1998 Alfred Merkelbach Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese
Community Tasting Note
WineGuyX Likes this wine:
91 Points
Thursday, July 27, 2017 - Like my girlfriend, this is shockingly youthful and tight. The nose is loaded with lemon/lime, Meyer lemon, yuzu, and wet stones. Light-medium bodied and oh so tight and concentrated! Just lightly sweet (barely enough to tame the acidity), this is super concentrated and focused like a laser beam. Lime zest, yuzu and river stones. What a beautiful wine that should last and last. I can't stop drinking it. Thankfully it is only 8.0% alcohol, or tomorrow would be a day to rue! Drink 2017-2027+ 91 df 9.3
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1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (1,051 views)
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Comment posted by Soteriologist:
1/8/2018 8:06:00 AM - Thanks for the recommendation of a drinking window ! Helps assessment of my 2 remaining bottles of the 2003.
Comment posted by WineGuyX:
1/8/2018 12:18:00 PM - Keep in mind that 2003 was a freakishly hot vintage (the hottest in about 500 years, some winery records show). I have no experience with older 03's and only a few in my cellar. One would imagine they would not age nearly as well as an age-worthy vintage such as 1998. Tag me (if that's possible) if you drink one!
Comment posted by Soteriologist:
1/9/2018 6:09:00 AM - Hi X, well, I remember the heat here although I spent the hottest days of august in China. The ratings of the vintage 2003 over here for Mosel are excellent to put it mildly, in fact they speak of a superlative vintage of the century (which - granted - is a bit too young to tell, haha), but even "millennium" appeared in the literature. A "hot" vintage for the Mosel isn't necessarily bad, it's a matter of whether the vintner gets the time of harvest right which has a lot to do with luck. But if he does, the quality can be phenomenal.
That said, if you go look to the 2003 vintage of this wine, you'll find that I had already tried it last year and found it to be great, with no sign of weakness. So I am confident I can extrapolate from your drinking window and still even be on the safe side that way. I plan to open my next bottle 5 years from now at the earliest.
Comment posted by WineGuyX:
1/9/2018 10:53:00 AM - I'm not surprised it's in such great shape!