About one and a half years ago I heard the first time from the online shop Goldrichs, which offered only fruit sweet Rieslings at that time. At that time, I had been asked by Goldrichs if I would like to taste some wines of the assortment and post the tasting in my blog, with which I agreed. This has only been because I found the idea of putting fruity Rieslings in the center of attention worth of support and still find.
Riesling
Scharzhofberger Riesling Late Harvest – Vereinigte Hospitien
The Vereinigte Hospitien, founded in 1804 by Napoleon Bonaparte as a social foundation, still perform this task today by looking after and caring for old, sick or disabled people in different institutions. From the beginning, a winery was also part of it, which provably has cultivated the first Riesling in the Mosel valley in 1464. The figure of St. James on the bottle label reminds at the St. Jacobs Hospital, the owner at that time.
The United Hospitals are also known for their spectacular wine cellar, the oldest wine cellar in Germany, which impresses not only with ancient Roman masonry from around 330 AD, but above all by its size and the possibility to enjoy wine tasting there.
Niagara – Canadian Icewine
Canada is considered the world’s largest producer of ice wine. This is also reflected in the value share of exports, which can account for up to 25% of Canada’s $ 80 million (Canadian dollars) worth of Canadian wine exports per year, as in 2016. However, the 3334 hl of ice wine produced at that time was only 0.5 % of the total exported wine amount, which means that Canadian ice wine costs six to seven times more as dry Canadian wine.
Feinherb showpiece – Molitor’s Zeltinger Himmelreich 2016
There are four different grades of sweetness according to German and EU wine law: dry, semi-dry, semisweet and sweet, in addition, one also finds the term feinherb. A term probably only used in Germany, which should convey to the consumer that the wine has a fine, slightly herb note, even though or just because it is not dry.
In various wine lexica it can be read that a feinherb wine, such as a semi-dry one, has … Read more ...
Sigrun Noble – noble rot from Marlborough
The fact that first-class dry Sauvignon Blanc is produced at Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island only became known at the end of the 1980s, when Cloudy Bay‘s Sauvignon Blanc became a cult wine. Sensitivity to botrytis makes this grape variety a suitable candidate for sweet wine, as does the Riesling. If the microclimate is right, there is a body of water like river or lake nearby, so wet fog can develop with its humidity, but quickly dry off … Read more ...
Top-Auslesen from the Mosel
After a walk in the warm spring sun and a subsequent coffee with cake, Hans not only served some dry, but also three sweet Riesling readings from the Mosel – all three from well-known, good producers.
Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg 2010 Riesling Auslese No. 24
Expressive nose with herbaceous, delicately spicy and fruity aromas of citrus and peach. Harmonious on the palate, but thrilling, fine juicy fruit with pleasantly subtle sweetness and racy acidity, spicy herbs, beautiful mineral notes, long very … Read more ...
Exotic fruit salad from the Frühlingsplätzchen
On the western edge of the wine-growing area Nahe, in Monzingen there is the winery Emrich-Schönleber, existing since more than 250 years, since 1994 member of the VDP. On about 19 hectares of vineyards flourishes predominantly Riesling (85%). The Riesling wines of the winery are among the best of Germany – often they are very filigree and show a good minerality. In addition to the care of soil and vine, responsible for the classic, excellent wines, also a balanced … Read more ...
At its finest – fruit sweet Riesling from the Mosel
Riesling develops a great deal much flavor when maturing in the cool climate. It matures very well on heat-storing soils, in sun-oriented locations. This is true to a large extent for the steep slate slopes of the Mosel wine region. On slate Riesling often develops a racy acidity, which in fruit sweet Rieslings can play a brilliant game with fruit and sweetness . That’s why fruit sweet Rieslings are among my favorite sweet wines. In the offer of the usual wine trade are usually found only a few such fruit sweet Riesling. All the more reason why I was pleased to receive an e-mail telling me that “one month ago I started an online shop for Riesling Spaetlesen“. This appealed to me so much that I immediately responded positively to the request to taste some wines from its assortment and to blog about it.
Rheingau Riesling – Auslese with fruity acidity
In the Rheingau, the Rhine flows mostly from east to west, so that most of the vines grow on south-facing slopes, in the only a few kilometers wide wine growing area north of the river. Protected by the Taunus from cold north winds, the grapes thrive in a climate with warm, low-precipitation summers and mild winters, as well as the temperature and moisture-regulating effects of the Rhine. With a share of 80% Riesling is the key grape veriety of … Read more ...
Auslese Gold Capsule by J.J. Pruem – High End Class
Gold capsule is the name given to the gold-colored bottle enclosure, which is used primarily in the wine regions Mosel and Rheingau to identify particularly high-quality sweet wines. A superlative of it is in addition the Lange Goldkapsel (long gold-coloured enclosure), sometimes abbreviated LGK. Usually there are only small amounts of these sweet qualities, which often are not traded, but only available at auctions.
Also the winery J.J. Pruem, one of the most renowned wineries in Germany, usually … Read more ...