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+--- Thread: Michigan Peninsula Riesling and Gewurztraminer (/thread-10998.html)
- wondersofwine - 09-05-2003
At MoCool I went to a tasting where we sampled older German auslese wines and also wines from Peninsula Cellars and Chateau Grand Traverse, both wineries in Michigan.
My favorite of the Michigan wines was the Peninsula Cellars 2002 semi-dry Riesling. It was named best white wine at the San Francisco International Competition and best Riesling in Eastern United States in a Vineyard Management magazine. The nose was very (read as if underlined or in bold print) fragrant. White peaches came across in the nose and flavor. Retails for $13.50 to $20 (not sure why the broad range). The 2002 Chateau Grand Traverse Johanisberg Riesling came across as rather austere in comparison. This winery also makes a Late Harvest Riesling. Later we had the Peninsula Cellars 2002 Gewurztraminer, Manigold Vineyard. It was a dry white with the spicy nose I look for in this varietal (a suggestion of sage?) I liked it quite well and some of the party favored it over the Rieslings. (I would put the Peninsula Cellars 2002 semi-dry Riesling ahead of the Gewurz.) Of the German Auslese wines we sampled, my favorites were the 1976 Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese (spiced peaches flavor) and the 1975 Wehlenuhr Sonnenuhr Auslese (both from Christoffel Erben). Also really liked the "mystery wine" which was a 2001 Vollenweider Nacktarsch (you translate)Spatlese blend from three vineyards. It was very nicely balanced with a pure flavor profile. Daniel Vollenweider is a Swiss-born winemaker producing some excellent wines in Germany.
- Thomas - 09-05-2003
That must have been a fine time indeed.
- wondersofwine - 09-05-2003
Yep. The longest I've been able to hang on to a German Riesling so far was about nine or ten years so I have had limited opportunity to taste auslese wines with real age on them. I have some 2001 wines I may try to cellar for longer periods but I'm not promising that they'll be around in 2021 (or that I'll be around then!) I generally buy only one to three bottles, not by the case, so it's harder to set some aside.
- Thomas - 09-05-2003
Last summer I opened the final bottles of Rieslings I had produced when I operated Cana Vineyards in the Finger Lakes. The vintages ranged from 1985 to 1991, the last year I produced wine. It was incredible how the wines had aged--the two best were the 85 and the 87 (the latter had won Best NY Riesling in 1988). The next best was the 88; the rest were still drinkable but not as good as the others.
They all had that wonderful petroleum quality on the nose; they had all integrated well between acids and fruit; they all had a lot of life remaining; they had all been produced dry: the 87 had 10 percent Vignoles (Ravat 51) blended in it and from 88 on up, all the wines had about 10 percent Gewurztraminer blended in.
Riesling is a queen among wine grapes.