TN: Rieslingfeier 2019: The Grand Tasting (Jan 19, 2019)

[Jeff Grossman]

Riesling. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

The event was held -- starting 10:30 am -- at Craft Restaurant, as it has been for a couple of years now. The crowd was quite manageable for the first half-hour with VIP bottles shown in the first hour (or until they run out). Alas, that my tasting style is somewhat painstaking and requires plenty of chat time, so I was there for 2.5 hours, missed some of the VIP wines and missed some tables altogether.

The NYC crowd had good representation. I saw Jayson Cohen, Seth Rosenberg, Robert Dentice, and Sasha & Delia. I hope they'll fill in my gaps.

Among the pros I recognized David Schildknecht.

All are riesling wines unless otherwise noted.

Regions reprsented:
- Kamptal... Jurtschitsch
- Wachau... Alzinger, Hirtzberger, Nikolaihof
- Pfalz... Von Winning
- Rheingau... Eva Fricke, Spreitzer
- Rheinhessen... Gunderloch, Keller
- Swabia... Beurer
- Nahe... Donnhoff
- Mosel... Selbach-Oster, Julian Haart
- Saar... Egon Muller

Most houses were represented by the winemaker, often a married couple. They poured four wines at each table: a basic bottling, followed by two of the better wines, followed by "something for the VIPs". (I had a VIP admission but so did many others and sometimes the VIP wine was finished before I got there; so it goes.)

As this was a walkaround event, I assign a grade on a scale of --- to +++ to all wines and only take notes on exceptional ones. If I list a wine without a note and didn't mark it down you may assume that it passed this test: Would I keep drinking this wine at the dinner table?

Furthermore, I will abbreviate Grosses Gewachs as "GG" and Erste Lage as "1L".

Jurtschitsch - Alwin Jurtschitsch poured. He was happy and a little surprised to be at Rieslingfeier as 80% of his output is gruner veltliner. He has a preference for whistle-clean grapes and works hard to make it so, tossing out the rotted ones, noble or otherwise. But when everything is botrytized, well, then, that's what must be made. All wines here see 1 year on the lees and only old oak barrels.
2016 Gruner Veltliner, Kaferberg 1L - one of the estate's most important vineyards; fresh and full, a touch of lanolin, this is great 2
2016 Heiligenstein 1L - the other important vineyard; also fresh but thinner by comparison; 0.5
2016 Heiligenstein "Quelle" - grape selection of those vines near a particular aquifer; not much different today; 0.5
2005 Zobinger Heliligenstein TBA - made only with 'clean' botrytized grapes, modestly sweet but pure and charming; 1.5

Alzinger - did not visit

Nikolaihof - Niki Saahs explains that they do cask aging, an old practice that is almost extinct in Austria. She explains that Vom Stein is a vineyard of loam and other loose soils while Steiner Hund is basically rocks with a thin layer of humus over it. (And they brought 6 bottlings instead of 3 for the tasting!)
2017 Vom Stein Federspiel - clean... and closed; waiting a bit, eventually some chalk and stones come out; 1
2011 Vom Stein Federspiel - the wine spent 6 years in a 20,000-liter cask; still lightweight but definitely older, a bit of white cheese maybe, more interesting; 1
2004 Steinriesler - 12 years in cask; a bit of vinyl maybe? also somewhat closed down; 1
2014 Vom Stein Smaragd - also fermented dry but a later trie; intense, a lot of 'there' there; ripe enough to register as pit fruit 1.5
2013 Steiner Hund - wow, rich, glyceral, complex; 3
2014 Steiner Hund - taut and rocky; definitely needs time to come around; 1.5
2002 "Vinothek" - always a single-vineyard bottling but can be either Steiner Hund or Weingebirge (which this one is); just bottled; rich and fine but not better; 1.5

Hirtzberger - Franz & Theresa Hirtzberger came with a great photo of the vineyards showing clearly how Setzberg is in the flow of cold air coming from the west, Hochrain sitting on the valley floor, and Singerriedel getting sunlight long after every other vineyard is in shade. And he still likes his wines best at 5-7 years from vintage.
2013 Setzberg Smaragd - zingy, pretty, Kabinett-ish but a bit thin (as if from a cold site, eh); 1
2013 Hochrain Smaragd - clean and full, maybe a tad sweeter but meh; 0.5
2013 Singerriedel Smaragd - wow, very rich and complex; 3

