The wine is Schloss Jonannisberger Rosalack Auslese 1976, A.P Nr. 26026
004 77.

This is even better than a bottle I opened within the last few years. It
is bright golden yellow. The wine is huge and nearly a BA. From this
very ripe year, the wine tastes of tropical fruit such as mangos and
papayas. It even has a hint of the evergreen-like character in the taste
and bouquet that some mangos have. It has a taste of rich floral honey.
There is some aged Riesling character that fits well with the wine.
Althogh the wine is very rich and sweet, there is enough acid to
balance. The finish is very long. I have not always been impressed with
Schloss Johannisberger from this era, especially in grades below auslese
in most years. However this wine from a very ripe year proves that the
estate can still make one of the top wines in the Rheingau. The estate
is quite large for Germany, so it is no great surprise that there can be
considerable variation in quality.

Reply to .

Cwdjrx _ schrieb:
> The wine is Schloss Jonannisberger Rosalack Auslese 1976, A.P Nr. 26026
> 004 77.
>
> This is even better than a bottle I opened within the last few years. It
> is bright golden yellow. The wine is huge and nearly a BA. From this
> very ripe year, the wine tastes of tropical fruit such as mangos and
> papayas. It even has a hint of the evergreen-like character in the taste
> and bouquet that some mangos have. It has a taste of rich floral honey.
> There is some aged Riesling character that fits well with the wine.
> Althogh the wine is very rich and sweet, there is enough acid to
> balance. The finish is very long. I have not always been impressed with
> Schloss Johannisberger from this era, especially in grades below auslese
> in most years. However this wine from a very ripe year proves that the
> estate can still make one of the top wines in the Rheingau. The estate
> is quite large for Germany, so it is no great surprise that there can be
> considerable variation in quality.
>
> Reply to .

Last week I had the opportunity to drink this wine together with some
wine friends. Like most 1976er it appeared very matured, but in
combination with Stilton the bitter tones, which are clearly tastable in
the finish due to the strong Botrytis, could be compensated very well.

I think, for most 1976er it's time to drink them soon. (Exceptions
confirm the rule.)

Werner Elfein wrote:

"Last week I had the opportunity to drink this wine together with some
wine friends. Like most 1976er it appeared very matured, but in
combination with Stilton the bitter tones, which are clearly tastable in
the finish due to the strong Botrytis, could be compensated very well.
I think, for most 1976er it's time to drink them soon. (Exceptions
confirm the rule.)"

It is a pleasure to receive tasting notes from Germany. I wish more were
given on this board, since I am quite fond of many German wines and have
collected them for years.

Yes, many 1976 wines need drinking soon. However I expect some wines of
the BA and TBA levels from some regions to last many more years, and
certain auslesen are likely to hold fairly well - the exceptions that
you mention. I would expect that Egon Muller's Scharzhofberger better
auslesen may last many more years, for example. On the other hand I had
a Steinberger 1976 auslese about a year ago that would have been better
a few years earlier.

Reply to .

Hi Cwdjrx

I'd tasted the Spatlese which was not too bad though. I read that the
standard of this producer has dropped a little over the years. Considering
Schloss Johannisberger is one of the oldest wineries and founder of noble
rot for dessert wine, I wish they pulled up thier socks. I can see German
Riesling is finally gaining some popularity albeit people in general are
still running away from it thinking that they are all sweet and
unfashionable. Only sommeliers and wine writers alike think highly of them.
There's nothing wrong with natural sweetness in wines as long as they are
well made and not cloying. In fact they are perfect with Asian cuisines,
see: http://slanteddoor.com/wine_pairing.html (a very porpular resturant in
the US.) The same people who told me that sweet beverages do not go with
food are quaffing that ultra sweet Pepsi or Coke in the fast food outlets
like KFC, PizzaHut and McDonalds with their meals. The best I've tasted:
Donnhoff Kabinett 2003.
Ray

"Cwdjrx _" > wrote in message
...
> The wine is Schloss Jonannisberger Rosalack Auslese 1976, A.P Nr. 26026
> 004 77.
>
> This is even better than a bottle I opened within the last few years. It
> is bright golden yellow. The wine is huge and nearly a BA. From this
> very ripe year, the wine tastes of tropical fruit such as mangos and
> papayas. It even has a hint of the evergreen-like character in the taste
> and bouquet that some mangos have. It has a taste of rich floral honey.
> There is some aged Riesling character that fits well with the wine.
> Althogh the wine is very rich and sweet, there is enough acid to
> balance. The finish is very long. I have not always been impressed with
> Schloss Johannisberger from this era, especially in grades below auslese
> in most years. However this wine from a very ripe year proves that the
> estate can still make one of the top wines in the Rheingau. The estate
> is quite large for Germany, so it is no great surprise that there can be
> considerable variation in quality.
>
> Reply to .
>

Werner Elflein > wrote:

> Last week I had the opportunity to drink this wine together with
> some wine friends. [...]

Hi Werner, welcome to a.f.w!

M.