Riesling!
Yokohama, Japan
Tasted September 27, 2019 by chatters with 141 views
Introduction
an another golden opportunity to be in Japan with Stefan (Stefanakiko) tasting and drinking superb wines in wonderful company. Tonight it was Riesling and I owe a huge vote of gratitude to Stefan for bringing a wheelie trolley with a dozen gems...which we made up to 15 with the three that I'd popped into the suitcase...
As it's Stefan it was blind, we called vintage, location and I took a punt on sugar level...
Flight 1 - Aged Dry Riesling Bracket one (3 notes)
the Trimbach was immaculate. The Van Volxem wonderful. My guesses were not brilliant
White
1997 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
France, Alsace
Served blind. Wet stone, slight peach, apple, honey, citrus, very slight toast. Juicy, slightly sharp, acidity, chalky minerality, citrus and apple, slight honey, breadth, rich, balanced. very good. I called Mosel 89
White - Off-dry
1975 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Served blind. Walnuts, toffee apple, brown sugar - oxidised notes - slight damp cellar...almost like a fortified. On the palate wonderfully juicy citrus freshness, then cream, a touch of green apple and nutty on the finish. Rather lovely in an almost maderised way. I called Mosel 76
Flight 2 - Aged dry Riesling Bracket two (3 notes)
the Ewald Thod Drathen was very interesting. The Leo Buring was fresh as a daisy (Stefan thought it was a 2016) which is another tick in the box for screwcap....my guesses deserve no ticks
White
2003 Leo Buring Riesling Leonay Eden Valley
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
Served blind. Kerosene, cream, lime, dusty with an almost herbaceous minerality (if you can imagine such a thing) with slight ethanol notes. On the palate spritz, lime citrus, juicy acid, slight alcohol on the finish. Bone dry. Hmm. I knew what this was (I brought it along)
White - Off-dry
1989 Ewald Theod. Drathen Binger St Rochuskapelle Riesling Spätlese
Germany, Rheinhessen
Served blind. Baked honey, slightly medicinal/menthol notes, bruised apple. In the mouth it's baked apple with too much honey and a little menthol underpin. Long. Balanced but a little over the hill for me but it is but it isn't but it is but it isn't. Textured, with time a little tart orange marmalade. It's quite compelling. and interesting. I called Pfalz and 1988
Flight 3 - Aged off dry Riesling pre 2000 (3 notes)
The Gustaz Adolf Schmitt was the clear wine of the bracket here and, for me, a serious candidate for wine of the night
White - Off-dry
1993 Gustav Adolf Schmitt Niersteiner Rehbach Riesling Auslese
Germany, Rheinhessen
Served blind. toffee apple, walnuts, sweet spice, honey, pan d'epice, bruised apple. Oxidised and a little maderised along with very slight cork taint (though this was possibly because I got the first pour from the pop and pour bottle). More of the same on the palate. Off dry. Long. Fresh acid. Harmonious balance. Lovely. I called Spatlese 95
White
N.V. Dr. Zenzen Riesling Liebfraumilch
Germany, Rheinhessen
Fino with marzipan! cream, wood glue, a little lemon, baked stone fruit. Juicy acid and sharp fruit leaves very quickly - far shorter than short - and all that remains is a touch of residual sugar. I called flaw and, in a previous life, perhaps mosel kabinett 96 - note this was NV but estimated as about 98 bottling (purchased in 1999)
White
1998 P.J. Valckenberg Zeller Schwarze Katz Riesling
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Raisins, dried fruit, honey is a little mead like, with sweet baking spice, toffee. Sharp acid, honey, baked apple but the acid sugar balance is off - too much of the former not enough of the latter. I called Mosel Spatlese 93.
Flight 4 - off dry Riesling post 2000 (3 notes)
The Dr Loosen was deeply disappointing for me, the Robert Weil good but probably not worth the price and the Donnhoff was superb - another WOTN candidate for me.
White - Off-dry
2005 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese
Germany, Rheingau
Served blind. Slight kerosene, lime and green apple, cream, with time a little peach and sweet spice and mineral notes. Juicy but sweet rather than off dry, breadth, a little alcohol warmth, sweetly spiced, the stone fruit and apple more to the fore but still with that lime underpin. I called German, not Mosel, Auslerse 2001
White
2002 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Served blind. Medium minus intensity aromas which are meaty and sweaty...with agitation some green apples backed by cream and honey. Juicy, off dry, green apple and honey, slight cream, lacks a little sweetness for the acid. Hmm. My wine so I recognised it as such.
Flight 5 - Sweet things (3 notes)
All of these, whilst lovely, were arguably a little on the young side (or that may be just their relative youth compared to the previous dozen wines)
White - Off-dry
2010 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Served blind. Half bottle. Medium minus intensity, slight sulphur, dusty initially, slightly meaty. On the palate it's spritzy, quite citric, textured mid palate, medium plus length, simple, young. Mosel, 2012, Auslese
Closing
Phew, bloody hell...It just goes to show that I need to taste a hell of a lot more Riesling! Best excuse ever. Wotn was joint honours between the Gustav Adolf Schmitt and the Donnhoff.
Though some of these wines were patently oxidised they had enough going on not to label them flawed in my opinion. Also I don't have enough experience of old Riesling to make the call on what is or is not flawed from an oxidative perspective.
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