Von Winning - Andreas Hutwohl pours.
2017 Paradiesgarten 1L Trocken - lots of stuffing but unforthcoming 0.5
2017 Roterpfad 1L Trocken - similar; 0.5
2017 Sauvignon Blanc - good and refined; unusual cepage but they are only 50 km from the border of Alsace so...1

Spreitzer - Andreas Spreitzer pours... "Welcome to the Rheingau!"
2015 Hendelberg Alte Reben Trocken - their 1L; vines are 40-45 years; the hill is very steep; the wine is quite full with hints of Pez 1
2015 Rosengarten GG Trocken - their monopole; penetrating and vinous; I like this; 2
2016 Jesuitengarten Alte Reben Feinherb - round and mild; 12g; 0.5
2017 Lenchen Spatlese "303" - similar but softer yet; 0

Eva Fricke - did not visit

Gunderloch - Johannes Hasselbach pours. His family has owned these properties for 6 generations. All soils are red slate hence the crus are really grape selections. "Jean-Baptiste" is the mid-level quality label.
2016 Estate Trocken - a mix of three vineyard, good 0.5
2016 Rothenburg GG - the main property; sappy and rooty, showing well today 1
2017 Kabinett "Jean-Baptiste" - feinherb; Johannes describes it as "full of energy" and he's right, this is a great Kab: taut and twitchy and tingly 2
2008 Rothenberg Auslese - a case of this was lost behind some other boxes so it is not for sale but makes a great wine to bring to events: lightweight but long and pretty 2

Keller - Klaus Peter & Julia Keller pour. Or, rather, he stands around talking to Sasha and Seth while Julia pours.
2017 Silvaner "Feuervogl" - 60-year-old vines; eh 0.5
2016 Westhofen "R" (Liebesnest) - "R" stands for Reserve; typical riesling flavors but with a bit of apple juice too (not certain whether that should make me worry?)0.5
2017 Kabinett "Limestone" - good energy here, too; lively 1

Beurer - did not visit

Donnhoff - Helmut & Gaby Donnhoff are great to talk to. She likes her wine with considerable age on it.
2016 Hollenpfad Trocken - OK; 1
2017 Oberhauser Brucke GG (auction bottle) - 3g, full and rich and wonderful 2
2017 Leistenberg Kabinett - lots of acid and 20g RS, but I like others' Kabinetts better 1
2017 Kirschheck Spatlese - good balance and very long; 1.5

Selbach-Oster - Johannes & Hannah Selbach: "In older vines you get less peach and apricot and more of the deep root flavors" (...presumably, sap and stones)
2016 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese*** Trocken - first bottling; from grapes mid-slope on the hill, picked ripe but not too ripe; GG quality; reticent at first but then comes out rich and phenolic, long; 2
2015 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese Feinherb "Uralte Reben" - The same wine he brought two years ago(?); spontaneous fermentation and he lets it go until it stops of its own accord; in this case, that's 12% and 21g; he says this is known as a "joker" wine: you can add it to anything else that needs a little boost; the wine is tangy with great complexity 2.5
2017 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr "Rotlay" - "block picked" meaning no berry selection; BA specs but made as if it would be dry; this is a happy wine 2
2009 Schlossberg Auslese - shapely acids, attractive, a bit slutty 2

Julian Haart - Julian & Nadine Haart pour.
2017 Moselle Trocken - eh 0
2016 Goldtropfchen Grand Cru Trocken - Holy Matchsticks, Batman; judgment deferred
2017 Goldtropfchen Kabinett - also reduced but it eventually opens toa pretty wine 1
2013 Ohlingsberg Spatlese - shows a bit of age already, acidity milder 0.5
2017 Ohlingsberg Auslese - 1
2010 Ohlingsberg Auslese - surprisingly delicate and light 1.5

Egon Muller - did not visit
2016 Chateau Bela - ...but I heard that this smelled of halvah and paint thinner
2014 Scharzhofberg Spatlese - ...but I heard that this was an extremely difficult cru in the vineyard and in the cellar but that is has come together beautifully

