My comment simply meant that the Polish Hill Riesling reminded me of a riper sauvignon blanc, because riper sauvs also exhibit tropical notes (e.g., from Napa). I wasn’t referencing sauv blanc from any particular region. However, I do love tropical notes in white wine, so my intent was not to criticize Grosset but to simply state that, while the wine was quite good, there wasn’t any particularly special about it.
As a side note - best QPR in 2020 for me was a $5 Dry German Riesling made by Emma Reichart available at Trader Joe’s. If you like Polish Hill Reisling, this may be worth a look.
Thanks to all of you who have responded. Lots of incredibly valuable information here. It may simply be the case that aged/high-end German Riesling is not for me due to its propensity to exhibit petrol notes. Nonetheless, I’m determined to give the varietal a shot (once Dry January is over) if for no other reason than for educational purposes.
Here are my takeaways and some follow up questions.
Lower the price point and search for New World examples in Oregon, Australia, South Africa. What about Napa Valley (i.e., Smith Madrone)?
Austrian riesling seems like a good candidate
Thanks to those who recommended Trimbach, but I think I’ll be passing over Alsace altogether (for now). I’ve had a couple in recent months and both had overwhelming petrol.
For the sake of trying new things, I’ll give the 2005 Schaefer Spatlese Auction, or something like it, a shot (thanks Tom for the recommendation). 375ml bottlings may be my friend if I continue down this road…
Will also try out the Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett Riesling Nahe. Thanks Robert, Charlie and Max!
Keller dry rieslings were on my radar, and I think is worth a splurge. Price can be easily offset by other budget bottles.
I will search out GG, Kabinett, and Spatlese Trocken wines from cooler regions. Should I also target cooler, more recent vintages? Vintage reports indicate 2010, 2012-2014 were on the cooler side
I’d second Willi Schaefer, Donnhoff, Prum, Muller-Catoir, Selbach-Oster, Lauer, Falkenstein, and Trimbach and would add Immich-Batterieberg, Zilliken, and Domaine Weinbach to the list.
If you want to try a few without searching for and spending on the big names, try some Hirsch or Hiedler. Go up a little more in price for Schloss Gobelsburg.
-Alzinger smaragds.
-Keller von der Fels
-Immich Batterieberg single vineyards - maybe my favorite Mosel dry riesling producer
-Clemens Busch GGs
-Donnhoff GGs
-von Winning Pechstein GG
-For sweet wines I would definitely find something with age - 2001 Prum spat/auslese at auction would be a good bet (or older. '96 Prum auslese drinking well even if not a highly regarded vintage). I think 2005s are amazing but maybe still too young
I don’t think they’ve been mentioned much so far, but Markus Molitor white caps are usually really good dry Rieslings for a great value (especially the kabinetts and spatelese).
My favorite sweet Rieslings are probably ones from Fritz Haag and Schloss Lieser, and they are consistently wonderful with age on them in my experience, but there are so many great producers that it’s hard to go wrong.
OP, I think it might be worth trying one more riesling that might show petrol, if the Boxler was your only experience with petrol. I’m not particularly a TDN lover myself, and I’ve had rieslings whose petrol notes were overwhelming and off-putting. But, when it is just one of many other sensations, it can really just add complexity without detracting from the overall experience.
It’s not my only experience with Petrol. I had another Alsatian Riesling recently that also exhibited lots of petrol (I forget which one). I’ve also picked up on similar notes that are more rubbery in nature in non-Riesling wines. SLWC Artemis Cabernet (blew off eventually) and Chandon’s Pinot Meunier Sparkling come to mind. In all cases, I have found it offputting and personally consider it a fault in non-Riesling wines.
You said, “I have a strong distaste for petrol / rubber notes”.
Honestly, Riesling is going to be a packed minefield for you. Why not try some other grape? I know nothing about Italian whites, really, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those bring you more pleasure than Riesling while still ticking some of the same boxes.
Well, I do try other grapes and I love Italian white wine as well. Greco, Fiano, Falanghina, Gavi all make my mouth water. However, the beauty of wine is the diversity of varietals, terroirs, and producers means there is always something new to learn and taste. Given there are so many staunch advocates for Riesling, I feel compelled to experience more of it and see what the fuss is about.
Good call on Alsace. That’s the classic region where you’re most likely to find petrol in young wines. As to the petrol issue in general, it’s going to depend on how sensitive you are. I don’t find it at all in most young Rieslings from Germany and Austria, as long as I stick to the better producers, of which there are many. Some people taste it in pretty much every Riesling. I wouldn’t need to focus on cooler vintages to avoid it, but you might be more sensitive.
Personally, I drink a lot of Riesling (more than any other grape variety other than maybe Albarino), and I don’t think there’s much point at all in exploring the New World versions at this point in your learning experience. Sure, preference is a big part of this, and yours might be different, but there are plenty of dry Rieslings from Austria and Germany, and they tend to be a lot more complex than any New World examples at any price point you want to choose, in my opinion.
Oh, and the Keller GGs are great, but I don’t think they usually show well until about a year after release. At this stage, I wouldn’t bother spending the money anyway. Get some Wittmann GGs for much less money. The quality is very similar.
They certainly could be … … I know you’re just giving me a hard time, but you’re not far off (shocker, I know) — I was thinking crisp, mineral-laden white (for dry); pradikat comparisons are more difficult.
While I certainly can’t better David or Robert’s recommendations for how to explore the grape I’ll just add a one off recommendation which might cause you to rethink the $50+ price as well as the dry end requirement.
It’s on my mind because I just reloaded on some. 2018 Merkelbach “Urgluck” Auslese #11 is under $30 from Saratoga Wines and is beautiful.
I believe, based on things I have been told (by people who do in fact know) that 2019 marked the last year for the brothers being the primary winemakers.
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… I know you’re just giving me a hard time, but you’re not far off (shocker, I know) — I was thinking crisp, mineral-laden white (for dry); pradikat comparisons are more difficult.