Hello, again, to our wine and food friends and welcome to Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog. We recently conducted a tasting of Rieslings of Germany with several of our wine friends, hosted by our friends, Beverly and Mark. It has been very hot and humid here in Jackson, so a refreshing white wine was just the ticket.
We posted a note back on January 16, 2011, about Riesling of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (you can read that note by clicking on January on the dates on the right side of the blog page). I mentioned then that Riesling has a bit of an image problem because of its historical association with sickly sweet low quality wines like Blue Nun and Black Tower that aren’t even Riesling anyway. On the contrary, good quality Riesling from Germany can be absolutely thrilling, highly versatile with food, and delicious on its own. Although it is true that most German Riesling sold in the U.S. has residual unfermented sugar and a sweet taste, it is not at all cloying because of its excellent balancing acidity. The acidity provides a kind of tension and energy in contrast to the sweetness, creating a clean, refreshing experience on the palate. The balance of fruit, sweetness, and acidity create a terrific wine experience. Also, since the wines are not fermented all the way to dryness, the alcohol level is usually low, which is nice for enjoying with food without feeling sluggish or lethargic afterward.
We selected wines from two well known regions, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and the somewhat less well known Nahe region. You can see these areas on the map above (clipped from www.weygandtwines.com). To help you with geographic orientation, the most well known wine appellations of Germany are to the north of the Alsace region of France and east of Belgium and Luxembourg. The vineyards of the Mosel are generally very steep with thin soils and a combination of slate and schist. Some areas also have a high concentration of iron. The best vineyard sites are south-facing to capture more sunlight and enhance ripening of the grapes. In contrast, vineyards of the Nahe are not always as steep and have slightly varying soil types.
Here’s the Brauneberger Juffer vineyard above the town of Brauneberg. You can see the incredible steepness of some of these Mosel-Saar-Ruwer vineyards and how labor intensive it is to farm them.
German Rieslings are classified in various ways. The best quality wines are called Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, which means “quality wine with distinction.” The wines are further classified according to their ripeness when picked. The lowest level of ripeness, termed “fully ripe,” is Kabinett. The next level up in ripeness is Spätlese, which means “late harvest.” The highest level of ripeness before getting into dessert-style wines is Auslese, or “selected harvest.” Auslese-level grapes are hand selected from very ripe grape bunches. Above these wines in ripeness are dessert-style wines called Beerenauslese, meaning “selected harvest of berries,” literally picked berry by berry, and Trockenbeerenauslese, meaning “selected harvest of dried berries.” These grapes are extremely ripe and dried on the vine. Another dessert-style Riesling is called Eiswein, because the grapes are harvested when they are frozen on the vine. Freezing the water in the grapes and then crushing them when harvested leaves behind a highly concentrated, very sweet nectar to make the wine.
We had a Kabinett, a Spätlese, and an Auslese from both Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Nahe, so we could contrast different growing areas. To make things especially interesting, I was able to obtain a Kabinett and a Spätlese from the same producer, same vintage, and same vineyard. That was very helpful for understanding the contrast between the two ripeness levels.
Beverly and Mark prepared a delicious feast of choucroute, which we’ve described here previously on the blog (October 31, 2010). It is a traditional dish of both Germany and the Alsace region of France and consists of smoked sausage, pork loin or ham hocks, potatoes, and sauerkraut, cooked with herbs, onion, and bacon…yum! It is a perfect match for Riesling and highlights the versatility of the wine. Dessert was a cheese and fruit course of Emmentaler, Brie, Roquefort, and dried apricots.
Like most white wines, Riesling is great with fish, shellfish, and poultry dishes, but it is especially good with spicy Asian cuisine such as Thai and Korean and the Cajun and Creole cuisine of our part of the country. With choucroute, the sweetness and acidity of the wine are a perfect foil for the spicy heat of the sausage and saltiness of sauerkraut. It’s great to include a little Riesling in the cooking of the sauerkraut!
Dessert was a cheese and fruit course of Emmentaler, Brie, Roquefort, and dried apricots, accompanied by a Riesling Eiswein.
It was a festive evening at the haus of Beverly and Mark. Katie, Jesse, and Dick rounded out the Riesling crew. Tough duty, but somebody has to do it! Here are photos of each member of the happy group with notes on each wine, presented in the order in which we tasted them.
Here’s our gracious host, Beverly.
Schäfer-Frölich Nahe Riesling Kabinett 2007. Perhaps the least distinguished wine of the group as it was “merely” an appellation wine with no single vineyard designation. Yet, this wine was one of the consensus favorites of the evening, my personal first choice both with and without food. It was Mary's first choice on its own but she didn't prefer it as much with dinner. The aroma profile showed fresh citrus, especially grapefruit, along with apricot, possibly pineapple, and nice minerality. The palate was fresh, clean, had medium to high acidity, quite mouthwatering. It had medium body and intense flavors of citrus, peach, and mineral notes. It had a nice finish, medium to long, beautifully balanced, and moderate complexity. Very nice. 8.0% alcohol. This wine cost $30.
