2005 August Kesseler Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg Riesling Spätlese
Moderate, slightly viscous weight with pear, honey, hint of lemon and lime. No petrol. Delicious.
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How did the Von Winning wines show?
very well, as I find often with their GGs, they can be a bit atypical with all the barrel they use, but still
very good. The ‘18 I preferred, felt a bit more open and generous.
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I have been sampling this over the last two days, trying to do a more in depth assessment, and understand (like I probably would for a German or Austrian Riesling) what is going on and what the wine is trying to say.
This particular bottle (I had one a couple of years ago) feels sort of between two worlds. There’s the bright freshness that I expect from a dry Riesling, but also a greenish tinge that goes past lime and into grassy thus recalling Sauvignon Blanc. Pithy grapefruit dominates the palate until the finish, where the wine broadens and takes on a hint of creaminess.
It’s self-referential, but I recall being blinded on some New Zealand wines (Riesling and Sauvignon) by the late Thor Iverson, and getting this same between two worlds sensation.
I don’t know much of anything about the particulars of the 2019 vintage in the Finger Lakes, and how it could affect this wine. It’s an interesting wine, but I am not confident that I actually like it.
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Interesting blend of dry-sweet. Were these separated into flights or were you honing your palates with tremendous precision?!
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Always an interesting combination.
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we actually worked backwards starting dry with flights of two to keep producers or vineyards grouped together, we also had a bunch of Szechuan food as well that paired great with the sweeter style
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beautiful
Love your take. This past summer I had my first Red Newt and recall similar notes (though I could not articulate them as well as you!) For me, I think the wine was more pleasurable but was certainly not one of the top bottles of the large Riesling tasting.
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Nice line up! Some of my favorites! I’m partial to Eva Fricke’s wines. I like her style. Never had a 2017 from her. How was it?
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It was solid, it didn’t get the consideration it deserved because it was at the end, there were just too many wines and the amount of sugar consumed even while spitting ended up being a bit mouth coating. We tried her Riesling Kiedrich a week or so ago and was very nice for ~$40.
Zero complaints. Light, balanced, vibrant energy. Refreshing. Was a great match to slightly spicy pizza with sausage and gardinerre. oh, and it was $20.
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2020 Dirler-Cade Riesling Kitterle tonight. Dry but ripe and fruity. Kinda old school Alsace, and I like it.
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Fun podcast by the Trink folks with Jancis Robinson. Mostly focused on Riesling, but a few other things as well.
Some tough love dispensed.
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apologies for no real tasting notes, but the riesling at Chateau Montelena was really refreshing after all of the cabernets the entire trip. I was told I could be a riesling only wine club member and then 10 minutes later “oh sorry, I’m new… You can’t.” Medium bodied with a touch of bite and minerality. I would not say it had an overly petrol nose, but it had enough to still recognize it as riesling. There was slight floral aromas with stone fruit, but honestly my memory is failing me atm. There was perhaps 1 singular sauvignon blanc at other wineries or perhaps at Chapellet there was a chenin blanc, but this riesling revitalized me.
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First of three bottles I’ve been cellaring since 2010. I prefer the Riesling choices I make now over many I made previously …
2007 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese #20 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (11/18/2024)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 5 –
– AP #: … 20 08 –
NOSE: expressive; strong Lemon Pledge note; kumquat & florals mix; light petrol.
BODY: medium amber color; full bodied.
TASTE: Auslese sense of sweetness; medium-low acidity; spiced orange marmalade; kumquat; botrytis and dried apricot; 7.5% alc. not noticeable; candied orange wedge jelly candies; tastes just a little bit aged. DAY 5: low acid; marmalade; kumquat; botrytis & a hint of brown sugar (oxidation creeping-in, perhaps?); no petrol. Drinking well now, albeit in a youthful way. I figure this will hold for quite some time in the cellar, but I don’t really see much in the way of additional upside, rather, just natural evolution through the aging process — the low acidity has me a bit worried this eventually gets flabby and uninteresting, but I don’t see that happening soon. Drink or Hold.
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The marmalade and brown sugar don’t shock me. 2007 is a bit fragile. Not so bad as 2005, but it’s not a well constructed vintage. Charming when young, will likely crack up with further age.
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oooof … 2005, too?! (and even moresol?!?) Your comment drove me to CT to check my '05 holdings — only a single mixed case, and I feel pretty good about most of them (not loving the recent bargain Molitor purchase, but it is a **, so maybe there’s hope? Worst case scenario is that it gets used to quell the heat on takeout Thai).
Except for two more bottles of this Fritz Haag Auslese, the balance of my meager 2007 holdings are JJ Prum, so not feeling terrible about that. But might fast-track checking-in on them sooner rather than later now.
Not all 2005s are problematic, but some (Zilliken, Selbach, and yes, even my beloved Dönnhoff to name some but by no means all) have issues. Prüm and Willi Schaefer seem to be OK.
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