After years of pestering my family, in the last year or so, I’ve finally managed to convey the wonders of riesling to thm. Though their relatively new recently acquired thirst for riesling has come at a great cost to the cellar.
Entry-level cuvees have been on my mind a lot recently as a result. I’ve always been of the mindset that good, quality-oriented producers will make good wines, regardless of their entry point. From higher-end cuvees to ‘basic’ and ‘entry-level’ wines.
As I spent much of the summer drinking riesling, especially young, ‘entry-level’ or ‘basic’ riesling, I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens when you give a ‘basic’ or ‘entry-level’ wine the same level of attention and care that one would give to a higher-end cuvees. What happens when one immerses themselves in an ‘entry-level’ wine with the same seriousness as a tete de cuvee? At times they fall short. Some simple wines are meant to be just that: simple and enjoyable wines without much depth to them. There’s nothing wrong with that. But some have come to surprise lately in what they offer.
Often, these aren’t flashy wines. At times they feel like the shy kid in the corner at the party: noticeable in their nondescriptness, and often forgettable. But sometimes, if you lean in and and take the time to get acquainted with them, they can be rewarding in their own right. It’s with those circumstances that I’ve found myself alone on a Monday evening and decided to open up the 2018 Immich-Batterieberg Detonation with the same attention as some of Gernot’s higher-end wines.
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2018 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling Detonation - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/6/2021)
The fruit here plays seconds fiddle to the wine’s savoury elements. There’s some lemon and peach on the nose alongside some yeasty and herbal notes, but on the palate mostly mineral and savoury herbal elements: fresh tarragon, sorrel, grated daikon radish, mint, pulverised granite. A surprising depth and a long mild grapefruit pith finish. A level of complexity and depth that I wasn’t expecting from an ‘entry-level’ wine. Very enjoyable wine, even more-so when the price is factored in. AP 15 19
ABV: 11.0% (Not that relevant, but Stephan Reinhardt’s WA TN he noted it was 11.5%. I always list the ABV on the label. Mine was a US version imported by Louis Dressner. Interested to know if its different in Germany or elsewhere)
Closure: Stelvin
Decant: 2h
Stem: Grassl Cru