Dinner at Chengdu Impression (Chicago, IL): One of the sleeper wines tonight -- this is unmistakably rustic riesling in this modern day and age. Chewy with its extract and concentration, this handles the vintage in a really dignified way, controlling the acids and sugars. Massively sized for a Merkelbach wine, but relatively demure in the context of peers. I'm a huge fan of this, with an extra soft spot for having tasted it with the Brothers Merkelbach back in 2016.
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Simply outstanding. While the nose didn't offer much, the palate was just sizzling. On the drier side for an Auslese, but this made it a great accompaniment for food. Electric acids and superb length. One of the best German Rieslings I've had in a while.
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HDH auction at Spiaggia; 5/17/2018-5/19/2018 (Chicago, IL): #09-16, 9.5% abv. Absolutely brilliant riesling, and really, one of the best "large" production wines of the vintage. Lovely sweetness, but herbal and balanced. Spicy, elegant, and rounded. Incredible linearity and precision here. What I love about this wine is the modern sweetness, but the classical sensibility. But the biggest surprise is how this actually hasn't shut down at all.
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A trip to the spice garden of Urzig presents red curry, fresh pineapple and black tea in a clean, juicy, light hearted palate cleanser that is a true delight.
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Yummy sweet pineapple/tropical fruit laced with a bit of salinity. Thicker than you might expect from a Merkelbach auslese, not quite as heavy as you might expect from some others, but definitely an auslese profile with its intense primary sweetness. Unfortunately it leaves me fishing for anything here beyond the up-front primary fruit, and coming up empty. It's more fruit juice than wine.
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A Rieslingfeier of our Own; 2/13/2017-2/18/2017 (Traben-Trarbach, Germany): Absolutely brilliant. The spice notes on this wine are clear as day, and the bright minerality and fresh acids make this as compelling a wine as can be. It's concentrated and dense with honeyed tart pineapple and a little bit of kaffir line. Obviously young but a joy to drink. Perhaps this was more accessible to me by virtue of the fact that this did seem sweeter than my experiences with Merkelbach wines...
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PnPed. This was brilliant on the nose with a bit of time: showing lime, kiwi, green: mint and snap pea, saline mineraity, some ripe apple and honey. The green and crunch really are the center. The palate shows more burly - there is the green and the racy fruit and acidity, but it's really packed and the saline minerality dominates with some chicken brothy aspects. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5-5+/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15-16+/20 (with 16-17/20 potential)
1/25: Just a small glass left, bottle sat in the fridge w a cork. The nose has lost a little bit of intensity - it's still light, green with great minerality - lime, mint, green herbs and spices, honey, honeysuckle and minerals.. The palate is still a little burly with the salty rocks, but as it moves towards the finish, it now comes into focus - driven by the green acid and green flavors - the finish is a wonderful combo of dusty minerals, lime citrus and bite, green herbs and mint, and the saline concentration, which is now in balance with the others. Nose - 4.5-5/6, Palate - 4.5-5+/6, Finish - 5-5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15-17/20.
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Another excellent bottle, consistent with my last. Lots of depth and complexity here, ranging from bright citrus, apple, and strawberry fruit to more flamboyant floral and honeyed notes, with an intense stony mineral base beneath. Quite sweet (moreso than many Merkelbach Auslese I've had in the past - this actually has the sweetness of modern Auslese), but very well balanced with really bright acids beneath. Great stuff.
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Initially, a very sweet, honeyed attack, that yields to steely, stoney, mineral, and then orchard fruit, citrus, and lime pith, and then back to honey and citrus through the finish. Very young and primary. Hold. 90-92.
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Liked this a lot, though it wasn't quite on the level of the Lang Pichter (AP#8) right now - perhaps a touch closed aromatically at first, but with some air the Wurzgarten strawberry and spice notes emerge to join the ripe peach, citrus, and other floral notes. There's a gentle mineral character that emerges with air, but there's also a tinge of botrytis here with some honeyed notes that I didn't find in the AP #8 Auslese. Very nice, though I get the impression this needs a bit more time or patience to really show its cards.
