Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Some friends went to Germany recently and didnt bring back any wine. As punishment, I put together a tasting, featuring a 2007 from each the four main winegrowing regions, and an older auslese to crown the affair.
Rheinhessen: 2007 Gysler Weinheimer Riesling Kabinett 8.5%
Screwcap, no reduction. Lovely aromas of tangerines, white flowers, wet stones, honey, sodium bicarbonate and a whiff of kerosene. Satisfying body, light sweetness. Delicious.
Rheingau: 2007 Leitz Rdesheimer Klosterlay Kabinett 10.0%
Screwcap, no reduction. Aromatics similar to the preceding, but more muted, with lemon instead of tangerine. A little chunkier and sweeter, with a pleasant bitter finish. Very nice.
Nahe: 2007 Dnnhoff Riesling 10.0%
Natural cork. Aromas are less lively, with a little bit less of everything (and no petrol), but the mouth feel is the most satisfying so far. Thicker, denser, drier. Great harmony between nose and mouth sensations. Lovely.
Mosel-Saar-Rwer: 2007 Van Volxem Saar Riesling 12.0%
Natural cork. Even more muted white flower & mineral aromatic profile, with a smokey note of burnt sugar. This is markedly different from the three preceding wines, much drier and, paradoxically perhaps, coming off as riper. Might have shown better if placed first, but seemed a bit surly after the previous three.
1995 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 7.5%
Wow aromatics of petrol, thyme, rosewater, lemon, musk and crushed mint leaves. I dont think Ive ever encountered so much chlorophyll in a wine. Perfect acid/sweet balance, the sweetness quite austere. Still a teenager, and a pleasingly ascetic one for protestant palates.
The auslese was indisputably the wine of the night, but when I asked for votes on the other four, the Gysler got four nods, the Dnnhoff two and the Van Volxem two (harrumph, I think the Leitz was much better than this suggests).
From such a limited sample, I dont think anyone learned anything, really, about how the regions differ, but the aspect I found most intriguing was how aroma was inversely proportional to alcohol, when I might have expected the opposite.
Rheinhessen: 2007 Gysler Weinheimer Riesling Kabinett 8.5%
Screwcap, no reduction. Lovely aromas of tangerines, white flowers, wet stones, honey, sodium bicarbonate and a whiff of kerosene. Satisfying body, light sweetness. Delicious.
Rheingau: 2007 Leitz Rdesheimer Klosterlay Kabinett 10.0%
Screwcap, no reduction. Aromatics similar to the preceding, but more muted, with lemon instead of tangerine. A little chunkier and sweeter, with a pleasant bitter finish. Very nice.
Nahe: 2007 Dnnhoff Riesling 10.0%
Natural cork. Aromas are less lively, with a little bit less of everything (and no petrol), but the mouth feel is the most satisfying so far. Thicker, denser, drier. Great harmony between nose and mouth sensations. Lovely.
Mosel-Saar-Rwer: 2007 Van Volxem Saar Riesling 12.0%
Natural cork. Even more muted white flower & mineral aromatic profile, with a smokey note of burnt sugar. This is markedly different from the three preceding wines, much drier and, paradoxically perhaps, coming off as riper. Might have shown better if placed first, but seemed a bit surly after the previous three.
1995 Joh. Jos. Prm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 7.5%
Wow aromatics of petrol, thyme, rosewater, lemon, musk and crushed mint leaves. I dont think Ive ever encountered so much chlorophyll in a wine. Perfect acid/sweet balance, the sweetness quite austere. Still a teenager, and a pleasingly ascetic one for protestant palates.
The auslese was indisputably the wine of the night, but when I asked for votes on the other four, the Gysler got four nods, the Dnnhoff two and the Van Volxem two (harrumph, I think the Leitz was much better than this suggests).
From such a limited sample, I dont think anyone learned anything, really, about how the regions differ, but the aspect I found most intriguing was how aroma was inversely proportional to alcohol, when I might have expected the opposite.
