Riesling tasting at The Mark

[Scoop]

Every August The Mark Hotel in Manhattan puts on a Summer Riesling Festival, offering a large number of Rieslings (115 this year) from all over the world by the glass and in 2 oz tastings. Prices (especially the tastings) are pretty reasonable, and it's great for designing comparative flights between regions, styles or "Praedikats".

A member of my tasting group knows (and sells wine) to The Mark's Riesling ringleader, MS Richard Dean, so when we chose to focus on said variety at our next tasting, he suggested a field trip to The Mark.

We sampled 10 wines chosen by Dean (7 Rieslings, 2 blends and one Silvaner), focusing mainly on the somewhat maligned Rheinhessen region, Germany's largest "Anbaugebiet" primarily known for "Liebfraumilch". Several were from a single producer, the reputable Heyl zu Herrenheim. We also tasted an Alsatian, an Autrian and a "Pfaelzer" for contrast.

Some consensus highlights follow:

Heyl Silvaner, Rheinhessen, 1997: Thrown in for fun. A clean, pronounced mineral nose with surprising hints of store ground coffee as it opened. Bone dry, almost fino sherry-like, with brisk acidity, mineral notes and almost zero fruit. Nice medium finish. Very quirky, but works as an aperitif.

Dr. Burklin Wolf Deidesheimer Kabinett Trocken, Pfalz, 1997: Beautiful floral (rose petals, grand ma's talcum powder)nose with some background melon and orange peel. Dry with high acidity (food please!), light body and low alcohol. Grapefruit peel and lemon flavors lead into a long, soft finish. Very good quality, drinking now.

Heyl Niersteiner Pettental Spaetlese Halbtrocken, Rheinhessen, 1997: Incredible petrol nose -- pure stove gas! --along with a flor-like quality (back to fino again!). Off dry, with crisp acidity, medium body and a palate completely disconnected to the nose: candied fruit, reminiscent of pineapple and lime Lifesavers. Long finish. Bizarre but compelling wine.

Paul Blanck "Rosenbourg" 1994, Alsace: While all the wines tasted had some notable and unique qualities, this was the complete, balanced package: pale gold, with a tropical fruit (mango, pineapple) nose, underpinned by slate and light petrol elements. Dry and crisp, palate like the nose, medium body and a long mineral finish. Beautiful.

Valckenberg "Madonna" Beerenauslese, Rheinhessen, 1995 (Riesling/Silvaner blend): Solid gold color to the rim, full of honey and apricots on the nose (and, yes, a touch of brine). Very sweet, of course, but balanced with good (high) acidity. Full of candied pineapple and honeycomb flavors; definitely some botrytis at work. Full-bodied and a long, long finish. Actual alcohol 8.5%; potential alcohol: out of the ballpark!

Great tasting overall, once again confirming the grape's incredible versatility.

Cheers,

C. Matthews