Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
Kirk Wallace got together a small group for dinner on Tuesday night at Spicy and Tasty in Flushing. Very, very good food - highlights for me were the two pork belly dishes, the lamb with cumin (a favourite of mine), rabbit and chicken - though I paid more attention to the wines than the food.
2006 Schfer-Frhlich Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Groes Gewchs
Really ripe and intense; bright white fruited flavours, peachskin and a firm, expansive mineral character beneath with floral and smoky elements emerging with air. Finishes with a slightly sweet, almost glyceral note, enjoyable on its own though this suffered with the Szechuan food with the 13% alcohol becoming obtrusive at the first sign of heat.
2001 Dnnhoff Oberhuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
Fabulous. Still looks incredibly young, pale and primary with a gorgeous scent of pear and minerals and amazingly light on its feet; lots of depth and presence but with barely any sense of weight.
2001 Dnnhoff Schlobckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Sptlese
Elegant, understated and really complex with layers of red fruits, peach, citrus and a wash of minerals and salty notes on the back end. Very polished, almost glossy in the mouth - really delicious.
2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Sptlese #5
Flat out amazing. Incredibly pure Mosel fruit, slate and vanilla cream elements in a seamless, almost weightless package with serious precision and length. A bottle of this disappears within minutes, fortunately there's a second bottle that's even more primary; paler and more fruit-forward without the vanilla cream notes but with the same sense of balance and elegance. (Originally the plan was for a comparison of 01 Schaefer Domprobst from different fuders, but we ended up with two bottles of this - nobody was complaining!)
1976 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Nubrunnen Riesling Auslese
Bright gold colour with a gorgeous scent of honey, tropical fruits and orange peel accented by developed smoky and vanilla cream notes, but a little one-dimensional in the mouth though, almost monolithic and rather Sauternes-like with the botrytis dominating completely and giving it a viscous, slightly sticky mouthfeel.
2004 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermnnchen Riesling Sptlese
Full of bright yellow plums, peaches and floral notes over a slatey mineral base, very forward and fun to drink with the food, though this doesn't show the same acidity and sense of precision that I found in other bottles I opened in the last few months.
2006 Dnnhoff Felsentrmchen Riesling Sptlese
Very ripe and forward with a cotton candy-like sweetness and a bright peachy and red fruited character, good acidity balancing the richness and sweetness nicely. Delicious.
2001 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #19-02, white capsule)
Still an infant, but already spectacular. Starts out a little tight at first with bright peach, citrus and yellow plums over an intense slatey minerality - but with some air this really takes off, opening out aromatically and developing beautiful floral and herbal accents on top of the fruit and slate. Fantastic precision and balance with really good acidity that makes it feel incredibly light on its feet - amazing now, though it has years ahead.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #13-03, white capsule)
Really delicious (particularly with the food), though this suffers in comparison with the '01 poured alongside; this is more developed with smoky and petrol notes on top of bright Mosel fruit, but doesn't show the same depth, precision or lightness, feeling slightly softer and finishing a little short.
2001 Dnnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese
Packed with cherries and other red fruits, citrus and touches of pineapple and honey with very subtle botrytis elements in the background. Really sweet and dense, but there's a sense of real power and firmness here with the acidity giving it an almost chiselled texture.
2005 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Auslese
Full of such incredibly bright, vivid fruit ranging from ripe limes and peaches to more exotic tropical notes with touches of jasmine, minerals and honey underneath. Very sweet and rich, though the sense of purity and clarity to the fruit and the bright acids underneath make it incredibly fresh and easy to drink.
1998 Dnnhoff Oberhuser Brcke Riesling Auslese
Something's very off here - bright peach, grapefruit and petrol aromatics, but this feels very awkward with a hollow middle and the acids spiky and unbalanced. Cooked? Either way, continues my streak of bad luck with Dnnhoff's 98s.
2006 Schfer-Frhlich Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Groes Gewchs
Really ripe and intense; bright white fruited flavours, peachskin and a firm, expansive mineral character beneath with floral and smoky elements emerging with air. Finishes with a slightly sweet, almost glyceral note, enjoyable on its own though this suffered with the Szechuan food with the 13% alcohol becoming obtrusive at the first sign of heat.
2001 Dnnhoff Oberhuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
Fabulous. Still looks incredibly young, pale and primary with a gorgeous scent of pear and minerals and amazingly light on its feet; lots of depth and presence but with barely any sense of weight.
2001 Dnnhoff Schlobckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Sptlese
Elegant, understated and really complex with layers of red fruits, peach, citrus and a wash of minerals and salty notes on the back end. Very polished, almost glossy in the mouth - really delicious.
2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Sptlese #5
Flat out amazing. Incredibly pure Mosel fruit, slate and vanilla cream elements in a seamless, almost weightless package with serious precision and length. A bottle of this disappears within minutes, fortunately there's a second bottle that's even more primary; paler and more fruit-forward without the vanilla cream notes but with the same sense of balance and elegance. (Originally the plan was for a comparison of 01 Schaefer Domprobst from different fuders, but we ended up with two bottles of this - nobody was complaining!)
1976 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Nubrunnen Riesling Auslese
Bright gold colour with a gorgeous scent of honey, tropical fruits and orange peel accented by developed smoky and vanilla cream notes, but a little one-dimensional in the mouth though, almost monolithic and rather Sauternes-like with the botrytis dominating completely and giving it a viscous, slightly sticky mouthfeel.
2004 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermnnchen Riesling Sptlese
Full of bright yellow plums, peaches and floral notes over a slatey mineral base, very forward and fun to drink with the food, though this doesn't show the same acidity and sense of precision that I found in other bottles I opened in the last few months.
2006 Dnnhoff Felsentrmchen Riesling Sptlese
Very ripe and forward with a cotton candy-like sweetness and a bright peachy and red fruited character, good acidity balancing the richness and sweetness nicely. Delicious.
2001 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #19-02, white capsule)
Still an infant, but already spectacular. Starts out a little tight at first with bright peach, citrus and yellow plums over an intense slatey minerality - but with some air this really takes off, opening out aromatically and developing beautiful floral and herbal accents on top of the fruit and slate. Fantastic precision and balance with really good acidity that makes it feel incredibly light on its feet - amazing now, though it has years ahead.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #13-03, white capsule)
Really delicious (particularly with the food), though this suffers in comparison with the '01 poured alongside; this is more developed with smoky and petrol notes on top of bright Mosel fruit, but doesn't show the same depth, precision or lightness, feeling slightly softer and finishing a little short.
2001 Dnnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese
Packed with cherries and other red fruits, citrus and touches of pineapple and honey with very subtle botrytis elements in the background. Really sweet and dense, but there's a sense of real power and firmness here with the acidity giving it an almost chiselled texture.
2005 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Auslese
Full of such incredibly bright, vivid fruit ranging from ripe limes and peaches to more exotic tropical notes with touches of jasmine, minerals and honey underneath. Very sweet and rich, though the sense of purity and clarity to the fruit and the bright acids underneath make it incredibly fresh and easy to drink.
1998 Dnnhoff Oberhuser Brcke Riesling Auslese
Something's very off here - bright peach, grapefruit and petrol aromatics, but this feels very awkward with a hollow middle and the acids spiky and unbalanced. Cooked? Either way, continues my streak of bad luck with Dnnhoff's 98s.