Riesling by mistake

I'll say it right here.  I'm not an admirer of Riesling.  I don't go swimmy-headed when people go on and on about some Trockenbeereauslese or some even longer compound noun.  The heavy scent of petrol (carburante in Italian) gives me a headache and doesn't do much for my digestive tract either.  

To many people, of course, this puts me on the side of the Evil One (no, not Dick Cheney -- the other Adversary).  I think of Lyle Fass, who is mad about all things Riesling.  I'm sorry, Lyle and all you others, I'm a sorry dolt and a dull clod or something.

So imagine my surprise when, instead of a tasting of "crus of the southern Appennines," I walked into a Riesling tasting conducted by an enthusiastic Dutchman in charmingly accented Italian.  I was about to turn right around, but I thought, "No, my boy, you mustn't be narrow.  Well, OK, you're narrow.  But don't compound your narrowness!  To maintain narrowness is a sign of old age."  That was how I vanquished myself.  I know what buttons to push all right.

There were eight wines in four categories:

* A Sekt (methode classique)

* Three Trocken (Dry)

* Three "con residuo di zucchero" (with varying amount of residual sugar)

* One Eiswein (so sweet you get diabetes sniffing it)

I confess to wilful ignorance when it comes to such wines.  No doubt there's the language problem, but, really, most of it is due to the character of the wines themselves.  Generally speaking, they just don't hit me the right way.

E'en so, colour me surpriz'd when I tasted a couple of them.  Herewith and thenceforth are my pawky few notes.  Achtung: No umlauts were used in transcribing the names of the wines, etc.

Cute title of Dick ten Voorde's talk: "Il vino che viene dal freddo."  The wine that comes from the cold, a nice German Cold War reference.

1. Manz -- Rheinhessen -- Sekt Riesling 2004 -- not disgusting. 12.5% alc., RS 9.

2. Kunstler -- Rheingau -- Riesling QbA 2005 -- insipid.  This is the lowest appellation used for wine not destined to be converted to vinegar or distillates, I guess.  Highest RS among the drei Trocken wines.  12.5% alc., 8.9 RS.

3. Horst Sauer -- Franken -- Silvaner Spaetlese 2007 -- toasty, thin finish.  Very Silvanery, in fact. 13.5% alc., RS 5.1.

4. Rebholz -- Pfalz, Kastienbusch -- Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2004 -- By far my favorite among the Secco or Trocken group -- excellent balance, enough acidity to make it lively and good with food.  Not sweet or old enough, perhaps, to impart the gasoline smell.  The lowest RS of the three (3.5 vs. 8.9 for #2).  Alc. 13.5%.

5. Von Schubert -- Mosel (Ruwer) -- Abstberg Riesling QbA 2000 -- reeks of petrol.  I mean, like from the pump into your mouth.  NEXT.  (8.4% alc., RS 51.)

6. Markus Molitor -- Mosel -- Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spaetlese 2007 -- nice peachy nose and coat on tongue, rather sweet (RS 88.3).  Also a whiff of detergent?  Alc. 7.2%.  

7. Doenhoff -- Nahe -- Niederhauser Hermansholle -- Riesling Auslese 2004 -- my favorite of the tasting.  High RS (99.5), Long honeyed finish yet nice acidity to prevent cloying.  Something floral and intriguing - laurel flowers?  Bit-O-Honey??  Lowest alcohol of the RS 3 -- just 7.1% alc.  

8.  Manz -- Rheinhessen -- Eiswein Riesling 2004  -- Lovely deep gold color, lush and long.  But also so overpoweringly sweet (RS 230) that it's sick-making.  Two sips would do me in.  7% alc.

So here I am, having displayed my utter incomprehension of German Rieslings.  

I'd sit here on the terrace of the Excelsior for much longer and try to amuse you -- overlooking as I do the obscene shame that is the American Embassy -- but the swifts are flying...evening is nigh...and an animal died somewhere close by, not too recently, and ideally not a rat. 

Ciaociaociaociaociao.

Comments

[Amanda L.]

Hi! I just had to laugh @ this post. I am a TOTAL Riesling fan (well, not trocken/halbtrocken) & it's the only thing I drink. My preference is Auslese, from the Rheinland-Pflaz area (think Mosel/Rhein River valley), Germany. (I currently live in the area so it's not all that expensive either!) I love the fact that it is sweet & think Eiswein is fabulous! (& I have NEVER thought it smelled like petrol)

I am the person who thinks Chardonnay or other dry whites/reds are icky & taste like vinegar.

But I do understand that some people don't like white & sweet! Every wine is definitely not for everyone... that is why so many different types are made! :)

[TH]

You're right, every wine is not for everyone. I wish more wine writers (bloggers especially?) would remember that.

Maybe if I were exposed more to those wines I'd come to appreciate them. But sweet wines so often...I just couldn't get used to it. Plus, my teeth are already bad as it is.