Sing, O Muse, of limestone. Chalky, friable, pale as morning fog. Birthplace of great profundity, site of royal lineage (see Romanee-Conti, Sancerre and Mesnil). Humble rock transmuted into potions of absurd dimension.
The Scene: Leon Beyer, Sr., working the land his ancestors worked before him, joins his friends, themselves also philosopher-kings (it is France, after all) around a simple but tasteful rustic wooden table. They drink a Grand Cru riesling from his Pfersigsberg vineyard. The bottle slowly works its way towards emptiness. These men appreciate its spiralling scent of pear brandy and broken rock. They admire its marathon length, notes of dusty oyster shell and taste of just-right green apple. It's aging magnificently. They sigh blissfully. Leon announces to the meditative crowd, "I was think of calling it 'The Oyster-Shuckers'." The men cringe but give it the thumbs-up.
White wine of the month for May 2007.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
05 Mueller-Catoir Riesling Kabinett, Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten, Pfalz
My first love in Riesling, and very likely to be my greatest. You know how these things work out. It doesn't hurt that all the wines I've had from this vineyard taste like genius. They seems to coalesce into perfectly synchronized wines tasting like the creme(just the creme) of exotic, masala tea dusted orchard fruits, dissolved silver, agave liqueur and a microscopic fireworks celebration. Top that for insane taste descriptors.
Goddamn it's expensive kabinett, but it's so freaking good. Since it's an 05, the weight is a little higher up there, but it's actually not even at an 04 Spat in terms of body, which is a huge (and wonderful) surprise. I know that M-C is undergoing a transformative period as the old, great master has left and the new guy is from Schlossgut Diel (ewwww). I can't be certain if its because I've not tasted older M-C's that I can't tell the difference, but the new shit is that chronic. There may also be something to the idea that the vineyard can express itself through different winemaker regimes. Whatever it is, its awesome. My favorite flavors in wine are found in this bottle. But $38!!! Jesus!
Goddamn it's expensive kabinett, but it's so freaking good. Since it's an 05, the weight is a little higher up there, but it's actually not even at an 04 Spat in terms of body, which is a huge (and wonderful) surprise. I know that M-C is undergoing a transformative period as the old, great master has left and the new guy is from Schlossgut Diel (ewwww). I can't be certain if its because I've not tasted older M-C's that I can't tell the difference, but the new shit is that chronic. There may also be something to the idea that the vineyard can express itself through different winemaker regimes. Whatever it is, its awesome. My favorite flavors in wine are found in this bottle. But $38!!! Jesus!
2002 Heymann-Loewenstein Riesling "Uhlen R", Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Bought this on closeout from Eric at Chambers. Very cool shit. Grand Cru, Grosses Gewachs trocken Riesling that has no problem balancing its tremendous must weight with power and focus on the palate. Already a roiling, dieselly mass of violet and apple fruit, it seems likely to careen into the future on a relatively safe rail. The violet is what gets me. It's such a rhoney, garriguey kind of aroma, I guess I never expect it in whites. Even chenin produces something more akin to the nondescriptor "white flowers."
It has that dried honey, overweight German plutocrat kind of structure, but almost like what a normal lieblich Spatlese could taste like with 15 years to dry it out. But it lacks that museum dust and slight astringence that I've got from the fatless Spatleses with age. Still vibrant and complete. Normally a wine that's meant to retail for $50+, I bought 3cs cheap and sell it for half that.
As a side note, the website of the producer is cleanly designed, multilingual and a great resource for slate porn and other wells of interest for Riesling-philes. Highly recommended. Here, I discovered that the vineyard sits on martian-looking meteorite stone at 115% inclination. Badass.
It has that dried honey, overweight German plutocrat kind of structure, but almost like what a normal lieblich Spatlese could taste like with 15 years to dry it out. But it lacks that museum dust and slight astringence that I've got from the fatless Spatleses with age. Still vibrant and complete. Normally a wine that's meant to retail for $50+, I bought 3cs cheap and sell it for half that.
As a side note, the website of the producer is cleanly designed, multilingual and a great resource for slate porn and other wells of interest for Riesling-philes. Highly recommended. Here, I discovered that the vineyard sits on martian-looking meteorite stone at 115% inclination. Badass.
2005 Hexamer Riesling Spatlese, Schlossboeckelheimer in der Felsen, Nahe
Matt told me this would be in my wheelhouse, and boy was he ever right. I did taste it before and buy it, Matt. Gorgeous stuff. Nahe rieslings come closest to ambrosial heights as any region of German wine. Misty mineral strawberry peach lemonade. It makes me think of plucking a perfect, dew-laden berry in a fog-shrouded glade in elf territory. Although elf territory is politically neutral, there are great risks involved with traversing there, notably bags under the eyes and tooth sensitivity of epic proportions. This one looks like it could age with grace and confidence for a couple decades, like a young, composed Ribera del Duero. Definitely gonna buy more of this stuff.
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