This was a meeting of the Bocca tasting group to taste through a variety of Rieslings from around the world. It was a fantastic experience to taste through 7 different Rieslings from different parts of the world, all at one time. With a lineup like this, we really only had one choice in where to do this, Meun Fan Thai. Not only is it a great place to get some tasty Thai food, but it was a wonderful partner for our selected wines. Riesling with Satay, Egg Rolls, Sizzling Platter, Drunken Noodle, Spicy Eggplant, and an array of Curries, come on! That's perfection!
Weinkarte:
Pegasus Bay Riesling, Waipara, New Zealand 2006***
The nose was chalky with a slight hint of rubberband while the palate showed spiced apples and a laser beam of acidity. For the price, this was a fantastic bottle of wine.
Trimbach Riesling, Alsace, France 2007**
This wine showed cheese rind and a hint on mint on the nose with a very bright palate of citrus and raw quince. The gripping acid mellowed over time, but begged for food.
Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling Dry, Finger Lakes, NY 2006**
Initially showed some nice intensity but with time the nose became muted and the once rich mouth went slightly thin. Part of me thinks that this may just be a sytlistic issue and the wine was more on the subtle and elegant side. But, it was fairly middle of the pack when it came to the other wines on the table.
Bergstrom Riesling Dr. Bergstrom, Willamette Valley, OR 2007**-
The aromas of soap from Bed Bath and Beyond didn't exactly conjure the feeling of Riesling, but the palate had spicy apple and helped maintain some varietal character.
Leitz Rudesheimer Berg Schossberg Spatlese, Rheingau, Germany 2004***
By far the most Riesling of the Rieslings, tonight. This had a fullness in the body and of the class that I was hoping for. It would have been interesting to see how this would have stood up to others of similar pedigree. A rich nose of baked apple and undertones of smoke and pine led into a mouth filling and elegant wine that had a finish that went on and on.
Reinhold Haart Goldtropfchen Spatlese, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany 2008**
I never would have guessed that this was a Spatlese, but with time grew on me. This bright wine had a nose of key lime and mouth of citrus and lychee.
Chateau Montelena Riesling Potter Valley, CA 2007**-
There was an oaky buttery character to this wine that made it initially difficult to believe that it was a Riesling. This didn't have a ton of varietal character, but showed a cheesy and doughy note along with something that reminded me of walking into someone's grandmother's house.
Prager Gruner Veltliner Auslese Achleiten, Wachau, Austria 2000
I think that this bottle was flawed, even though none of us could place what the flaw was. The nose burned of gasoline and the palate was sour. Really too bad, this could have been an interesting wine to finish with.
Because of my love of Riesling, this was a great experience. I continue to learn and appreciate more about this particular varietal and the variety of it's expression depending on how it is made and from where. One thing that I walk away from this tasting with, is the feeling that though nice wines can be made from all over the world with this varietal, your safest bet to find truly great Rieslings are still from Germany and Austria. The pedigree and class of the Rieslings from these two countries stand head and shoulders above any other region, in my honest opinion. I do not want to discount the quality of wines made in other regions, because there are some wonderful expressions of Riesling to be found, but for my taste, the difference is clear. I hope that you enjoyed this and maybe learned something along the way. I know that I did!
Prost!
Food for thought:
The following is an explanation of the German system for levels of sweetness in Riesling. The different Prädikat designations differ in terms of the required must weight, the sugar content of the grape juice, and the level required is dependent on grape variety and wine-growing region and is defined in terms of the Oechsle scale. In fact the must weight is seen as a rough indicator of quality (and price). The Prädikat system has its origin at Schloss Johannisberg in Rheingau, where the first Spätlese was produced in 1775 where wines received different colour seals based on their must weight.
The different Prädikat designations used are as followed, in order of increasing sugar levels in the must:
Kabinett - fully ripened light wines from the main harvest, typically semi-sweet with crisp acidity, but can be dry if designated so.
Spätlese - meaning "late harvest" and typically semi-sweet, often (but not always) sweeter and fruitier than Kabinett. Spätlese can be a relatively full-bodied dry wine if designated so. While Spätlese means late harvest the wine is not as sweet as a dessert wine.
Auslese - meaning "select harvest" and made from selected very ripe bunches or grapes, typically semi-sweet or sweet, sometimes with some noble rot character.
Beerenauslese - meaning "select berry harvest" and made from individually selected overripe grapes often affected by noble rot, making rich sweet dessert wine.
Eiswein - "ice wine" and made from grapes that have been naturally frozen on the vine, making a very concentrated wine. Must reach at least the same level of sugar content in the must as a Beerenauslese. The most classic Eiswein style is to use only grapes that are not affected by noble rot.
Trockenbeerenauslese - meaning "select dry berry harvest" or "dry berry selection" and made from selected overripe shrivelled grapes often affected by noble rot making extremely rich sweet wines.
0 Stars - No rating
1 Star (*) - Not of significant quality or interest
2 Stars (**) - A notable wine of legitimate interest
3 Stars (***) - Great wine that should be searched out
4 Stars (****) - Fantastic wine that should not be missed
5 Stars (*****) - An absolutely mind-bending wine - beg, borrow, or steal to get your hands on some of this amazing juice!
Disclaimer: This rating is based on my palate and at the given time when tasted and may differ from yours. Also, I may catch a bottle in a dumb phase or it just may not speak to me at that particular time.
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