The Auswine Forum

Since I am embarking on a thorough exploration of German Riesling this year, figured I would throw all the tasting notes into one thread.

2017 Müller-Catoir “MC” Riesling
Entry level offering coming in at $40. Lemon sherbet and a grassy character on the nose, smells distinctly varietal. The palate is dry and shows a strong minerality. Pretty decent length and quite intense, I think even though this is an entry level offering it needs some time in the cellar for the acid to soften.

I was hoping I would enjoy this more as a young wine since the price is right. I suspect it would cellar nicely, especially with the safety of the screwcap seal.

Quality is high, drinking pleasure moderate, for now.

Have a series of mid tier Müller-Catoir bottles to open over the next few months, as well as some other interlopers arriving soon.

Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

michel wrote:

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

Yep, it is.

Last night included a Vietnamese influenced suckling pig shoulder, also a sublime pig head and bone marrow Banh Mi. Both washed down with various wines, but one of the highlights to match was a J. J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2014. Pure, long, balanced and just delicious with the spicy food, without any of the sulphur notes I often associate with their young wines.

(A 1er Ramonet C-M 2014 was my WOTN though!)

TiggerK wrote:

michel wrote:

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

Yep, it is.

Last night included a Vietnamese influenced suckling pig shoulder, also a sublime pig head and bone marrow Banh Mi. Both washed down with various wines, but one of the highlights to match was a J. J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2014. Pure, long, balanced and just delicious with the spicy food, without any of the sulphur notes I often associate with their young wines.

(A 1er Ramonet C-M 2014 was my WOTN though!)

Nice. Wehlener Sonnenuhr gets the accolades, but Graacher Himmelreich is their gun vineyard IMO.

michel wrote:

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

it is the bomb. Pork Neck Roast, spicy garlic and onion rub. Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese 2007 cued up.

TiggerK wrote:

michel wrote:

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

Yep, it is.

Last night included a Vietnamese influenced suckling pig shoulder, also a sublime pig head and bone marrow Banh Mi. Both washed down with various wines, but one of the highlights to match was a J. J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2014. Pure, long, balanced and just delicious with the spicy food, without any of the sulphur notes I often associate with their young wines.

(A 1er Ramonet C-M 2014 was my WOTN though!)

Ah ha
A wine I kinda know well
We have developed a wierd Christmas tradition (that is good) habit of an old breed chicken slow roasted over charcoal
BUT
we always have a Grand Cru Ramonet
It really makes it special
I delivered a 2014 Bienvenue last year that sang!!

michel wrote:

TiggerK wrote:

michel wrote:
Hmm pork & spatlese sounds great

Yep, it is.

Last night included a Vietnamese influenced suckling pig shoulder, also a sublime pig head and bone marrow Banh Mi. Both washed down with various wines, but one of the highlights to match was a J. J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2014. Pure, long, balanced and just delicious with the spicy food, without any of the sulphur notes I often associate with their young wines.

(A 1er Ramonet C-M 2014 was my WOTN though!)

Ah ha
A wine I kinda know well
We have developed a wierd Christmas tradition (that is good) habit of an old breed chicken slow roasted over charcoal
BUT
we always have a Grand Cru Ramonet
It really makes it special
I delivered a 2014 Bienvenue last year that sang!!

Wasn't this a riesling thread? Take your inferior white grapes somewhere else please.

Wizz wrote:

michel wrote:

TiggerK wrote:
Yep, it is.

Last night included a Vietnamese influenced suckling pig shoulder, also a sublime pig head and bone marrow Banh Mi. Both washed down with various wines, but one of the highlights to match was a J. J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2014. Pure, long, balanced and just delicious with the spicy food, without any of the sulphur notes I often associate with their young wines.

(A 1er Ramonet C-M 2014 was my WOTN though!)

Ah ha
A wine I kinda know well
We have developed a wierd Christmas tradition (that is good) habit of an old breed chicken slow roasted over charcoal
BUT
we always have a Grand Cru Ramonet
It really makes it special
I delivered a 2014 Bienvenue last year that sang!!

