On 9 Jul 2004 02:28:04 -0700, (TB) wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote in message . ..
On 08 Jul 2004 20:07:21 GMT, amnspam (Dale Williams)
wrote:

Back at home there was the 2003 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz
Riesling Spätlese (Rheingau). Light, lithesome, and limey. Like a peach soda
with a big sprtiz of lime juice. I could drink a whole bottle of this solo, but
refrain (even with 8% alcohol, that would be pushing it). No worries re
acidity here. Beautful crisp Spätlese. A-

You've destroyed me. After the good fortune of several years in
Europe, either in a position to visit Germany and return with some
Rhines and Mosels, or resident in Germany (in the Rheinfalz region), I
always could depend upon Rheingau as having body, character, and
substance. No "light, lithesome (lissome?)" ...and definitely not
"limey." For light, I want Mosel. For limey, I think maybe Viognier or
Sauvignon Blanc. Now, you're telling me that there are bottles of my
precious Rheingau lurking out there with lime? What next, stoney and
flinty....

Hi Ed,
Last weekend I was in Hochheim am Main for their annual Weinfest and
indeed stumbled upon a "stoney and flinty" Rheingau Riesling. This was
the Weingut Künstler's 2003 Riesling QbA (can not locate the name of
the vineyard at the moment, but I kindda recall it being Reichesthal)
celebrating 1250th jubilee of the town Hochheim am Main.

Had to slow down and reread. First iteration I read Hochenheim, which
created instant flashbacks to F-1 races I'd attended, pit row straight
grandstand seats with a picnic basket at my feet and one or two
bottles of spatlese from somewhere or other. Then I slowed down and
properly read Hochheim am Main and transposed myself further north.
Great country that.

Never got to that particular fest, but attended the overwhelming
bacchanal of Bad Durkheim several times (more focussed on Hessen and
Pfaltz than Gau--and more "bad" wine than good, but always a great
party.) Also have fond memories of a great picnic aboard one of the
Rhine cruisers during the "Rhine Aflame" evenings.

Clear-to-brilliant green-tinged and slightly watery. Clean fruity
bouquet of limes, tomatoes and a touch of early-summer Heidelbeeren
(aren't they called blueberry in English?). Fairly dry but quite
balanced with appreciable fruit. Flinty finish, almost Nahe-like. A
fairly decent tipple but I doubt if one would want to do anything with
bottle of that in one sitting.

Sounds like a clear exception to the Rheingau mold. I agree with your
characterization of traditional Nahe as "flinty". My expectation of
Rheingau is much more into the honey and apricots sort of thing but
lots of body. Definitely not in the light Mosel sort of
palate-cleansing summer refresher.

Damn, now all this talk of German wines is going to force me out of
the house this PM to the local emporium to gather some prime examples
of the genre.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8