Nice weather here in Philly today, a touch overcast but low humidity, so I’ll be grilling a little salmon out on the deck for din-din tonight. Decided to open a couple humble riesling to quench the afternoon thirst. First up:
2005 Selbach-Oster Riesling Kabinett. Light yellow in the glass, with a sweet fruit cocktail-like nose. Drier on the palate, and tasty enough, but there’s really nothing here that you could refer to as complexity. Nice acidity brightens the finish a touch. Okay, and I guess not bad from a QPR standpoint given the price, but not necessarily something I would look to buy again. The notes on CT are seemingly more positive than my take, so I guess it’s possible that the appeal of this wine just misses my palate for whatever reason.
Next up, the 2006 Nigl Riesling Kremsleiten. Perhaps a touch lighter in color than the Selbach; the nose almost has a spritz to it, with granny smith apple, pineapple and slate at the forefront - nice complexity on the nose. Very full-bodied for a white - according to the label, this carries 14.5% alcohol, and while I don’t get any heat per se, this wine is more ponderous in the glass than our first selection. Also a nice spiciness to the overall fruit profile on the palate, but given it’s size, I think it lacks a bit of framing acidity. I prefer this to the first wine because there is a lot more going on here, but I can also see this wine becoming a little tiring as a you work your way through an entire bottle. I have previously enjoyed my other bottles better, but if my memory is accurate, I seem to recall David Schildknect expressing some concerns about the elevated level of alcohol and this wine’s overall balance, and I think this is the first time I have tried the wine where I see his point.