I was leaning towards an Oregon Riesling until that damn @Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r made me switch it up. Curses to charity TNs!
jkjkjk
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Paul, the title of the thread says German riesling.
Varieties
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So an advantage of retirement is a charcuterie platter and Riesling at lunch! Don’t do this often at all, but as it’s the holiday season, why not. This first bottle is not 25 years old. That will come with dinner this evening.
The 2001 Strub Niersteiner Paterberg Riesling Spätlese* ** is showing beautifully despite some notable leakage. I bought this on release and fresh off the boat from Germany, so the leakage is likely just the mediocre cork. No harm though. Still some fresh, peachy fruit along with a honeyed finish. Notable sweetness, but that was a lovely foil for the spicy sausage on the charcuterie board. Hard to believe this was a $20 bottle back in the day. Wish I had a lot more. I would drink it anytime!
The cat was unimpressed.
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Nice way to kick things off at Schloss Bueker!
I’ll make some decisions later about what I’m opening, I just have some young wines on hand at the moment.
What about German-Americans? 
More for you!
And Laura.
So here’s the dinner wine.
- 1997 Weingut Karlsmühle Lorenzhöfer Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (12/18/2024)
My final bottle and it’s still insanely youthful. I asked my wife how old she thought the wine was (she had not seen the bottle), and she said “maybe 5 or 6 years old?” Blind I might have thought the same thing. There’s so much bright fruit, and a complete lack of any honeyed, developed tones, that it really does seem like a young wine. Sweet, but not cloying, it’s in that “drinking Auslese” range, likely due to 27 years of bottle age blunting the originally significant sweetness. Definitely one of those “wish I had bought a case” wines.
Houdini was hoping it was Tuna Auslese.
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Let’s continue getting this party started!
2023 Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben “Gisela”
Poised and crystalline nose of white peach, underripe strawberry, white flowers, thyme, and a touch of wild yeast. Juicy on the palate with racy acidity and a nice lingering grip of slate minerals. While there is a nice complexity of aromas on the nose, the palate has some vague peach flavors and is less precise than I would have expected compared to other Gisela bottles I’ve opened on release in recent vintages. There is a staying power in the minerality that I really enjoy, but otherwise this doesn’t seem to have as much depth as I’m used to experiencing. I’ll give this one some air and time in the fridge to see if it tightens up at all.
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Have you had the '22, Brian?
If so, how would you compare the two?
Yes, I’ve tried Gisela on release each vintage since 2018. 2022 was better.
I found the '22 to have an overbearing grilled or overly-ripe pineapple note. It sounds like the '23 doesn’t have that, from your description. Yes?
Not to me, no
(Screwcap) Hint of sponti upon opening, followed by a light bouquet of fresh citrus fruits, green apple, and a touch of honey. A subtle floral note lingers in the background, reminiscent of white blossoms.
Palate has vibrant acidity balanced with citrus-fruit sweetness. Light anise and fennel carry the midpalate, followed by a slight mineral undertone and a crisp, clean, lightly creamy finish.
This is what I imagine Spätlesen was like back in the day, as I find it just a touch too sweet compared to other Kabinetten. Delightful, however, especially as an after-dinner drink.
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Glass cork. Lots of creamy peach on the nose. Tiny bit of petrol. Palate lacks acidity. Like any. Tastes like a Capri-Sun. This was a flyer purchase for my dad (drinking from his cellar tonight) and it was a miss. Oh well.
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A long time ago Vollrads was great. Not so much now. A sad tale.
Yup. A lot of old/historically great vineyards in the Rheingau that are just … meh these days. Some of those old wines I’ve had from Erbacher Marcobrunn and Schloss Reinhartshausen especially were something special.
2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling ‘Schmitt’ - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (12/18/2024)
Flat out amazing Riesling. Looking at my notes from a decade+ ago soon after this was released, I described one bottle as “Mosel Riesling with the voltage turned up”. That still holds true. It’s high voltage, but there’s a lot more depth and nuance than in its youth. It’s in that zone where the fruit is still very youthful and lively but there’s lots of savoury and smoky development apparent as well, along with the more herbal and stony flavours I find in Schlossberg around that bright lime/citrus fruit. It has the sweetness and richness of a more classic Auslese (or a modern Spätlese), lifted by really bright, mouthwatering acidity. Finish lasts forever, the bottle sadly doesn’t. I should have bought more of this.
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I hav a total of 3 bottles of German Riesling in my cellar and they are identical 
. My palate leans Alsace ::shrug:: I’ll dig one out.
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