Grand Cru (Perth) Tasting Group – Riesling, it’s un-Australian!

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

Our first tasting for 2023 was promoted with the following blurb:
"It's Riesling, Jim, but not as we know it". This time, we're looking for rieslings from anywhere in the world - except Australia. Any style (inc. sparkling), dry, off dry, sweet, bloody sweet, and any vintage from anywhere (else) in the world.

You get the idea – Rieslings from anywhere but Australia. We opened with a magnum of sparkling Riesling:

Reichsrat Von Buhl Suez 2015 (Pfalz, Germany). The ‘Suez’ name apparently relates to the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Suez canal. 40 months on lees, and zero dosage. Yellow with a persistent bead. Granny Smith apple and a touch of petroleum on the nose. The palate is moderately intense, and slate, aspirin and quartz were the predominant flavours. It finishes like mineral water, and is a great palate cleanser, with no creaminess at all. I realise this is not exactly a flattering tasting note, but I was very impressed by this regardless, and it was an excellent way to start the tasting.

We then looked at 11 still Rieslings. As usual, we tasted from youngest to oldest. There was a range of styles from dry to wine containing some residual sugar. We didn’t see any very sweet wines, however.

Dr Loosen Bernkaster Lay Kabinett 2021 (Mosel, Germany, 8.5% abv). Very pale straw in colour. Pink lady apple, musk stick, a little lime juice, some mango and lychee. One taster noted ‘grandma’s toiletries’ (in a positive way). The palate is juicy, crisp and refreshing, with red apple. The high acid is masked by residual sugar (RS) and the with is delicate and well balanced. Good with spicy food, and well regarded by the group.

Carl Loewen 2020 (Mosel, Germany, 12% abv). 11g RS, and fermented in old oak foudres. Pale straw. The nose shows Granny Smith apple, honeysuckle, melon, tropical fruits, lime and honeycomb. It’s more red apple on the palate, alongside fennel, white grapefruit, and bitter orange. This is richer and rounded, complex and shows good length. Highly regarded by the group.

Domaine Andre Lorenz 2019 (Alsace, France, 12.5% abv). Very pale straw. The nose was initially closed, but evolved to show concentrated lime juice. Tasters noted honeysuckle, pickle juice (?), and brine. The palate displays apple peel, grapefruit pith, more brine and almond. Some minerality and a touch of RS. Moderate length only. Refreshing.

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Borgogno 2019 (Langhe, Italy, 12.5% abv). Pale straw. Pineapple, durian and ginger on the nose, with some rubber hose and kero. Preserved salty lemon on the palate, slightly sour, and not a lot of fruit overall. Acid is present but not sharp. Short finish, and the wine is unbalanced overall.

Dopff & Irion ‘Cuvee Rene Dopff’ 2019 (Alsace, France, 12.5% abv). Pale straw. Honeysuckle, musk, hay, glace pineapple, and a touch of kero on the nose. The palate is tangy with tart lemon and ginger. Acid appears softer, and there’s a touch of RS. Chalky texture and a long finish.

Seehof 2019 (Rheinhessen, Germany, 12.5% abv). Pale straw. Lime marmalade, kero and citrus on the nose. A linear palatewith lots of citrus, lemon and lime cordial. Slightly chalky texture with some sweetness. Well balanced and will age well. Highly regarded by the group.

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Josmeyer ‘Le Kottabe’ 2018 (Alsace, France, 12% abv). We saw two bottles of the same wine, and there was some bottle variation. Straw colour. Both wines strongly resembled lemon, lime and bitters, or Aperol, on the nose. It’s followed up with lime curd, preserved lemon and mandarin, and has good length and supporting acid. Well regarded by the group.

Diel 2018 (Nahe, Germany, 13% abv). Straw colour. A moderate nose, with hay, talc, and fading florals and a touch of kero. Some spritz on the palate, with more lime, red apple, and a slight viscosity. Acid appears modest and there’s a short finish. Unbalanced.

Trimbach 2015 (Alsace, France). Yellow colour. Reductive nose, with lime cordial. More lime cordial on the palate, with cleansing acid. Many tasters detected a fault in the wine and thought it was corked (although under screwcap). Not evaluated further.

Dr Loosen ‘Blue Slate’ 2014. (Mosel, Germany). I believe the ‘blue slate’ indicates a dry wine. Straw in colour. Lots of honey initially, with lemon, lime, and some graphite on the nose. Slight spritz on the palate, with lemon / lime cordial, orange peel, and toffee. Good supporting acid and a long finish.

Weingut Winter Dittensheim Kalkstein 2014 (Germany). We also saw two bottles of this wine, and the bottle variation was considerable. One bottle saw lemon pith and nectarine on the nose, while the other showed melon, dill peace skin and glace ginger. The first bottle showed a range of citrus on the palate, with some cordial traits, while the second was more peach skin and grilled grapefruit. The second also showed cleansing, almost mouth-watering acid, and both wines have good length. The second bottle was better balanced and highly regarded by the group.

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One observation from the evening was how pale in colour the wines were, even at 8-9 years of age. A second observation was how different some of the wines were from what we were expecting – and some in a very good way.

Wine of the night was the Carl Loewen 2020, by a small margin from the Seehof 2019 and the Weingut Winter Dittensheim Kalkstein 2014. Another interesting tasting, and a great start to 2023.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

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