Four Rieslings

[joeyz6]

Last night I did the four four Riesling tastings in Great Wines Made Simple. Dry vs. sweet, light-body vs. medium-body, cool-zone vs. moderate-zone and New World vs. Old World. It's pretty basic stuff, but it also helps solidify some of those concepts. Here's what I drank:

2001 Pikes Clare Valley Riesling. Pale yellow-green color. Round fruity nose, with tangerine and orange peel notes showing through. Light-bodied, smooth but juicy (like a fruit salad, Immer pointed out), slightly off-dry. There's also acid present that hasn't quite incorporated itself into the balance of the rest of the wine.
12%, $13 at Sam's.

2002 Bollig Lehnert Riesling Spätlese Piesporter. Very light green color. Jammy citrus aromas, especially grapefruit, which carries into the taste. Syrupy texture and a sugary finish.
8%, $9 at Wine Discount Center.

2001 Dr. Fischer M-S-R Riesling Kabinett
Very light green and translucent. Delicate aroma, difficult to distinguish individual elements but subtly complex, with flowers and tart Granny Smith apples present. Light body, slightly off-dry and fruity at the start. Tastes of ripe apple. Fades into a long, lightly and pleasantly adicid finish. Very balanced aftertaste. I can see this matching nicely with lighter meals.
8%, $10 at Wine Discount Center.

2001 Lucien Albrecht Alsace Riesling
Pale yellow-green color. Peach and lemon notes on nose, also a touch of barnyard-ish rancidness that goes away after a few minutes and turns into an earthy, petroleum odor. This is the biggest of the four wines; medium-body and much hotter and more oily than the other three. The taste is round and subtle: citrus note, along with peach. Balanced, tangy acid follows. My favorite of the four (hey, I never said I wasn't a francophile).
13%, $11 at Sam's.

Voilà!

[wondersofwine]

Nice notes.

[joeyz6]

Thanks, Wonders.

I had another half-glass of the Spätlese tonight, and now I'm getting sour apple tones both on the nose and tongue.

[wondersofwine]

Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein was a favorite of mine while living in Germany (from the Saar tributary of the Mosel River). I was excited about buying six bottles of 2001 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Spatlese from a DC wine store. Then I read other posts that in 2001 this producer's Kabinett was better than the Spatlese! Also, I believe the owner/winemaker died fairly young and his widow is carrying on the business so there may be a variation in winemaking style or quality. Saar and Ruwer wines can have a really nice pristine, slightly austere quality sometimes, but because of the northern latitude, the grapes may not ripen sufficiently in so-so vintages. And perhaps 2001 was too much of a good thing (sunshine) for some vintners.