I really want to get some experience with Riesling. I hear so many good things about it from every serious wine person, but have never really got into it myself. I’d like to add a half case of different bottles to the cellar, try each of them, and go from there. The problem is - where to start? Between regions, producers, labeling, styles, vintages etc I have trouble figuring out where to focus. Figured I’d turn to the forum for some guidance. What should be on my short list? I’m looking for specific wines forum members have drank and recommend.
Here are some preferences:
I’d like at least a few German Rieslings
Ready to drink now (a few should have some age)
I have a strong distaste for petrol / rubber notes. Last riesling I had was Albert Boxler Reserve from Alsace and I couldn’t stand the nose.
I tend to prefer dry white wines. Don’t mind 1-2 with some sweetness if they have age on them.
I had a Gross Polish Hill a few months back. Enjoyed it, but I remember thinking it wasn’t all that differentiated from a riper sauv blanc, without the racy acidity
Average price in the $50-100 range, willing to go up to $150 for a single bottle
Note: I know the difference between Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, etc. I.e., I have textbook knowledge of what the labeling means even if I haven’t tried them.
For Germany you are in luck because the 2018 vintage still widely available is not only very classic and ageworthy- but the wines are very forward and approachable right now. No other recent vintage offers that benefit (caveat- I have not started digging in 2019 yet, and I am not including 2016 because, while they are forward, it is also an unusually opulent vintage and it is better to start with something more “classic” IMHO.)
If you prefer drier, I would say go for some Grosses Gewachs, Feinherb, Kabinett and Spatlese. Your price points will easily accommodate most of the finest producers.
Producers to consider- Thanisch, Schaefer, Shafer-Frohlich, Donnhoff, Emrich-Schonleber, Prum, von Schubert, Muller-Catoir and Fritz Haag. There are many other excellent choices- but those are some favorites that come to mind.
Also, being in the SF area you have access to one of the finest German Riesling merchants in the US- DeeVine Wines. They carry many fine current releases and also have some stocks of older rare Auction wines, as well as older commercial releases. The 2005 Schaefer Spatlese Auction is $120ish as I recall and it is not only mindblowingly great but just now coming into maturity. And if you want to try the great dry wines of Emrich-Schonleber, they are one of the few stores that has had for years a consistent availability of those wines.
For France- Trimbach is a must. Cuvee Frederic Emile in particular. The 2011 just came out and it is a bit tighter and riper than usual- but if you spend an afternoon with it, then you should get some good impressions. Other prior vintages in the marketplace are solid- this is one of the most consistently great wines in all of France IMHO. And again it is well within your range in the $70-80ish range. Clos Ste. Hune is the grand dame in the Trimbach cellars, and a personal favorite, but note it is $300+ these days.
Well under your stated prices, and many other great producers as well. Ping Brian Stotter and David Bueker as well.
Germany:
a) Mosel-Merkelback, Adam, Prum, Schaefer, Loewen(especially the dry wines), Markus Molitor
b) Pfalz-Muller-Catoir
c) Nahe-Donnhoff, Hexamer
d) Florian Weingart
Austria-Alzinger, Schloss Gobelsberg, Prager, Pichler
Alsace-Definitely the Trimbach Frederic Emile
B.C.-Tantalus, Synchromesh (these are vastly under recognized wines)
Willamette Valley-Pierce, Paetra, Elk Cove(old vines), and we make a bit of Riesling in a GG style.
Neil Martin referenced Oregon Riesling as good “regional” wines. I would say that’s an apt description, but the best examples are delicious and well worth trying for educational purposes.
Price aside, I think the harder degree of difficulty is his aversion to petrol. The currently named list of producers above are easy winners for great expressions in general. However, sifting through them to avoid petrol is wayyy harder and a bit more of a task. e.g. Prum love them, have had many, and many (not all) show some level of petrol in varying degrees. Well, maybe more accurate is that it can vary vintage to vintage and bottling.
Point is, I don’t have a hard fast silver bullet answer for a bottle or producer other than taking the list above and checking out TNs for the better vintages. You’ll start to see some patterns emerge. Then as Marcus noted, Mr Stotter and Bueker are brimming wells of info and can be more prescriptive.
Unfortunately the petrol note you’re describing, due to 1, 1, 6,-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronapthalene (TDN), is kind of the calling card for riesling. It is typically more apparent in young riesling from vintages with high sun exposure and ripeness, but inevitably most rieslings develop some sort of TDN-like aromas with advancing age.
