesling Auslese "R"
93 points
AP No. 5 142 043 36 91. Deep golden color. Initially this nose on this seemed strange with, dare I say, a smell of uric acid, but mercifully this moved much more towards a mineral-driven nose with some plastic notes. The palate is all honey, layered and vibrant. This started to show much more green apple and a certain tartness.
Flight 6 - White Flight 4 (2 notes)
White - Off-dry
1976 Jos. Christoffel Jr. (Christoffel-Prüm) Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese **
94 points
AP No. 2 602 144 3 77. My bottle. Descriptors are almost insulting to a wine like this. Deep gold in color. Oh my goodnes, this has such a delicate and complex nose of honey and smokey diesel. On the palate this is delectable, gorgeously balanced. However, if there is one flaw it is that the acid is poking out a tiny bit on the finish. Really lovely. I'm sipping the last glass as I type the noses from the tasting, and wow this is yummy!
White - Off-dry
1976 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel
96 points
AP No. 2 576 511 21 77. Unanimous wine of the night. Deep golden color. Another stunning and gorgeous nose of aged Riesling. Oh wow, such a sweet and sour tang, this is long and gorgeous with a luscious texture and an almost spicy note of sage. A few folks described it as "spine tingling," and I have a hard time disagreeing. This bottle was acquired on release by the fellow who brought it, and it had not moved for 27 years, WOW!
Flight 7 - White Flight 5 (dessert) (3 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Weingut Baumann Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Beerenauslese
flawed
AP No. 4 387 013 17 91. Corked!
White - Sweet/Dessert
1970 Dr. H Thanisch Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Eiswein "Christwein"
90 points
Very gold in color. Some botrytis? it has the smell of microwaved plastic and a very different sort of depth and intensity to this wine but with a bitter edge and a somewhat monolithic character.
White - Off-dry
1975 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *****
92 points
AP No. 2 602 144 8 76. Yet another nose of incredible aged Riesling. On this palate this is surprisingly thick and intense with stunning acidity that is deeply concentrated, almost laser like in intensity. This has an intense grapefruit feel to it with just so much concentrated acidity. Very long on the finish. While this wine was lovely it was tougher to enjoy than some of the earlier wines, as the acidity was simply so dominating.
Closing
Thanks to Jason & Tracy for their hospitality in hosting another great tasting!