It all started when we had a monkfish for dinner and wanted to have a perfect match. So we just wanted to have a good Riesling as accompaniment and opened some bottles. Finally we had a extensive Riesling tasting with 8 Riesling and one pirate.
What a start! The Emrich-Schönleber 2010 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling R is not in its perfect ripeness. This is a reserve wine which ages longer in cask (18 month) and bottle. It has an expressive nose of mandarine, blossoms, passion fruit, mango and white chocolate and is full-bodied, powerful, dense and perfectly balanced with a high minerality, a light residual sweetness and a medium to long finish. It has a wonderful interplay of sweetness and acidity which is very rare for dry Riesling. And it is so delicious! 19.8/20 points.
The Kühling-Gillot 2010 Nackerheimer Rothenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs Wurzelecht is also a powerful wine with honey, blossoms, cigar box and black tea. It needs aeration and is very complex. It is mineralic, dense, almost oily and a fresh acidity and has tannin and orange zests. 18.5/20 points.
Normally Baron Knyphausen 2010 Riesling Edition Royal Blue is a powerful Riesling with a high acidity and minerality with a typical expressive Riesling taste. This bottle was slightly lactic. Normally it gets a higher score. So only 17/20 points.
The Gutzler 2012 Westhofener Morstein Riesling Großes Gewächs is a character wine with chamomile and herbs. It is medium- to full-bodied, mineralic, fresh with tannin and a medium to long finish. 18.3/20 points.
We never expected so a modern barrique Riesling from such a traditional winery (first documented mention in 966). It is not easy to make a good barrique Riesling, but here we have one with 2 years 100% barrique: C. von Schubert'sche Schlosskellerei 2011 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Fusion.You notice the barrique but it is perfect integrated with blossoms and bacon, full-body, creamy, long finish, powerful density and minerality. 18.5/20 points.
The Battenfeld-Spanier 2014 Molsheimer Zellerweg Am Schwarzen Herrgott Riesling Großes Gewächs is a classic and elegant Riesling with apricot, peach and blossoms. It is full-bodied, creamy, dense, tannic and balanced, with medium to long finish. 18.5/20 points.
The W.E. Frank 2015 Riesling Pettenthal is a power Riesling (14% vol. alcohol). It is very young and has a lot of potential. With blossoms, apricot and peach, it is full-bodied, balanced, dense, very mineralisc and it has a long finish. It will benefit from further aging. 18.5/20 points.
The pirate was Köfererhof 2015 Sylvaner R, one of the best Sylvaner in general and the best Sylvaner outside Germany. A a blind tasting like this, it is nearly impossible to detect that a Sylvaner is not Riesling, the varieties have a lot in common. In the nose with liquorice, herbs and little bit nutmeg like a Viognier, it is full-bodied, very balanced, spicy and elegant with a medium finish and very little fruit. 18.8/20 points.
Klaus Keller's Große Gewächse and G-Max are expensive wines but his wines with the white label are affortable and also phantastic like Klaus Keller 2013 Riesling Von der Fels from the magnum. With apricot, peach and white chocolate, medium bodied, balanced, elegant, medium finish and a little bit residual sugar. 18.3/20 points.
Conclusion: Riesling is a phantistic variety, it can have an expressive fruitiness and it absorbs the soil in a high minerality. Normally it is low to reasonable in alcohol and prices are low compared to their quality.
