Boston Wine Expo 2000

Paul Anheuser Niederhäuser Pfingstweide Riesling Q.b.A. '96 -- Peaches are the first impression your nose gets, followed by stones and cola. Pleasant, simple, but not particularly intense flavors of peaches and grapefruit. Off-dry.
B

Weingut Josef Biffar Riesling Kabinett Deidesheimer Kieselberg '98 -- Mineral, cola and apple aromas. Peach, golden delicious, and mineral flavors. Good acidity and a long, lingering finish.
B+

Heinrich Braun Riesling Kabinett Niersteiner Rosenberg '98 -- Nutty aromas show evidence of maderization. Caramel and nut flavors confirm the diagnosis. Low acid, light and insipid. A bad bottle?
F?

Fisher Von Schleinitz Riesling Kabinett Koberner Weisenberg '98 -- The nose seems a bit flat, with soem vegetal notes underneath the pear and lemon. Off-dry style, with apple, pear and lemon flavors.
B-

Fisher Von Schleinitz Riesling Spätlese Koberner Weisenberg '98 -- Fairly intense apple and grapefruit aromas and flavors lead to a long and surprisingly dry finish, even though the wine has 4.5% residual sugar.
B

Fisher Von Schleinitz Riesling Auslese Koberner Weisenberg '98 -- Intense apple, grapefruit and cola aromas and flavors. Basically, a bigger, fuller, more flavorful version of the Spätlese, with 6.5% residual sugar. Long aftertaste with good fruit and balancing acidity.
B+

Heyl zu Herrnsheim Baron von Heyl Muller-Thurgau Q.b.A. '98 -- Very spritzy, with a bland, vaguely peachy nose. Very soft in the mouth with decent peach flavors, and fairly low acidity.
B-

Heyl zu Herrnsheim Schloss Matildenhof Riesling Kabinett '97 -- Apple and lemon aromas combined with modest mineral and grapefruit flavors add up to a pleasant quaff.
B

Heyl zu Herrnsheim Niersteiner Pettental Riesling Auslese '96 -- Every year it happens. I find a wine from a producer I've never tried, or an area I wouldn't expect, that really opens my eyes. This wine fits all the critera, as I hadn't tried any of this producers wines before, and I'm not really a Rheinhessen fan. However, just one whiff of the enticing floral, cola and peach nose, and I was hooked. Sweet peach and tropical fruit flavors mix with cola and mineral notes, and kept me coming back for more. A very nice wine, with just acidity to balance out the sweetness.
A-

Weingut Johannishof Riesling Kabinett Johannisberger Goldatzel '98 -- Apple, lime and grapefruit aromas, with a tingly mouthfeel, and good apple and citrus flavors. Off-dry style, with a long finish. Very nice.
B+

Dr. L (Loosen Bros) Riesling Q.b.A. '98 -- Light yellow color, with light apple flavors and aromas. Off-dry style. Simple, but enjoyable.
B

J.J. Prüm Riesling Kabinett '97 -- Light yellow color, with mineral and apple aromas. Generous apple and peach flavors, with leass acidity than I would have expected. Drink this one fairly young, and you won't be disappointed.
B

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Q.b.A. '98 -- Apple and lemon aromas lead to off-dry lemon and grapefruit flavors. Light and lacking in intensity, but still good.
B

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett Bernkastler Badstube '96 -- Apples, grapefruit and minerals leap out of the glass. The minerals assert themselves in the mouth, too, along with citrus, apple and cola. Quite intense for a Kabinett, with plenty of acidity.
B+

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett Piesporter Goldtropfchen '97 -- A shy, closed nose, that yields a little apple and citrus. More apple and some minerals show up in the mouth. This wine needs time, but may lack some of the intensity that has helped other vintages age so well.
B

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Auslese Josephshofer '97 (Gold Cap) -- Not as sweet as I had expected, but very nicely balanced, with apple and peach aromas, and a clean, clear, sharp palate of peach, apricot, golden delicious apples, and wet stones. Long finish, with plenty of acidity.
A-

Selbach-Oster Riesling Kabinett '98 -- Semi-sweet, with mineral, apple and grapefruit aromas and flavors. Light, and a bit simple, but pleasant.
B

Selbach-Oster Riesling Spätlese '98 -- Sweeter and fuller in body than the Kabinett, but otherwise, very similar, with more mineral, apple and grapefruit flavors and aromas.
B

Selbach-Oster Riesling Spätlese Zeltinger Sonnenuhr '98 -- Impressively intense aromas of focused apple, mineral, citrus and cola. No letdown on the palate, either, with nice apple, peach and cola flavors, and a long apple, citrus and mineral finish. Complex and interesting, with layers of flavor.
A-

Selbach-Oster Riesling Auslese Zeltinger Sonnenuhr '98 -- Surprisingly light in color, but not in aroma. Lots of apple, cola and mineral hit your nose and tongue. Nicely balanced, with good acidity, but doesn't quite have the extra "oomph" I would expect in an Auslese.
B+

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Copyright 2000 Marcel Lachenmann. All rights reserved.