February 12, 2024 - Wow, this PnP showed no age to the color and had remarkable freshness, and complexity. This spatlese is so well integrated and complex now; shows a good several years ahead as well. This is why we age/cellar wine right here. A real head-turning beauty, loved it. 8,0% abv. highly recommended
October 19, 2023 - Jim & Michelene's dinner for their 40th wedding anni w/ chef Don Saunders. Jim & Michelene's btl. Don't get many chances to drink a Riesling from the vaunted '01 vintage & this did not disappoint! Exceedingly fresh, vibrant and deep w/ excellent acidity. Still light gold color. Only way this gets any better for my palate would be if it had been slightly dryer but that's a quibble. Excellent wine paired with Don's squash soup. Bravo.
May 12, 2023 - Purchased on release and perfectly stored. Definitely a fruit cocktail of a wine, with pineapple, apricots, peaches, lime and honey. The acids are up to the challenge here, producing a full bodied yet balanced, lengthy wine. Not much in terms of minerality, but so darn enjoyable. This is showing maturity, but this still seems to have the legs for continued cellaring.
November 30, 2022 - Pineapple, pineapple, and coconut and lime too - veritable pina colada - what a crazy good wine
April 1, 2022 - My last bottle. Last had this in 2011. This had a typically crumbly cork for a 21 year old German. Needed an ah-so to get the cork out. Clear golden yellow color. Only a hint of petrol on the nose. Great complexity. Moderately sweet with tropical notes mixed with pears and slate. A little smoke on the finish. Drink now if you have any. 94 points.
September 15, 2021 - Cellared at 55 since release. Brilliant clear gold, pure deep nose of perfectly ripened soft golden sweet pineapple and juicy yellow southern peaches. Brisk acids keep flavors sharply in focus on palate until the wine finally relents as clean and pure as it entered. Bravo
October 24, 2019 - Delicious Spatlese. Full-bodied but not heavy or cloying. Great freshness and vibrancy. Pears and honey flavors.
July 27, 2019 - Relatively unevolved for an 18 year old wine. It was also a bit simple. Lots of peach and tropical fruit, but not much else going on. Good balance, but either in need of a lot more time (still plenty of fruit left), or it’s just never going to be all that interesting.
November 4, 2016 - Light golden color, youthful for its age; nose is highly aromatic with lime, slate minerality, some honey, some slight well-integrated petrol; palate is light bodied, fresh, high acid, low alcohol, slight tingly effervescence at beginning of the palate, significant lemon-lime flavor throughout, some white peach at the beginning, midpalate to finish the fruit somewhat fades; short-medium finish. Very nice, a pleasure to drink, and overall nicely balanced, though I think the length could be longer. Nice not but also has a little time ahead of it. For under $30, this is a real value. 91-92+
October 6, 2016 - Last of my bottles, and one of the best showings I've had from this. 15 years from vintage, it's still incredibly youthful and bright - packed with layers of ripe white fruit, stony and flinty mineral notes, sweet floral notes, and honeyed and lightly smoky accents, and with the sweetness perfectly balanced by powerful acidity. There's amazing cut and energy on the palate, and remarkable length to the finish. Great wine - Leitz really killed it in 2001.