One of the bad things about my job is you get asked for absurd and stupid things: 03 Yellow Tail (and it has to be the 03 vintage, because the others just aren’t as good), or a mixed case of the Wine Spectator Top 10 wines of the year, with three bottles of number 1. One of the good things about my job is you get to try lots of really good wine. Sometimes people even give you wine for free.
The day before Thanksgiving one of my distributors dropped off a bottle of older Riesling (1990 Veldenzer Elisenberg Spätlese, for those of you keeping score at home) as a gift to have with Thanksgiving dinner. However, my family was actually having Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant (two different aunts were scheduled to deliver their children this week, and everyone is now home safe and sound), so we decided it would be wise to make reservations instead of planning a meal at someone’s home. So there would be no aged Riesling at our meal.
However, on Sunday afternoon my wife and I opened the bottle to give it a try. Surprisingly, I did not pick up nearly the aromatics I would have expected. The wine did have the petrol hints that older Riesling tends to have, but there was also a distinctive lack of sweet fruits on the nose. The wine is decidedly sweet from a technical standpoint, coming in at only 8.5% alcohol. However, other than a touch of sweetness at the very front of the palate the sugar is completely integrated. Flavors of mineral and peach are the driving forces, with slight hints of exotic fruits mixed in.
But more than anything else what amazes me about these older Rieslings is the fact that the mouthfeel is so light and almost watery for how rich and sweet the wines are. Even 17 years after harvest the wine had wonderful acidity that kept the palate fresh. When I say watery I don’t mean unstructured or sloppy, I mean refreshing and mineraly. It’s an amazing trick for a wine with so much flavor.
I would love to say that I experience wines like this all the time. Unfortunately, this was a treat. Riesling is one of the greatest grapes in the world, and certainly sits at the most prestigious table as the other noble varietals. While it is refreshing and embracing in its youth, it is also capable of aging so well. I admit that I am not yet experienced enough or skilled enough to identify the Rieslings that will age. However, if someone ever offers you the chance to sample an older Spätlese or Auslese, make sure you take them up on the opportunity.
Comments