TN: Tuesdays with Salil

TUESDAYS WITH SALIL - (10/24/2014)

Salil - how long has it been, brother? too long anyhow. too long. We had a bunch of lovely wines and a great time chatting about the good old days :slight_smile:
Riesling from four decades in one evening! how bad can that be?
oh and then there was the Gonon…shhh never-mind.

  • 2001 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
    this is the second of the 2 bttls bought recently through chambers. This one was much better - closer to those i have personally cellared since release. Floral, ripe citrus, lime curd, mid is ripe but sleek, great minerality coming through, with time - some peach and red berries, long finish. YUM. This is exactly where i want my spats to be when i drink them. (93 pts.)
  • 1979 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
    Perfect bottle - the wine is barely dark yellow which is amazing at this age. opened with kerosine and pine, but that blew off to reveal more leaves and apple. high acidity and bit light on the fruit - which is expected from the vintage. zesty, tart apple dominates, with a feeling of autumnal leaves following, with time - a bit of spearmint. Kabinett level of sweetness and weight. No botrytis notes. Long finish. This was a true pleasure. Thanks Salil! (93 pts.)
  • 2012 Kruger-Rumpf MĂĽnsterer Dautenpflänzer Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
    this is where i DONT want to open my spats. even after several days this was mainly primary and over-the-top. Good bones but… needs a LOT of time. Not that i didnt enjoy drinking it - i did! Papaya and tropical fruit dominate, ripe and creamy mouth-feel with hints of lemon and lime. lemon curd and mango. high RS, good medium finish. Will it come together? i am guessing yes - perhaps will move up with time a few points. (90 pts.)


  • 2012 Pierre Gonon Vin de Pays de l’Ardèche Les Iles Feray - France, RhĂ´ne, Ardèche, Vin de Pays de l’Ardèche
    WOW nose. floral - tending toward lavender. meaty and salty notes as well. smoke/cured meat - with black olives. With time - more toward acidic black berries - boysenberry? red currants? high acid mid with a good streak of herbs - at the same time - lots of ripe delicious fruit. long finish… i need some of this! (92 pts.)


  • 1998 Weingut Josef Leitz RĂĽdesheimer Klosterberg Riesling Eiswein - Germany, Rheingau
    darn i only had 2 - and they are both gone. :slight_smile: worth every penny though! I dont agree that this had no botrytis - there is a touch of apricot and fig over the top of orange and marmalade nose. deep citrusy mid - but balanced with a fresh acidic punch. oranges and cream. tropical fruit come in at the finish. Looong finish that manages to stay refreshing. DAMN good. May give and inch or two to the donnhoff in complexity but this is stellar. (94 pts.)

thanks Salil! lets not wait this long again!
Posted from CellarTracker

yeah, major fun - shame the game was a total blowout, but hey, it meant it was easier for us to focus on the wines. :slight_smile:

All the wines rocked. One of those nights where everything was showing amazingly well. Re. your comment on the Eiswein - yeah, the Donnhoff we had recently definitely had more complexity - but I loved the Leitz for its sheer lightness and purity, and that acid kick that kept it incredibly light. Both amazing wines - glad we could enjoy em both at this point, as I can’t imagine either getting better. (then again I also like my Eisweins a bit on the younger side.)

The Kesselstatt was awesome. That leafy/minty/verdant character kept going back and forth between what I might expect from a Ruwer or Saar wine rather than a middle Mosel - but damn, the balance and elegance on that wine was something. All the more reason to be patient with my Auslese.

Sounds good. Richter and Kruger-Rumpf offer some awful good values.

Where did you get the Leitz? I don’t recall seeing their wines before 01 or 02. But I guess there were lots of Germans that you didn’t see much of before the hype for the 01s.

this (the eiswein) was bought in 04/05 from premeir cru. 2 bttls at $60 ea - which i think counts as a steal!

John - when are we meeting for some riesling?

Leitz was pretty easily available for me back to the '97 vintage. Admittedly I had not looked for the wines prior to that.

Thanks for the note on the Gonon. I bought a few and this is helpful.