The Riesling Chronicles II: Trying the Rieslings of the World -- Alsace

WINE TALK
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An LCBO Product Consultant I was quite fond of named Angelo who worked at the flagship LCBO at Summerhill told me the first time that I met him that Alsace white wine was THE finest white wine in the world (and I in fact posted a thread called “Alsace: NOW I Get It” based on this experience a couple of years ago).

That one single truth has remained with me ever since and no single white wine has ever managed to supplant Alsacian white wine to me (though last night’s Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf du Pape came pretty damn close… but that’s another thread Mike Grammer will be posting soon.)

Alsacian Riesling is, to me, the single finest expression of Riesling I have ever come across. I have not always loved or at times even liked it due to my sweet German loving tendencies, but I’ve had way too much experience with Alsacian Riesling now not to realize that even the most inexpensive $15.95 Alsacian Riesling just kicks the tar out of any similarly priced Riesling from another country. Just look at all Alsacian Riesling has going for it:

  • Made in an incredibly wide range of styles from bone dry to off dry to dessert sweet to please all palates
  • Easier to understand and more marketable classification system than all other French wines in general and German Riesling in particular
  • Along with its German brethren, one of the few rare white wines in the world that ages just as long and well as the finest reds
  • Consistently high ABV% levels that beat the usual 8.5-10% of other styles of Riesling

I was going to buy one or two different Alsacian Rieslings for this outing but then last night at a get-together in honor of Jay Hack organized by Mike Grammer and held here in Toronto last night, fellow aficionado David He brought THE single finest Alsacian Riesling I have ever had to date which solved the issue for me: the Bott-Geyl 2008 Alsace Grand Cru Schlossberg Riesling. Here are my impressions:

  • Immediately striking personality for a Riesling wine that leaves a tremendous impression with just the first sip alone – you know right away this is not like other Rieslings
  • Incredibly smooth mouthfeel and texture, aided by the high 13.5% ABV
  • Absolutely pure and crystalline lemon-lime citrus flavors; not a hint of the additional green apple aromas and flavors I usually associate with German Riesling and found in the Ontario Rieslings for the last chronicles
  • Superb acidity that just floats on your tongue; it doesn’t spike and bite you, but rather just grabs you and glides all the way down the palate
  • Easily the highest flintiness (or minerality if you prefer that term) of any Riesling I have ever had
  • Remember I said the Ontario Charles Baker was almost like drinking liquid crystal? THIS IS LIKE DRINKING LIQUID DIAMONDS

So I’ve now had the privilege of tasting standard, Grand Cru, cheap, expensive, young, old, dry and sweet VT and SGN Alsacian Rieslings. Here are my thoughts in general:

  • Good God but is Alsacian Riesling absolutely pristine in its purity
  • Everything I loved about Ontario Riesling, Alsace does a million times better; Ontario Riesling wishes it could grow up and become an Alsace Riesling one day (and I mean part of this quite literally too)
  • Absolute best texture, mouthfeel, minerality and structure of all Rieslings bar none
  • Best integration of acidity in any Riesling – its extremely high but in a very refined and well-integrated way, not unpleasantly biting or chalky

All this said, the flip side to the greatness of Alsace Riesling is that there can too much of a good thing sometimes. As strange as this may sound, I sometimes find that Alsacian Riesling is TOO PERFECT for its own good. It’s got perfect minerality, mouthfeel, ABV% and acidity… and I just can’t drink the stuff on its own. We happened to be having this Bott-Geyl with gorgeous Thai food from Mengrai Thai (I will attach pics in Mike’s thread) and I suddenly realized that the only times I have ever gone absolutely over Alsace Riesling is only when I’ve had it with food!

In contrast, I can have a glass of Ontario or German Riesling on its own or with food because the lower ABV% levels and higher sweetness levels allow me to either drink them on their own (you may recall I keep making lemon-limeade references when posting notes about them).

It may be heresy to the many German Riesling fans on the board (and remember I am one of them) but I find even the finest Spatleses and Ausleses I’ve had are… well… daily drinkers thanks to the lower alcohol and higher sweetness. (Before you all lynch me, I should point out that I can easily find videos on YouTube of reknowned German vintners all but telling this to Janis Robinson.)

But when it comes to Alsace Riesling, its so perfect and intense in all of its characteristics that as a foodie first and wino second, I feel absolutely compelled to match it with food. Perfection makes for a great wine… but unfortunately not one you can have too often or it somewhat ironically destroys the experience of having the wine in the first place. So Alsace Riesling has taken a very distant second to German Riesling in my collection thus far and in all honestly is not likely to overtake it in my lifetime.