Wrap-up: These are the wines that made me perk up and pay more attention:
Hirtzberger 2013 Singerriedel Smaragd
Nikolaihof 2013 Steiner Hund
Spreitzer 2015 Rosengarten GG Trocken
Selbach-Oster 2015 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese Feinherb "Uralte Reben"
Jurtschitsch 2016 Gruner Veltliner, Kaferberg 1L
Gunderloch 2016 Rothenburg GG
Gunderloch 2017 Kabinett "Jean-Baptiste"
Keller 2017 Kabinett "Limestone"
Donnhoff 2017 Kirschheck Spatlese
Donnhoff 2017 Oberhauser Brucke GG (auction bottle)
Selbach-Oster 2017 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr "Rotlay"

Finally, Robert Dentice was spreading joy and happiness -- and, one assumes, sulfur dioxide -- wherever he went:

 

[Rahsaan]

Looks like a great event as always. I read elsewhere about Robert's E Muller dinner and that too sounds great. Surely this is one of Nyc's finest cultural events! One of the biggest downsides that I could possibly imagine to having moved away.

 

[Robert Dentice]

Jeff - Thanks for the amazing notes! And for the photo. The shirt was a big hit amongst the winemakers even Egon Muller IV smiled, then laughed and said I love your shirt. Apparently a photo that Klaus-Peter Keller took is circulating around Germany.

I can fill in a few gaps.

Alzinger was my Domain of the tasting. The wines are just a pure joy to drink. In particular a 2017 Dürnsteiner Federspiel Riesling was stunning in its simplicity. I had dinner with Leo Alzinger on Thursday and we drank several of his old wines and he also poured a few at the main dinner on Saturday. I have always loved his wines and stopped buying them for no real reason other than my focus shifted more towards Germany and I have and buy too much! This has already changed!

Beurer - I have always loved his wines, I visited him in June and just love the entire line up. Including the Reds. He is pouring a flight of four wines tonight (1/22) at Racines.

Eva Fricke - Very nice wines. She told me she is backing off more and more on sulphur each year.

Egon Muller - His 14s are among the best, if not the best, made in Germany in 2014.

I have gone every year for 7 seven years and have attended almost every event and I know I sound like a broken record but I simply cannot recommend this event enough

Two other observations -

I did not taste the 2017 Silvaner "Feuervogl" because I already own a case based on the 2016. I have had one bottle so far and loved it.

Also I think I like Julian Haart more than you. His wines are near impossible to find because he is in high demand in Germany and the last two vintages have had very low yields.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Robert Dentice:
Beurer - I have always loved his wines, I visited him in June and just love the entire line up. Including the Reds. He is pouring a flight of four wines tonight (1/22) at Racines.

We buy these regularly, but we decided at this tasting that we still don't drink them as often as we should: of anything in the room, they are likely to create the most natural and diverse pairings at our dinner table. Decanting highly recommended for the wines under SC.

Eva Fricke - Very nice wines. She told me she is backing off more and more on sulphur each year.

I'll go with nice+. A combination of ripeness and laser-beam acidity that I associate with the best of organic/bio practices. I hadn't considered sulfur, but what you say makes total sense and is likely very much a part of my perception of the wines. I presume Krone is $$, but the village wine she showed (Kiedrich?) was super.

Egon Muller - His 14s are among the best, if not the best, made in Germany in 2014.

that '14 Spatlese was insane. It was a little loud and I didn't catch the full story on the difficulties of weather conditions in early October, but apparently they had to act very quickly, and do some early harvesting. It's a masterpiece.

Also I think I like Julian Haart more than you. His wines are near impossible to find because he is in high demand in Germany and the last two vintages have had very low yields.

Loved them. Very, very pure. And not a hair of sweetness out of place, i.e. fully integrated despite the wines' youth.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

Jeff, thank you for the notes.

Items not covered in my reply to Robert.

With the exception of 02 vinothek that I simply don't get, I though the entire Nikolaihof table was dynamite. Not overcomplicated and extremely useful in the best sense. I also got a feeling that I can drink these wines at any age by repurposing them accordingly. If asparagus were only in season more often!

