I was recently in Germany and drank a lot of German wine. The one exception to that was the 1986 Cos dEstournel which was overly angular and one dimensional. This made me suspect something had gone wrong during the decades of storage, as I had heard better things about this wine.
The wine used most often for Holiday Toasting was the 2004 Maximin Grnhuser Riesling Sekt Brut which had more presence and intensity than a lot of sekts but still didnt quite turn the personality corner of sufficient ripeness/depth for me to get very happy.
That theme of not quite turning the corner was followed with a bunch of trocken wines, including the 2005 Wegeler Bernkasteler Badstude Riesling Kabinett Trocken that was neutral tart bordeom although one of my German companions actually found it too fruity and he would have preferred it drier. We had a short conversation about what those words mean in relation to wine and it was all very instructive for me to see what Such People think. I believe he would be happier drinking water with stale lemon added, but at least he is spending money on wine.
Several bottles of the 2007 Maximin Grnhuser Riesling QbA Trocken were covered in sulfur and tart headaches. There was no evidence to my palate of interesting fruit that will emerge once that sulfur is less present, but its Grnhaus and what do I know.
The 2006 von Kesselstatt Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Kabinett Trocken was a little better and almost showed some character but we finally got there with the 2007 Robert Weil Kiedricher Grfenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken which was a savory spicy mineral pleasure. It has come together quite a bit since the late summer when it was an unfocused mess and Im guessing it will only get better.
There were a bunch of sptburgunders, including the 2005 Salwey Sptburgunder QbA Trocken RS which was round doughy lip-smacking perfumed red fruit goodness. I like the fun and casual nonchalance of these wines. Would be hard pressed to tell the difference if served blind but there was a bit more depth to the 2005 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Sptburgunder Sptlese Trocken Orchidea. Vintage differences were more noticeable as both the 2007 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Rote Halde Sptburgunder QbA Trocken and the 2007 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Sptburgunder Sptlese Trocken Orchidea were decent with food for me but they were too tart and not sufficiently rich for many at the table.
So when that happened we usually left the table and turned to the brandies.
The wine used most often for Holiday Toasting was the 2004 Maximin Grnhuser Riesling Sekt Brut which had more presence and intensity than a lot of sekts but still didnt quite turn the personality corner of sufficient ripeness/depth for me to get very happy.
That theme of not quite turning the corner was followed with a bunch of trocken wines, including the 2005 Wegeler Bernkasteler Badstude Riesling Kabinett Trocken that was neutral tart bordeom although one of my German companions actually found it too fruity and he would have preferred it drier. We had a short conversation about what those words mean in relation to wine and it was all very instructive for me to see what Such People think. I believe he would be happier drinking water with stale lemon added, but at least he is spending money on wine.
Several bottles of the 2007 Maximin Grnhuser Riesling QbA Trocken were covered in sulfur and tart headaches. There was no evidence to my palate of interesting fruit that will emerge once that sulfur is less present, but its Grnhaus and what do I know.
The 2006 von Kesselstatt Kaseler Nies'chen Riesling Kabinett Trocken was a little better and almost showed some character but we finally got there with the 2007 Robert Weil Kiedricher Grfenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken which was a savory spicy mineral pleasure. It has come together quite a bit since the late summer when it was an unfocused mess and Im guessing it will only get better.
There were a bunch of sptburgunders, including the 2005 Salwey Sptburgunder QbA Trocken RS which was round doughy lip-smacking perfumed red fruit goodness. I like the fun and casual nonchalance of these wines. Would be hard pressed to tell the difference if served blind but there was a bit more depth to the 2005 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Sptburgunder Sptlese Trocken Orchidea. Vintage differences were more noticeable as both the 2007 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Rote Halde Sptburgunder QbA Trocken and the 2007 Sasbach Winzergenossenschaft Sptburgunder Sptlese Trocken Orchidea were decent with food for me but they were too tart and not sufficiently rich for many at the table.
So when that happened we usually left the table and turned to the brandies.