Wasn't this a riesling thread? Take your inferior white grapes somewhere else please.

Riesling thread is officially hijacked!

2007 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese

I always say I should have bought more Willi Schaefer.. Such lovely crystalline pure wines. So it was quite a surprise to find this wine had picked up lots of colour and showed some secondary vaseline charcaters creeping over the apricot and marmalade fruits. Texture has gone a little honeyed and syrupy although there is some acid warmth on the finish this is falling out of balance. The empty glass smells of honeycomb. May hold for a while but not sure where this will go in terms of improvement as its structure isn't quite there for the long haul anymore.

Based on this showing - drink soon.

Wizz wrote:Mind if I join you? We have a pork roast going in the oven shortly and there will be Spatlese...

By all means, please do

Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese
Scheurebe is a new grape to me, a cross between Silvaner and Riesling. Right from the get go you feel the intent from Müller-Catoir, heavy bottle, thick high quality capsule. The aromas are intense with plenty of grapefruit and floral notes, as well as some fresh cut grass. The palate is extremely rich for a white wine, somewhat acidic, somewhat mineral, almost has a blackcurrant flavour to go along with the citrus tartness. Also has that thing you often see in Riesling, sherbert-like texture without any sugar sweetness.

No doubting the quality of this wine is very high, though similarly with my first Riesling from Müller-Catoir, I don't find myself enjoying it very much. I imagine the intent is for this wine to be left alone in the cellar for some years before consumption.

No hijacking here, but a wee bit of a drift with an Australian not German riesling. Tonight, with BBQ duck, a 2003 Annie's Lane Riesling, Clare Valley(11.5%). Made by Caroline Dunn it has a good pedigree. The back label says "impressive length and natural acidity will allow for graceful aging over the next five to eight years." Now at double the recommended time it is golden yellow in colour and had lots going for it, a perfumed nose of lime blossom, a touch of honeyed fruit, and a lick of petrol. The palate was pretty much the same, though a little tired, but it had sufficient acidity to carry it through to the finish. The pretty side of the equation guessed riesling but thought old world German. A satisfactory outcome and a fine accompaniment to the food. I paid about $12/13 for it here in Canada.

2006 Trimbach Clos St Hune.. a tad boring to be honest. Maybe needs more time

Boring! That's sad, Clos St Hune is one of the iconic vineyards in Alsace and usually gets rave reviews.

I’m a big fan of it most years, not 2006

2007 Schloss Lieser Niederberger Helden Spatlese

Always the riper of the Haag brothers wines, and this vineyard seems to show off tropicals really nicely, paw paw, passionfruit guava in honeyed layers over a core of lime fruit and early secondary characters. Vibrant and alive, nicely balanced between sweetness and acidity, lovely intensity and length. Great match for a spicy pork chop and stir fried veg,

• 2011 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (15/03/2019)
  Again this rather disappoints, overly sweet, plump. Sound , plodding & no thrills. Best drunk up. Better 48 hours on. (87 pts.)
• 2013 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (01/03/2019)
  Mid straw; nectarine, slate, lovely profile; tight, crisp, penetrating acidity; finishes in a positive manner. Leave alone for a good while. (92 pts.)
• 2011 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (18/02/2019)
  Just a lovely wine & a joy to drink. Grace, charm, poise. Drink now & next decade, or longer.
  A lovely accompaniment to apple pie (93 pts.)
• 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (17/01/2019)
  Faint spritz, pale; hessian, white flowers, delicate, delightful; exquisite, pitch perfect; beautiful. Lingering finish. (94 pts.)
• 2012 Weingut Keller Riesling von der Fels - Germany, Rheinhessen (13/01/2019)
  Starbright, sunflower; there is something curious lurking in the background, wet slate, spicy; grapefruit, taut, tangy, dry; hard finish. Not entirely convincing. Very long. (88 pts.)

Posted from [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/]CellarTracker[/url]

OK, March...
2006 MF Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 8%
91 g/l residual sugar
Light gold colour, and highly aromatic- camphor, wax, tropical fruits especially mango, and a little petroleum. Palate is varietal. clean, lively and delicious.