'17 Leistenberg is actually 40 g/l, but yeah it tastes more like 20. Niiiice acidity. I am a fan of that wine, and my history of ageing Leistenberg is a motivating factor. Samples provided on request.

I am with you on OB GG. His dry wines are really beginning to make sense, and capture the essence of the vineyards the way the very best of his off-dry wines have from 1995 on. Yes, I am slow to catch on. But I am aware of pre-1995 Donnhoff as my reference points.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
Not overcomplicated and extremely useful in the best sense. I also got a feeling that I can drink these wines at any age by repurposing them accordingly. If asparagus were only in season more often!

There is a secret complexity in the wines. I can't think of any other way of putting it. They are always enjoyable with so many dishes. Yeah, bummer about asparagus. The season generally lasts only a couple of weeks or a month at most in a given place. One of the few things I really miss about my giant NC garden was a mature 50-ft asparagus bed that just kept giving every day for about a month.

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by mark e:
One of the few things I really miss about my giant NC garden was a mature 50-ft asparagus bed that just kept giving every day for about a month.

I guess that is the virtue of growing your own.

One of the few things I lament about the Carrboro farmers market is that nobody good brings any asparagus! All spring I am itching to include it in the repertoire. But it never comes.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by mark e:
One of the few things I really miss about my giant NC garden was a mature 50-ft asparagus bed that just kept giving every day for about a month.

I guess that is the virtue of growing your own.

One of the few things I lament about the Carrboro farmers market is that nobody good brings any asparagus! All spring I am itching to include it in the repertoire. But it never comes.

Mostly not, but Maple Spring Gardens (maplespringgardens.com) will have it for the first 1/2 hour of the market.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

My take. Piggybacking on Jeff’s excellent report as usual.

Jurtschitsch

2016 Gruner Veltliner, Kaferberg 1L - agree with Jeff. Great balance and relatively low alcohol for a young GV makes it quaffable.

2010 Heiligenstein "Quelle" - fairly certain from brief notes there was a 2010 of this bottling that was more interesting. More texture in the finish.

Alzinger

2017 Dürnsteiner Federspiel. This was compelling in the same way a great German Kabinett is so fresh and alive.

2017 Loibenberg Smaragd was excellent too in Alzinger’s characteristic understated style.

2017 Liebenberg and 2015 Hollerin Smaragds didn’t make much of an impression. I’m not sure this was the best time to pour a 2015. They strike me as needing time.

Nikolaihof

There were actually 7 wines. Jeff missed or didn’t like the 2014 von Stein Smaragd.

I’m not sure how I feel about Nikolaihof’s long cask aging for certain casks. It’s hard to explain the barrel inflection but it’s there, although I admit I really liked the spice and energy of the 2011 von Stein Federspiel (6 years in cask) in the finish. Pavel’s theory these are really food wines is probably spot on.

I agree the 2013 Steiner Hund is special. Classic. Transparent.

This Vinothek is a little bizarre in how somewhat undistinguished it is but maybe it’s relative to expectations.

Hirtzberger

I thought these were the dry wines of the tasting as a set (but loved some others as well as discussed below) and am surprised by some of Jeff’s comments. Each better than the next. Culminating in the magical 2006 Singerriedel that Franz was pouring from a decanter. When I tasted 2013 Hochrain, and let that amazing inner mouth expression of pollen, flowers, and pit fruit expand, I was wondering how the 2013 Singerriedel could match this. And then it easily did, with its extra gear.

Von Winning

None made a favorable impression. The SB came the closest but it needs some time to see if it can absorb its barrel-dominated character and become more interesting.

I know people like von Winning, but like Beurer’s whites, I have to admit I don’t get it.

Spreitzer

I was sorry to miss these inadvertently. I like the wines I’ve had from Rosengarten and Jesuitgarden in the past.

Eva Fricke

I was done and didn’t make it to this table.

Gunderloch

The 2016 Rothenburg GG was a good size and as Jeff reported, had sappy, rooty (earthy and herbal) flavors. This continues a string of 2016 GGs that I like.

2017 "Jean-Baptiste" is perfect summer wine on the back porch in the country. Nicely balanced blend of parcels. Nothing extraordinary. But so drinkable.