This said, I am quite literally searching the SAQ website for where I can get my hands on some of the Bott-Geyl when next I visit my family there in the next tab over as I write this and have already found where I can get the 10 version of the Weinbach Riesling I was so crazy about. My feeling is that if I am going to go after some Alsace Riesling, I’m only going to go after some of the absolute best. Otherwise, what’s the point?

For the next chronicles, I’ll be going after some New Zealand Riesling and seeing if it can match up to the quality of its world-renowned Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

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Have you ever had Austrian Rieslings?

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He hasn’t, at least not from my table yet :slight_smile: They are a worthy competitor, Tran.

It’s the 2010 Bott Guyl, but yes, that is the best Alsatian wine I’ve had in about 7 years. I’ve called it the Puligny of Alsace.

Mike

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Tran, I think you’ll find just what you’re looking for in Austria. I wouldn’t be surprised if it supplanted Alsace in your pantheon of heroes.

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Whilst there’s room in my cellar for both, its at a ratio of 50:1 in favour of Germany. :slight_smile:

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Please keep quiet about the Austrians. There isn’t enough to go around as it is!

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Tran, don’t know how deeply you have gone into wine producers from Alsace, but you should try Trimbach Cuvee Frederick Emile, Blanck Schlossberg and Albert Mann Schlossberg.

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Tran,

Try the Pfalz and Rheinhessen (and most every German Weinbaugebiet) as well for dry Riesling. Most German Riesling isn’t sweet.

Cheers,
Bill

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@Zachary and John: there are exactly TWO Austrian Rieslings available here in the LCBO and one of them cannot even be found in the Toronto area. Welcome to a liquor monopoly province. :frowning: On the other hand, this is far higher than the number of Finger Lakes Rieslings available so maybe I should shut up now…

@Howard: I am familiar with all three producers and the high-end Rieslings you post of but they are currently unobtainable at both the LCBO here and the SAQ in Montreal only has the Albert Mann Schlossberg. Welcome to a liquor monopoly province. :frowning:

@Bill: Dry German Riesling is on the list for a future Riesling Chronicles. I am going to go through NZ and Austria first and then a side trip back to some sweet German Riesling before tackling it.

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Zach, my thought exactly regarding Austrian Rieslings. I don’t drink as much Riesling as someone like David Bueker or Howard do, but I do drink it regularly, and I think folks can make pretty strong cases for the superiority of German, Austrian and Alsatian Riesling each in their own right - at least IMO, no other country can run with those three, although very good examples of the grape can be found in many countries. It really comes down to what you like in a Riesling - I tend to prefer the Austrian versions because of their “dryness”, although I do think that old German Riesling can be pretty special - I can still recall some '76 Trockenbeerenauslese that were totally captivating wines.

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Well Tran, some day you will get to the Austrian Rieslings. My guess is you’ll be floored. Their combination of dryness, flinty minerality, and rich texture will blow you away. Your Prager/Alzinger/Nikolaihof/Knoll/Pichler/ etc. moment is just waiting for you.

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too bad

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Prager = [flirtysmile.gif] Knoll isn’t far behind. You forgot Hirtzberger, Zachary :wink:

I haven’t let Tran touch any of my Prager yet—I have little enough as it is. [grin.gif] But it’s on the radar…

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I loves me some Prager Klaus.

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Stick with Alsace rieslings, Tran.

A friend who loves both (and whose family-- mostly-- escaped Austria in 1939 by the skin of their teeth, but who has a fondness for the country, nevertheless, ) has long tried to persuade me that Austrian rieslings are as good/better, though I don’t think he thinks that himself. (We have been in Alsace on winetrips twice together.) To my taste, they are more austere, less ebullient and versatile and more intellectually pleasing than pleasant to consume. (And, the ones he’s bought and shown me are, IMO, less good values; they were pretty pricy for what they are.)

I have no opinions on the German rieslings, as I don’t buy them nor do I seek them out.

Good luck with your enthusiasm for Alsace whites/rielsings. Alsace wines might not be “ze best” expression of white wine grapes (I’d say Burgundy, Georges Vernay Condrieu and Dauvissat Chablis would be in the race), but…for value and for “go to” versatility, it’s hard for me to think of better wines than Alsace rieslings (and pinot blancs, too; the other Alsace whites: gewurtz, pinot gris and muscat are less versatile). Whenever I need a versatile, almost-guaranteed to please and go with the food wine, I turn to Alsace riesling…and have for 30 years. (A Boxler or Barmes-Buecher wine has never let me down; and…in the right food setting, neither has a Trimbach riesling.)

And, most Alsace rieslings pay back aging them…for 8-12 years, too. They gain complexity and evolve into different characters from when they are young.