Nifty little tasting designed to identify which of these four bottlings might most be up my alley. #1 and #3 (Altenberg and Gerumpel) were my two favorites — and pretty difficult to choose between the two — and #2 and #4 were in a slightly lesser bracket together.
It bears noting: all of these wines were excellent, and I wouldn’t mind having more of each of them. I imagine all would improve with some time in the cellar, but they all provide drinking pleasure right now, too. Excellent QPRs across the board — I nabbed all of these on sale for less than $40. Although the notes read differently, for the most part, this was an exercise in identifying minor differences. There were four tasters; Altenberg received three first place votes, and Gerumpel got the fourth.
2020 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Altenburg Riesling - Germany, Pfalz (3/18/2023)
– tasted blind over approx. 2 hrs on Day 1; revisited non-blind on Day 4 –
– AP #: … 31 21 –
NOSE: expressive; sweet/candied peach/apricot; freshly-cut grass.
BODY: pale yellow color (no discernable difference between the four wines); {didn’t note weight – by memory, it was medium-light bodied}
TASTE: high acidity; moderate dry extract; lightly fruity; cut grass; bit of smoky mineral; light petrol. Light melon note on Day 4. 12.5% alc…
2020 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Ruppertsberger Hoheburg Riesling - Germany, Pfalz (3/18/2023)
– tasted blind over approx. 2 hrs –
– AP #: … 27 21 –
NOSE: moderately expressive; sweet bubble gum; comprised mostly of mineral tones (less fruity than #1 (Altenburg)).
BODY: pale yellow color (no discernable difference between the four wines); {didn’t note weight – by memory, it was medium-light bodied}
TASTE: mineral-laden (even more than the Nose suggested); medium+ to high acidity; fleshed-out over a couple hours; seems more loosely-structured than the other three wines in the tasting; 12.5% alc.; of the four wines on tasting here, this is the one that seems most different; almost seems to have a touch of Rheingau personality.
2020 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Gerümpel Riesling - Germany, Pfalz (3/18/2023)
– tasted blind over approx. 2 hrs; revisited non-blind on Day 4 –
– AP #: … 30 21 –
NOSE: light; slight mineral/plastic note; “fresh” – cucumber; musk.
BODY: pale yellow color (no discernable difference between the four wines); {didn’t note weight – by memory, it was medium-light bodied}
TASTE: high acid; very light/delicate; hint of lemon; dry; excellent persistence; seems complete. 12.5% alc… Largely the same on Day 4 (still light / hasn’t fleshed-out at all).
2020 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Rechbächel Riesling - Germany, Pfalz (3/18/2023)
– tasted blind over approx. 2 hrs –
– AP #: … 29 21 –
NOSE: very light/tight; “clean”; faint raspberry note.
BODY: pale yellow color (no discernable difference between the four wines); {didn’t note weight – by memory, it was medium-light bodied}
TASTE: light petrol; mostly light mineral — rocks and acid on full display; a touch earthy/musty. 12.5% alc…