Keller

I found the 2017 Silvaner Feuervogl more interesting than the “R”. Another quaffer with hidden bite and depth.

I too liked the 2017 Limestone in the same genre as the Gunderloch Jean Baptiste, maybe with a little more sense of density and extract here.

2017 Pettenthal GG (auction) was a stony perfumed pit fruited baby. Not in your face at all. Relatively retrained power and intensity coiled in on itself. This was my favorite GG if not nearly my favorite wine at the event.

Beurer

I really tried to get these wines. He seems like a really nice, down to earth guy who it would be fun to hang out with. But I literally didn’t like a single one. And I thought the 2013 Kieselenstein out of magnum and with a little bottle age was even less interesting than the 2016 out of bottle.

Donnhoff

So nice to see and talk to Helmut and Gaby. They wouldn’t know me but I met them at a dinner and had a very nice extended chat with them in 2002 or so, so it was nice to see them again. Helmut was telling me about how picking dates have changed since his early years - earlier and more extended. It was a story I expected but it was interesting to hear it directly from him. And Gaby was telling me about the surprise of being able to make a GG from the Brucke vineyard.

That said, I actually didn’t care for the 2017 OB GG. Maybe it was the short amount of time to take it in, but it didn’t strike me as very Brucke the way the 2016 Felsenberg GG struck me last year as pure Felsenberg. I am sure I am blaspheming somehow but there it is.

2017 Leistenberg Kabinett was excellent if a touch round compared to certain past versions. I wonder how it will (won’t?) age under screwcap.

2017 Kirschheck Spatlese is classic cherry lime infused goodness. Still a relatively hidden gem. Yum.

Selbach-Oster

I love these wines, I have to admit. And I’ve had tremendous success aging them.

2016 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese*** Trocken

What Jeff said. Like the next wine, the magic comes when you let it sit in your mouth.

2015 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese Feinherb "Uralte Reben"

What Jeff said, but even better. There is so much going on both aromatically and how it fills every corner of the mouth — it’s so dynamic — yet Johannes said he thinks it’s shutting down and should be given opened at about 25 years of age. I don’t know if we need to wait that long but I do love this wine.

2017 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr "Rotlay"

With the 2010 from Haart, my favorite Auslese of the morning. Holy cow. Right now an unparse-able amalgam of everything pit fruit and earth and herb and spice you need exploding but with precision.

2009 Zeltinger Schlossberg Auslese. I found the Rotlay a tough act to follow. I tend to like his Sonnenuhr wines more than Schlossberg and today was no different.

Julian Haart

A decidedly mixed bag for me.

2017 Moselle Trocken. Agree with Jeff. Nothing special.

2016 Goldtropfchen Grand Cru Trocken. Like the Selbach, a very convincing trocken to a non-believer like me. Required tremendous patience to swirl and aerate out in the mouth the reductive compounds. Then pow. The wine appeared from behind its wall of what must be added sulfur. Goldtropfchen botanicals and apple like the following wine but dry. Super fresh and energetic. An excellent wine from this vineyard really is magical and magically complex, and the table is set for this wine. Better for everyone today would have been a serious regimen of bottle shaking.

2017 Goldtropfchen Kabinett.

Similar flavor profile as the trocken but showing more readily. I expect this to be wonderful with about 10 years of bottle age. Really good. I should have bought more (i.e., been less stingy in my self-imposed buying “moratorium”) and will be hard-pressed to leave my pair alone.

2013 Ohlingsberg Spatlese. I really didn’t like this. A meh wine lacking precision after the two Goldtropfchens.

2017 Ohlingsberg Auslese. Ditto.

2010 Ohlingsberg Auslese. Here the balance — maybe the 2010 vintage at play — works better. Loved the intense energy and my second favorite auslese after the Rotlay.

Egon Muller

Egon was quieter than the last 2 years. You have to get him going, talking about something like how he couldn’t possibly make his great wines without sulfur. And I think he was a little touchy about someone suggesting his 2005 Auslese was showing petrolly.

