Art of the Table -- Notes from Mike
Products for Entertaining
A specialty food, beverage & tabletop retail store.
606 Wealthy SE Grand Rapids, MI
askus@artofthetable.com

With Germany we celebrate the World Cup

This week as we celebrate the beginning of the World Cup tournament which much of the world views as the greatest sporting event on earth, we will in turn celebrate the vaunted 2004 vintage of German wines,
which many are saying is one of the best ever. Destination: Germany! is an overview of this exciting vintage as Art of the Table just last week got our special "direct from Germany" shipment of wine for this half of the year. 2004 is a classic vintage and as such demonstrates unabashed acidity, luscious grapefruity, peachy fruit and intricate minerality.

Here's a look at a few German gems we've gotten in.

Donnhoff 2004 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese $44.00

Super-allocated and now on the front cover of Wine Spectator, this
offers gorgeous aromas of honeysuckle, lime, cherry blossom and sweet
flowers followed by a billowing, wafting array of similar ilk on a
palate of utmost depth and polish. Add to the finish notes of cherry
essence, smoky pungency, savory saltiness, and shrimp shell minerality.
In short, layers and layers of amazing nuanced flavors. I think this
could be drunk anytime over the next twenty years and it would be an
extraordinary experience.

Josef Leitz 2005 Rudesheimer Kosterlay Riesling Kabinett $15.75

An amazing value, this has effusive aromatics of apple and cherry
blossoms with flavors of pineapple, tangerine and freshly cut apples
with notes of spice and mineral dust. This is an incredibly refreshing
wine, perfect for this summer. I'm pairing this with sautéed shrimp
with spiced eggplant and Thai red curry sauce tonight as I can't wait to
drink it!