A wonderful friend of mine that couldn’t make it to my 30th birthday party this weekend gifted me a bottle of this wine in lieu of coming to the party. The reputation and seeming rarity of this wine precedes itself.
My question is, will it completely disappoint if I open it in the next year or so, requiring several years to blossom? Or will it be awesome young and better later with 5-8 years on it? I’ve never had a German Riesling of this caliber before, but I’m trying to shift some of my buying budget to such things.
In other news, the wines brought to my birthday party were super generous, including several 1985s (BR Cohn Olive Hill really surprised, Dominus was great as expected, never made it to the Taylor Fladgate or the Pine Ridge Merlot, Gundloch Bundshu was drinkable but really high on VA). Other wines included the 2006 Masseto, which needed about 2 weeks to open up, the 2005 Ornellaia which was elegant and silky (surprised I actually liked the Masseto better). There was an Il Poggione Brunello Riserva that had tons of funk, but bloomed with a decant. Also, a 2002 Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot Las Cras 1er that I really enjoyed, tons of floral notes and the perfect balance of remaining tannin and luscious mouthfeel. My burg loving friend said the wine made an excellent case for Burgundies being “powerful.” Clearly no formal notes, but I was too busy enjoying myself.
As far as the wine, you probably have about 6 months left to capture it in the youthful, open phase. With only one it’s always a crap shoot, so why not just enjoy it.
Dusty…first off, Happy Birthday! As for the wine…it can be opened and enjoyed now. I’d wait to see what Doug Schulman has to say about this wine. He buys a six pack of this wine every year and has been drinking it for a good 6-8 years. I have one bottle of the 2012 that I’m aging…I had the 2007 last year that was in a really great spot. So this is a wine that can definitely age…but I also loved the 2012 that I had last year as well. Great gift…
As for the wine, it seems like 5-8 years is a good zone for drinking, but I may pop this one early just to try it and then get frustrated when I can’t find anymore. I’m guessing you can get it online, but I think Ohio only gets about a case.
My friend that gifted it to me works for the distributor that reps Dönnhoff in southern Ohio and I think they basically get a couple of mixed six packs a year.
Do dry German Rieslings go through a “dumb” phase? My experience is not thorough enough at this point that I’ve been able to taste many at various ages, mostly fresh off the line or 20 years on (first world problems).
Not surprisingly, I agree with David. 2013 is the only recent vintage I haven’t tasted, but I never think it’s a waste to open one of these soon after release.
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