Over the past few evenings, Jean has sought an aperitif in the form of a
ready-to-hand Riesling. The culmination of this process was tonight's
comparison of two cheapies:

'06 "Clean Slate" Riesling (M-S-R)
nose: hint of white peaches, sulfur
palate: off-dry verging on sweet, lightly fruity with balancing acidity

'08 Zilliken "Butterfly" Riesling QbA (Mosel*)
nose: limes, stones
palate: racy acidity, citrus, almost dry

Both wines had been purchased for a little less than $10 per bottle and
the Zilliken was our clear favorite. When compared, the Clean Slate
tasted overly sweet, something that wasn't evident when it had been
tried on its own. Since there is also a difference in vintage, it is a
tad unfair to label this as a strict comparison of producers, but given
Zilliken's house style, the results came as no surprise. The bottle of
the '08 Saarburger Rausch Kabinett from Zilliken in our cellar now takes
on an extra luster, as does the '08 vintage in general.

*Since this wine is actualy from the Saarland, the recent switch from a
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer designation to the less informative Mosel takes on an
extra note of irony.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jan 10, 1:41*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Over the past few evenings, Jean has sought an aperitif in the form of a
> ready-to-hand Riesling. *The culmination of this process was tonight's
> comparison of two cheapies:
>
> '06 "Clean Slate" Riesling (M-S-R)
> nose: hint of white peaches, sulfur
> palate: off-dry verging on sweet, lightly fruity with balancing acidity
>
> '08 Zilliken "Butterfly" Riesling QbA (Mosel*)
> nose: limes, stones
> palate: racy acidity, citrus, almost dry
>
> Both wines had been purchased for a little less than $10 per bottle and
> the Zilliken was our clear favorite. *When compared, the Clean Slate
> tasted overly sweet, something that wasn't evident when it had been
> tried on its own. *Since there is also a difference in vintage, it is a
> tad unfair to label this as a strict comparison of producers, but given
> Zilliken's house style, the results came as no surprise. *The bottle of
> the '08 Saarburger Rausch Kabinett from Zilliken in our cellar now takes
> on an extra luster, as does the '08 vintage in general.
>
> *Since this wine is actualy from the Saarland, the recent switch from a
> Mosel-Saar-Ruwer designation to the less informative Mosel takes on an
> extra note of irony.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

I'm looking forward to trying more 08s.
Zilliken is a fave of mine, but I seldom see the Butterfly