2006 MF Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 9.5%
106 g/l residual sugar.
A slightly deeper gold colour than its sibling; and a bit shyer aromatically, but displaying honey, and minerals., The palate is weightier, fleshier, and richer, with brown spice, mineral, ripe apple and blackcurrant. This wine is drinking beautifully

2016 Joh Jos Prum Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett 9% (mosel)
Shy, rounded, tropical, preserved citrus, less of the Prum reduction than expected, but maybe more advanced than expected.

2016 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Kabinett 9% (Saar)
Beautifully expressive bouquet with just-ripe nettle/herb, citrus and the palate is singing with purity, a magic balance of residual sugar and acidity. Ageless. Shame that even a EM Kabinett is >$100

2013 George Breuer Schlossberg (Rheingau).
Good mix of bottle development and freshness; apple, grapefruit, fruit tingles.

2017 Keller Hubacker GG (Rheinhessen)
Why is it the expensive wines that set me off? Power and seduction; wax, grass, mineral, citrus, peach and astounding energy and palate length. And at around $200 another wine that will give loads of pleasure for many years

2007 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 8.5%
From the Nahe (adjacent to Mosel). Light-to medium gold in colour, the wine displays cumquat, petroleum, white peach, white flowers and honey. Red apple and redcurrant are more accessible on the palate with steely acidity. This is ultra-easy to drink- in the zone- with a few more years of pleasure ahead.

2017 Weingut Jülg Riesling Troken
Screwcap seal, from the region of Pfalz, right on the French border. Enticing nose of citrus, white flowers and green herbs, the palate carries some pineapple fruit sweetness and shows impeccable balance even as a young wine. Its grassy with a mineral backbone, yet also exhibits some viscosity. A true delight and absolute bargain at $25 from our host.

2005 Wegeler Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling 1er, Rheingau (13%)

This was a recent purchase, off the shelf, on clearance, and provenance unknown. However, whatever the provenance, one could not argue with the price, a lowly C$20 for an 18 year-old Reingau from a top class vineyard. The colour was yellow gold in the glass, the nose nicely advanced for a German riesling, tropical notes of melon and white peach, and a hint, only a hint, of petrol - quite exotic. The palate is maybe where shelf life may have had an impact since the acidity was less than I was expecting. The palate was fine otherwise, no signs of poor storage and a nice broad palate of aged, dry riesling with hints of honeyed, tropical fruits like lychee and melons. Can't say anything about well cellared bottles but this one is ready to go. We had it with sauted prawns, mushrooms and bok choi. Cheers ............... Mahmoud.

2009 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Kabinett

Wow forgotten about for nearly 8 years. From a vintage that has something for everyone. This is picking up some straw gold colour. Icing sugar and lemon pith nose. Its light on its feet, lemon cheesecake, honey drizzled, ahead of some fruit tannin on the close. Good thing its there as the acids seem to have fallen away a little. Plenty long and it holds it pure fruit into a decent finish with just a touch of toasty bottle age showing. Screwcap. Lovely wine, and will hold structurally, but for flavour I think this is drink now.

Wizz wrote:2009 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Kabinett

Wow forgotten about for nearly 8 years. From a vintage that has something for everyone. This is picking up some straw gold colour. Icing sugar and lemon pith nose. Its light on its feet, lemon cheesecake, honey drizzled, ahead of some fruit tannin on the close. Good thing its there as the acids seem to have fallen away a little. Plenty long and it holds it pure fruit into a decent finish with just a touch of toasty bottle age showing. Screwcap. Lovely wine, and will hold structurally, but for flavour I think this is drink now.

Sounds right up my alley.

Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5 2012
Starting to develop a little lemon colour, the nose has ripe stone fruits and candied citrus, the palate is bursting with fruit sweetness, to the point you could comfortably serve this with many desserts. All that being said the balance is very good. There is perhaps a hint of botrytis?

Excellent wine, though stylistically a bit to sweet for me.