2016 Chateau Bela. I will say this was showing more balance than the 2014 two years ago.

2014 Scharzhofberger Spatlese. About the best 2014 Spatlese I’ve tried. Drinking nicely and showing classic hint of lime, pine, cassis, and stony pit fruit. But I’m still not a buyer.

2017 Scharzhofberger Kab is really good also. People who buy a case every year will be happy.

2005 Scharzhofberger Auslese is starting to show some development. Really complex. A bit too much botrytis and too ripe to satisfy my preference but it’s very good. The one thing I don’t get in 2005 is a strong sense that this is Scharzhofberger but I don’t claim to have so much experience to be able to read the signs when they aren’t obvious.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
Nikolaihof

There were actually 7 wines. Jeff missed or didn’t like the 2014 von Stein Smaragd.

The note is there; there are seven notes. I wrote 'six', which is what Niki said, because there are six regular pours (the Vinothek is the VIP bottle).

Anyway, thanks for the extra notes. I appreciate reading your reviews.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
I know people like von Winning, but like Beurer’s whites, I have to admit I don’t get it.

so you enjoy neither skinny-skiing nor going to bullfights on acid

Eva Fricke

I was done and didn’t make it to this table.

i think that's a shame - not because you would have necessarily loved them, but because they were most instructive

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
I know people like von Winning, but like Beurer’s whites, I have to admit I don’t get it.

so you enjoy neither skinny-skiing nor going to bullfights

Probably true.

 

[MarkS]

So a 3-point scale?

 

[VLM]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by mark e:
One of the few things I really miss about my giant NC garden was a mature 50-ft asparagus bed that just kept giving every day for about a month.

I guess that is the virtue of growing your own.

One of the few things I lament about the Carrboro farmers market is that nobody good brings any asparagus! All spring I am itching to include it in the repertoire. But it never comes.

Mostly not, but Maple Spring Gardens (maplespringgardens.com) will have it for the first 1/2 hour of the market.

Yeah, that's the thing, you have to get there super early.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by MarkS:
So a 3-point scale?

As you have asked without reading or remembering, you get the full story.

When I do walkaround tastings there isn't time to write extensively about each wine. Also, often there is only skimpy paper and a medium-point pen with which to write. So my notes are jots that I revisit and elaborate later in the day, and the scoring is one of the following:
---
(---)
--
(--)
-
(-)
0
(+)
+
(++)
++
(+++)
+++

I render this on WD as a -3 to +3 scale. Parentheses indicate "not quite like it says" which I render here as half a point less.

The minuses meanings range from disappointing to disgusting but probably do not need any further explanation. Zero is just a boring wine. + means I'd happily keep drinking this at the dinner table. ++ means this wine is a big step up in boldness, texture, and complexity. +++ is reserved for extraordinary wines.

 

[MarkS]

So Points, in other words?
That's a fairly fine grained system for a walkaround tasting. So anything above '1' merits a 'buy'? Trying to get a sense of where you would actually purchase.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by MarkS:
So Points, in other words?
That's a fairly fine grained system for a walkaround tasting. So anything above '1' merits a 'buy'? Trying to get a sense of where you would actually purchase.

Apparently I missed the point (points?) as well; when I saw the "ratings," I assumed you could have combinations such as +-+ with each +/- designated to describe an important sensory perception e.g. taste, sound, folklore. But of course that makes no sense given ratings such as a single + due to ambiguity.

When I have time (sometime in 2019), I WILL reply to VLM about points. It won't be pretty, but he is a friend and a mensch.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

I don't think it's fine-grained at all; more than half the chart is for unlovable wines so who cares. It's effectively a good-better-best shorthand with parentheses for finesse.

Anyway, buy on 2 and up. Buy on 1s and 1.5s if you know this wine suits you.

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
I don't think it's fine-grained at all; more than half the chart is for unlovable wines so who cares. It's effectively a good-better-best shorthand with parentheses for finesse.

Anyway, buy on 2 and up. Buy on 1s and 1.5s if you know this wine suits you.

We could term your approach the Dorothy Parker drinks rating system.

Mark Lipton

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
when I saw the "ratings," I assumed you could have combinations such as +-+ with each +/- designated to describe an important sensory perception e.g. taste, sound, folklore.

For that style I like John Trombley's method. But that takes too long in a walkaround event.