Had a nice evening with some old friends at Szechuan Gourmet, the hottest Szechuan place, literally (no AC) in NYC. Great wines across the board but I did learn that great tete de cuvee Champagne will always, on a qualitative scale, crush most of what the rest of the world has to offer. There were some great German and Austrian wines on this particular night but the bubbly just stood tall looming over the Rieslings.
The first wine was the 2005 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs which showed great. Last bottle was baby aspirin all the way and beyond closed. This had a nose of lime zest, matchstick, citrus, stony minerality and as Dr. K remarked "vulcanized rubber." Real aromatic and wafting. The palate had a lovely purity, elegance and juiciness with tons of lime zest and citrus fruit. Really floats but had nice sap and extract along with the traditional Hermannshohle elegance. This was open for business and since I have had a terrible track record with aging this bottling next one will go down this year.
Next up was the 1995 Dom Perignon Oenotheque (2006 disgorgment) which performed like a rock star. Only had '93 Oeno before and that is just bad overpriced sparkling Chablis. This was the first bottle opened as it needed air. Air turned out to be this wine's friend. Started off with lovely aromas of citrus and baking spices. Incredible detail to the nose. The palate was like a cloud. Scary elegant. Everything in it's proper and perfect place. As the night went on this got more and more aromatic and displayed unreal breadth on the nose and palate. Expansive. Never stopped expanding. Universe wine. Apparently the 2006 disgorgment is the better one. The 2005 is light years behind this. That info was relayed by a reliable source. A great Champagne and easily the best wine of the night. Killed it with the razor clams too.
Next up was the 1992 Emmerich Knoll Riesling Ried Loibenberg Federspeil which was a great drink until it died and turned into a baby aspirin bomb. Lovely aromatic precision, loads of minerals, and lots of lime fruit. Great match too with Razor clams but a'las this died after around 50 minutes. Not sure if aging federspeil this long is a good idea.
Next was the 2001 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese which started out youthfully vibrant and then quickly shifted to middle age. Awesome, deep palate with tremendous depth and lots of secondary action going on already. Great acids and lovely balance and outstanding length. That is one thing about this bottle is the outstanding length. But I would say drink up sooner rather than later. The urine-like color scared me a bit.
Up next was a bi-polar bottle of the 2004 Keller Hubacker Grosses Gewachs. Sick nose. Confectionary delight. All sorts of mineral. Outraegous. Palate a downright disaster. Dirty, swampy, almost tasted like a puddle of mud. Isn't that a band? Last bottle 3 years ago was profound. Not aging well?
Next was the 2007 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Auslese Auction GK which was a hedonist's dream. I hate the word hedonist but there is no other way to describe this wine. Just slut city. Sugar in your face. Airy and ethereal palate lacking in acidity but still had a nice cake icing character that was very appealing. Mineral, lime-zest nose. Not much of the Brucke rocky minerality, but that should come with time. Fun to drink now, but needs 15 years.
The final wine was the 1998 Mller-Catoir Mubacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein which is about as perfect as Eiswein can get. No botrytis, precise, clean flavors, amazing precision, brilliant acids, epic finish, and a very rich nose that is contradicted by the sleek, acidic, palate. Just what Eiswein should be.
The first wine was the 2005 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs which showed great. Last bottle was baby aspirin all the way and beyond closed. This had a nose of lime zest, matchstick, citrus, stony minerality and as Dr. K remarked "vulcanized rubber." Real aromatic and wafting. The palate had a lovely purity, elegance and juiciness with tons of lime zest and citrus fruit. Really floats but had nice sap and extract along with the traditional Hermannshohle elegance. This was open for business and since I have had a terrible track record with aging this bottling next one will go down this year.
Next up was the 1995 Dom Perignon Oenotheque (2006 disgorgment) which performed like a rock star. Only had '93 Oeno before and that is just bad overpriced sparkling Chablis. This was the first bottle opened as it needed air. Air turned out to be this wine's friend. Started off with lovely aromas of citrus and baking spices. Incredible detail to the nose. The palate was like a cloud. Scary elegant. Everything in it's proper and perfect place. As the night went on this got more and more aromatic and displayed unreal breadth on the nose and palate. Expansive. Never stopped expanding. Universe wine. Apparently the 2006 disgorgment is the better one. The 2005 is light years behind this. That info was relayed by a reliable source. A great Champagne and easily the best wine of the night. Killed it with the razor clams too.
Next up was the 1992 Emmerich Knoll Riesling Ried Loibenberg Federspeil which was a great drink until it died and turned into a baby aspirin bomb. Lovely aromatic precision, loads of minerals, and lots of lime fruit. Great match too with Razor clams but a'las this died after around 50 minutes. Not sure if aging federspeil this long is a good idea.
Next was the 2001 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese which started out youthfully vibrant and then quickly shifted to middle age. Awesome, deep palate with tremendous depth and lots of secondary action going on already. Great acids and lovely balance and outstanding length. That is one thing about this bottle is the outstanding length. But I would say drink up sooner rather than later. The urine-like color scared me a bit.
Up next was a bi-polar bottle of the 2004 Keller Hubacker Grosses Gewachs. Sick nose. Confectionary delight. All sorts of mineral. Outraegous. Palate a downright disaster. Dirty, swampy, almost tasted like a puddle of mud. Isn't that a band? Last bottle 3 years ago was profound. Not aging well?
Next was the 2007 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Auslese Auction GK which was a hedonist's dream. I hate the word hedonist but there is no other way to describe this wine. Just slut city. Sugar in your face. Airy and ethereal palate lacking in acidity but still had a nice cake icing character that was very appealing. Mineral, lime-zest nose. Not much of the Brucke rocky minerality, but that should come with time. Fun to drink now, but needs 15 years.
The final wine was the 1998 Mller-Catoir Mubacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein which is about as perfect as Eiswein can get. No botrytis, precise, clean flavors, amazing precision, brilliant acids, epic finish, and a very rich nose that is contradicted by the sleek, acidic, palate. Just what Eiswein should be.