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October 26, 2005 - German Showdown with Annette Siegrist

This well attended tasting was revelatory for many in that their experience with German wines had often been with inexpensive, thin, sweet innocuous swill. Ouch. Tonight we had Annette Siegrist in from Germany. She was incredibly knowledgeable and gave an impressive presentation. All of the wines showed very well and were awesome examples from the three regions we explored.

Othegraven 2003 "Maria v. O" Riesling $21.50
The entry Riesling from this producer is really lovely, with sweet notes of white peaches, nectarine, lime and mineral. It dances on the palate and as Annette explained, was a good example of a wine from the Mosel, Saar, Ruwer region because of it's laser-like acidity. While all the Rieslings we had tonight were relatively dry, this had hints of sweetness.

Othegraven 2003 "Altenberg" Premier Cru Riesling $44.50
This Riesling was gorgeous. It had tons of nuance with notes of rose petal, white peach, mineral, gun powder and petrol on the nose. Very unctuous and lively, it sports flavors of pineapple, white peaches and mineral. Annette explained that this would have been labeled a Spatlese under the old German wine laws, which translates to "late harvest." She went on that these wines she represents are trying to get past the old German laws which used esignations like "Spatlese" because inexpensive wines could be labeled just the same as Premier Cru wines that were ten times the price.

Dr. Burken Wolf 2003 Riesling $15.50
From the Pfalz region, this was pretty yet had a touch of muscle to it. Still a touch sweet, it possesses aromas of yellow peaches, orange peel and mineral. On the palate it had an ever so slight spritz to it, with notes of peaches, pineapple, mineral and petrol. This is a beautiful contrast to the first Riesling we tried.


Dr. Burken Wolf 2003 "Gaisbohl" Grand Cru $58.00
This wine was amazing and easily the best Riesling of the night. It was dry and full-bodied, with lots of slate, mineral and wet stone notes intermingling with intense peach and lime action. Big and ripe, this is the kind of wine that just keeps going and going, I can imagine it aging for twenty years or more. I've never had a German Riesling this dry and this wonderful. Wow!

Christmann 2003 Riesling Pfaltz $24.00
Almost bone-dry, this was another really interesting one, with lots of peaches, cantelope, mango and mineral on the nose, and lots of mineral, lime, candied fruit, slate and petrol on the palate. This almost reminded me of an Australian Riesling with its dryness and intense lime flavors. This would be wonderful with something like scallop ceviche or roast red snapper with cilantro-poblano relish.

Christmann 2001 "Konigsbacher Idig" Spatebergunder $64.00
This is a Pinot Noir. Seriously. This is what Pinot Noir, world class Pinot Noir, tastes like. Wow. So seductive, so smooth. This was redolent with aromas of violets, strawberry, rhubarb, white cherries and spice. On the palate it was all big red cherry, red plums, toast and spice. Everyone was blown away by this wine. Pair this with pancetta and rosemary wrapped roast duck breast.

What an amazing tasting this was, and to have someone with the caliber of Annette to go through all the wines was such a treat. Most everyone who attended hadn't ever had many or any of the wines before and I think everyone really learned a ton. I know I did and I felt like I knew German wine somewhat well prior.

*All of the wines we taste, no matter what night we tried them…even if it was over a year ago…are available either on our shelf or to special order. We are always very happy to special order a bottle of anything you’re looking for. If you are interested in trying some of these, please email or call us anytime and we will include it on our next order – almost always delivered within two to three days!
 
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