Here I am with the other Kabinett.
Weingut Fritz Haag Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett 2007. Surprisingly to me in view of the high regard for Fritz Haag, this wine performed near the bottom of the six event wines, although no one gave it less than a "like" rating. The aroma showed a petroleum note, even at a young age, lime citrus, peach and apricot, and a stony minerality, like all the wines. The palate showed lower acidity than the Schäfer-Frölich from the Nahe, which led one attendee to say it tasted "too sweet." The flavor profile was mostly linear with the aromas, citrus, tree fruit, and minerality. It just didn't quite have the freshness of the other Kabinett. Even so, it was adequately balanced, moderately complex, with a medium finish, so it gets a good quality rating. 8.5% alcohol. We paid $25 for this wine.
Here's our friend, Mark, holding the first Spätlese of the evening, the same producer, same vineyard, and same vineyard as the Kabinett. Aside from the ripeness classification, the only difference is the grapes all came from the Sonnenuhr parcel of the Brauneberger Juffer vineyard. Sonnenuhr means “sundial,” one of which is located in this particular site.
Weingut Fritz Haag Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007. The Spätlese-level Sonnenuhr parcel of the Brauneberger Juffer vineyard was better regarded by the group than the Fritz Haag Kabinett. It was clearly more complex on both the nose and the palate, more tropical in character with peach, mango, and honey. The palate was more full-bodied than the Kabinett, not surprising, with medium acidity and intense flavors of lime, peach, tropical fruit such as mango or papaya, and a nice mineral note. It finished long, nicely balanced, had good complexity, an excellent quality rating. 7.5% alcohol. This wine cost $35.
Jesse and Katie joined one of our wine tasting events for the first time. Jesse is holding the Nahe Spätlese example.
Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff Nahe Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 2007. This is a Nahe Spätlese that performed below its Mosel-Saar-Ruwer counterpart. Once again, we noted a tropical quality along with what I thought was fresh, sliced tree fruit, such as pear and apple and a honeyed note. The palate showed medium acidity and body and flavors of lime, tree fruit, pineapple, minerals, and a pronounced spicy note, like nutmeg or even cinnamon, especially on the finish. Nicely balanced, medium to long finish, nicely complex, it is excellent in quality but ranked in the lower tier of most preferences. At 9.5%, it had the highest alcohol level of the evening’s wines. It was also the most expensive wine on the table, by far, at $80.
Here’s Katie, the better half of the Katie and Jesse pair, holding the Auslese example from the Nahe.
Schlossgut Diel Nahe Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Auslese 2001. This wine was very complex with lovely floral aromas, lime citrus, tropical fruit, stone, and a petroleum note. The palate was more full-bodied than some of the other wines with medium acidity and flavors of lime, grapefruit, peach, mango, and a nice minerally, wet earth quality. It was long finishing, well balanced, very complex, perhaps the highest rated wine of the evening on pure quality measures. It was Mary's favorite with dinner, my second. Beautiful, especially for an Auslese, which is not usually my preference. I’m glad it performed so well because this is a small, family-run operation, which I like to support. 7.5% alcohol. We paid $50 for this wine.
Dick is holding the Auslese example from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer.
Weingut Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese 2004. Most of the group rated this wine highly on their preference rankings, so both of the Auslesen performed very well. The first thing I noticed on the nose was caramel, which everyone immediately agreed was there. Tree fruit, especially a perfectly ripe white peach also stood out. Tropical pineapple and flowers, perhaps honeysuckle or gardenia rounded out a complex aroma profile. The palate was full, with medium acidity, and lemon citrus, peach, caramel, and mineral flavor notes. It had a medium finish, not as long as the Nahe Auslese, complex, but not quite as complex as the other wine, and nicely balanced. 7.5% alcohol. This wine cost $45.
Last but certainly not least is my sweet wife, Mary, with the dessert wine…perfect!
Weingut Fritz Allendorf Rheingau Winkeler Gutenberg Riesling Eiswein 2007. The Eiswein was not all that much sweeter on the palate than the Auslesen, but it did have a slightly riper aroma and flavor profile. Mark immediately said he detected a raisiny note and everyone agreed on honey. The acidity was medium but enough for adequate balance. I thought it showed a preserved or candied citrus peel flavor such as lemon or orange and it clearly had peach and apricot notes. As expected, the pairing with Roquefort cheese was sublime, but it did very well with the Emmentaler and Brie, too. 8.5% alcohol. We paid $30 for this wine. We had a great time, talking, laughing, learning about Rieslings of Germany, enjoying great food prepared by Beverly and Mark, and the company of a fun group of good people. Life is pretty good when we gather around a table of wine, food, and friends.
That’s our post for today. We hope you found it interesting and enjoyable. Keep checking back at Cépage et Cuisine for more of our food and wine adventures. Until then,
Cheers!
Mary♥Brian
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