TN: Weekend wines (Riesling, Cornas, Ribolla, Syrah)

1997 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (8/2/2014)
Another bottle on the peak of maturity. Saline minerality, smoke, tree fruit and fantastic length. Really lovely bottle that suffered due to being only a 375ml. We could have drank a magnum.

2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Nahe (8/2/2014)
Fully mature and on a plateau of deliciousness. Still a good bit of peach and cherry fruit, with lots of smoky minerality. The balance is outstanding, and it’s not all that sweet. Excellent dinner wine.

2010 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (8/2/2014)
Very much like my initial bottle. It does not have much in the way of fruit, but has lots of meat, leather and bright acidity. It is very austere, but at the core expresses Syrah in a very loud voice. Going to let my last bottle sit for a good long while just to see what happens.

2011 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (8/2/2014)
The depths of this wine are like a cave that cannot be explored. Balanced, structured and with endless length, it presents itself as inky dark, but not goopy. It just goes on, and on. Fantastic wine that could be drunk now with hours of air (this was double decanted hours before we drank it), or likely cellared for decades. Outstanding!

2012 Cowan Cellars Ribolla Gialla - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (8/2/2014)
Highly aromatic, but not really with fruit. Stoney, nutty, herbal on the nose and simultaneously rich and austere on the palate. It’s a very interesting wine that has more depth than most Ribolla I have had.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks David. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Zilliken that disappointed.

Thanks for the note on the Voge David, the more I’m drinking 11s from cornas the more I am really liking this vintage. Seems to be very affordable sandwiched right between the crazy pricey 10s and the sure to be expensive 12s.

+1. Love the ‘11 Cornas’. The '11 Voge VV can still be found around $65, and I’ve seen them for quite a bit less. The '10’s start at twice that and go up from there. I hate when a Parker rating bloats the price of a wine. Subsequent vintage prices never fully recover to what seems reasonable, IMO. Cornas pricing is marching upwards, with St. Joseph hot on its heels.

Cheers,
Warren

Agreed, but I was relieved to see in this instance that a high Parker rating for once didn’t mean the Voge was a candied, goopy mess. Glad to have a bunch more of that in the cellar. It’s a great wine, though it really does need some time.

The Rieslings were both terrific. Great reasons why I need to be more patient with my stash.