I'm pretty excited to review another white wine tonight, our first Riesling in fact. The Tall Horse was surprisingly fantastic and you all know how Mike and I felt about the Amaicha Torrontes. Oh by the way, the Total Wine catalog confirmed my theory about the Amaicha! The lychee is a fruit that's used in white wines! Who knew? I always thought you had to be Asian to know what a lychee was. Not that I'm saying Asians can't or don't make wine. Do they? Hmm. There have to be Asian vineyards somewhere. California maybe? Nor am I saying that non-Asians can't know what lychees are. I mean, lychees are obviously exported to wine-producing nations around the world. What? I've totally lost my train of thought. Oops.I picked the Clean Slate Riesling from Wine.com
when I saw that it was made in Germany. I hadn't a clue that the apparently famous Riesling grape was harvested on vines located on 'steep, slate hills above the winding Mosel River', as this bottle proclaims. The Germans just had to join the wine wars. Couldn't let the French or the Italians take all the glory. Instead, they forced their seemingly unnatural landscape into producing wine-worthy grapes.
Unmöglich? Nichts ist unmöglich! Wir sind deutsch! Wir werden Trauben auch anbauen! (loosely translated: 'Impossible? Nothing is impossible! We are Germans! We will also grow grapes!' At least I think that's what that means. I can't trust these free translation internet services.)
Unmöglich? Nichts ist unmöglich! Wir sind deutsch! Wir werden Trauben auch anbauen! (loosely translated: 'Impossible? Nothing is impossible! We are Germans! We will also grow grapes!' At least I think that's what that means. I can't trust these free translation internet services.)
I mean, slate hills? Really?
Oh alright. If the Germans can give us tasty beer and reliable automobiles, I suppose they can squeeze out a good wine or two. In fact, I enjoyed this Riesling by the second glass. I think the spicy Chinese food helped. It's a little dry and leaves a little bit of the aftertaste that I'm not so fond of with white wines, but it has a touch of sweetness to lighten up the overall effect.
I'll give this a 7 out of 10.
i believe its is the slate of the rock beneath the soil that gives this Riesling its taste, unlike the French Rieslings. most closely related to probably New Zealand wine or something of that nature with similar climate/rock. just a thought.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edenwines.co.uk/Ahr.htm, scroll to Geology section. i think this site has the most into per some of your questions about growing the wine
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is how does drinking all this wine fit into the South Beach Diet Ms. Clav??
ReplyDeleteGermans craft some exeptional wines... it's just that not many bottles of the good stuff make it out of the country. Growing grapes on the steep hillsides of the calm Mosel is done not just for the incredible soil. The water's surface acts like a mirror and the grapes get even more light. My quest for the perfect Spatlese (medium sweet late harvest Riesling) led me to many transcendent moments I can only describe as tasting "Sunshine in a Bottle". Rhine wines are generally drier, stronger, and prefered by Germans.
ReplyDeleteI tried the 2008 Clean Slate and liked it a lot. It is a very simple, dry, and clean Riesling. Like all Rieslings it has a little bit of earthiness to it but unlike most the earthiness isn't overpowering and there's no metallic aftertaste (which is the one thing I hate about most Reislings). It's also very dry with just the slightest touch of sweetness (the way I like my Rieslings) and I have to say is the driest Reisling I've ever had (again a plus in my book). On the down side it's so clean that it doesn't have much character, but as far as Reislings go I'll buy it again. It also has a screw on top instead of a cork. I personally would prefer a synthetic cork as screw tops (even though they protect the wine wonderfully) still give the impression of a cheap wine (which this wine is price wise but not in character). Besides I enjoy the sensation of uncorking a bottle of wine when opening it to share with friends. Lastly, it's in a standard size wine bottle (not the overly long ones like most Reislings), which allows it to fit in my wine cooler.
ReplyDeleteNot being a wine expert, I enjoyed the 2009 vintage. I will probably buy 1 or 2 more bottles for the Holidays. I am overwhelmed by the wine selection at the stores and eagerly try wine samples.
ReplyDelete