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8/16/2023 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Chengdu Impression (Chicago, IL): One of the sleeper wines tonight -- this is unmistakably rustic riesling in this modern day and age. Chewy with its extract and concentration, this handles the vintage in a really dignified way, controlling the acids and sugars. Massively sized for a Merkelbach wine, but relatively demure in the context of peers. I'm a huge fan of this, with an extra soft spot for having tasted it with the Brothers Merkelbach back in 2016.
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12/12/2018 - mdefreitas wrote: 94 Points
Simply outstanding. While the nose didn't offer much, the palate was just sizzling. On the drier side for an Auslese, but this made it a great accompaniment for food. Electric acids and superb length. One of the best German Rieslings I've had in a while.
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5/17/2018 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
HDH auction at Spiaggia; 5/17/2018-5/19/2018 (Chicago, IL): #09-16, 9.5% abv. Absolutely brilliant riesling, and really, one of the best "large" production wines of the vintage. Lovely sweetness, but herbal and balanced. Spicy, elegant, and rounded. Incredible linearity and precision here. What I love about this wine is the modern sweetness, but the classical sensibility. But the biggest surprise is how this actually hasn't shut down at all.
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8/24/2017 - bthatton Likes this wine: 93 Points
A trip to the spice garden of Urzig presents red curry, fresh pineapple and black tea in a clean, juicy, light hearted palate cleanser that is a true delight.
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3/28/2017 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 86 Points
Yummy sweet pineapple/tropical fruit laced with a bit of salinity. Thicker than you might expect from a Merkelbach auslese, not quite as heavy as you might expect from some others, but definitely an auslese profile with its intense primary sweetness. Unfortunately it leaves me fishing for anything here beyond the up-front primary fruit, and coming up empty. It's more fruit juice than wine.
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2/17/2017 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
A Rieslingfeier of our Own; 2/13/2017-2/18/2017 (Traben-Trarbach, Germany): Absolutely brilliant. The spice notes on this wine are clear as day, and the bright minerality and fresh acids make this as compelling a wine as can be. It's concentrated and dense with honeyed tart pineapple and a little bit of kaffir line. Obviously young but a joy to drink. Perhaps this was more accessible to me by virtue of the fact that this did seem sweeter than my experiences with Merkelbach wines...
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1/22/2017 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnPed. This was brilliant on the nose with a bit of time: showing lime, kiwi, green: mint and snap pea, saline mineraity, some ripe apple and honey. The green and crunch really are the center. The palate shows more burly - there is the green and the racy fruit and acidity, but it's really packed and the saline minerality dominates with some chicken brothy aspects. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5-5+/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15-16+/20 (with 16-17/20 potential)
1/25: Just a small glass left, bottle sat in the fridge w a cork. The nose has lost a little bit of intensity - it's still light, green with great minerality - lime, mint, green herbs and spices, honey, honeysuckle and minerals.. The palate is still a little burly with the salty rocks, but as it moves towards the finish, it now comes into focus - driven by the green acid and green flavors - the finish is a wonderful combo of dusty minerals, lime citrus and bite, green herbs and mint, and the saline concentration, which is now in balance with the others. Nose - 4.5-5/6, Palate - 4.5-5+/6, Finish - 5-5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15-17/20.
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12/18/2016 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Another excellent bottle, consistent with my last. Lots of depth and complexity here, ranging from bright citrus, apple, and strawberry fruit to more flamboyant floral and honeyed notes, with an intense stony mineral base beneath. Quite sweet (moreso than many Merkelbach Auslese I've had in the past - this actually has the sweetness of modern Auslese), but very well balanced with really bright acids beneath. Great stuff.
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12/18/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 90 Points
Initially, a very sweet, honeyed attack, that yields to steely, stoney, mineral, and then orchard fruit, citrus, and lime pith, and then back to honey and citrus through the finish. Very young and primary. Hold. 90-92.
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12/14/2016 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Liked this a lot, though it wasn't quite on the level of the Lang Pichter (AP#8) right now - perhaps a touch closed aromatically at first, but with some air the Wurzgarten strawberry and spice notes emerge to join the ripe peach, citrus, and other floral notes. There's a gentle mineral character that emerges with air, but there's also a tinge of botrytis here with some honeyed notes that I didn't find in the AP #8 Auslese. Very nice, though I get the impression this needs a bit more time or patience to really show its cards.
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