In addition to GGs from producers Tom mentioned, I’d consider looking checking out kabinett or spätlese trocken wines. Perhaps from traditionally cooler climate regions like the Saar (e.g. Hofgut Falkenstein).
Unfortunately no older bottles. Look for an older JB Becker, a producer that has lots of library wines, or search around at the auctions or on winesearcher for an older bottle. Just pick a good year and producer.
The shopping baskets are saved in your browser’s temporary memory or a cookie. You can’t transfer the contents of your basket via a link. Best if you just give a list of names, because that basket is just empty to us.
EDIT: And I’d advise being careful with JB Becker. When good, the wines can be outstanding, but they can be quite heavy and ponderous at times - Becker’s a very unique producer making wines in his own way (picking very ripe and fermenting the wines in very warm temperatures). When successful, they can be very precise and complex, but when less successful they can be very mineral and high in acidity but also quite high in alcohol and having just a strong, waxy quality with very little fruit to them, making them feel quite clumsy, dull and fruitless, lacking the energy and playfulness I love in Riesling. I’m not saying Becker is a bad producer, I’m just saying that one should remember that if you have one good/bad bottle of Becker, it doesn’t mean the next bottle will be as well. I’ve noticed there’s a lot of variation.
Have a hard time helping you. Except for really sweet wines, I don’t buy any Rieslings with prices at $50 or above. Most Rieslings are much better values than that.
You should get rid of most of your pre-conditions and drink more broadly with an open wine.
Try
Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile
An Austrian Riesling
Kabinetts or Spatlesen from the Saar or the Ruwer (say Zilliken Rausch or Grunhaus Abtsberg).
Auslesen from JJ Prum
Dry wine from the Nahe from Donnhoff
Dry wine from Keller (here your price can go from somewhat reasonable (but still likely over $50) to the stratosphere).
The best recent vintages are probably 2015 and 2019. The 2019s are too young so try to find wines from 2015. You may want to try something older, esp. with the Auslese from Prum. If you can find a 2005, Prum’s 2005s are fabulous. Some of the great vintages of the past are 1971, 1990 and 2001, but it is risky to buy them at this point.
I assume that is meant to be Grosset.
This is a pretty unusual statement to me. I can’t stomach the majority of southern hemisphere Sauv Blanc. Although I do find the French Sauv Blanc I have tried more palatable.
I often get more tropical fruit notes in Clare valley Rieslings from the Polish Hill river sub-region, but in the majority of cases I prefer these over Rieslings from the other sub regions of Clare.(The only one I can think of where I don’t is Adelina, where I find their Watervale better than their Polish Hill. No idea how it ages… I find it pretty delicious young and it never lasts long in my house). I tend to get more straight forward citrus from other sub-regions… mostly lemon and lime but occasionally mandarin and orange.
I think I am quite sensitive to the Petrol notes… I tend to pick it up where others don’t, but I also don’t dislike it. I do often find it in Australian Rieslings with a bit of age
Excellent rec here, Brian. I’m not a huge GG guy, but I do love a great trocken wine when the conditions call for it. Uli Stein makes the most beautiful St. Aldegunder Palmberg Terrassen Spätlese trocken. It’s always so great.
First thought is that there is no need for a $50 floor. There are so many great Rieslings under that price point that I would generally recommend trying to stay below that number while learning, rather than go above it.
All sorts of good recommendations below. If you are averse to petrol then do avoid Trimbach. The petrol is not always there, but often. I would also avoid Becker as a starting point. The wines, while good, are atypical, and an acquired taste.
Younger bottles will help with avoiding the petrol, as it usually takes a bit of time to emerge from behind the youthful fruit.
Some here consider me to be a Selbach-Oster “homer”, but I wear that label as a badge of honor. If you want to do a basic exploration of the pradikats (and variations) then I can heartily recommend sourcing the following wines. Go for younger vintages to start, but if you see older bottles don’t hesitate, as Selbach is not a huge risk for serious petrol.
All these are Selbach-Oster Riesling wines:
Zeltinger Himmelreich Kabinett Halbtrocken
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Ur Alte Reben Spatlese Feinherb (or the Graacher Domprobst Alte Reben version)
Zeltinger Schlossberg or Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese
Their named wines; Anrecht, Schmitt, Rotlay & Bomer (Bomer is a dry wine) are all worth trying.
Other producers make wine ranges that are also great places to start, but the Selbach wines are not too difficult to source, and very well priced.
Selbach was in the back of my mind however I only got onboard that train in the last 5 years; lacking a depth of experience in vintages. Great price points and can show brilliantly young with minimal petrol from what I have had.
