WTN: 2002 Weingut Albert Gessinger Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese, 2-star
I almost didn't participate in this round of Wine Blogging Wednesday. I've been too busy, and I thought about letting another one slip by. But at a recent party, Alder, Sam, and Fatemeh urged me to do it. They reminded me that my love of German wines would allow me to close my eyes, reach into my wine rack at random, and find an off-dry wine to suit Beau's theme. The German wines we see in this country almost all have some amount of residual sugar (there are lots of dry German wines, by the way; you just don't see them in the United States).
So I relented, and pulled a wine out last night. It was a Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Riesling from our wine club that I hadn't tried yet, but the label was promising. Some of the region's best vineyards lie between the towns of Zeltingen and nearby Bernkastel-Kues. "Sonnenuhr" means "sundial" and can be a valuable clue: Locals only put sundials in the vineyards that receive the most sunlight, a critical element in this northerly, steep gorge. Finally, a German wine maker typically only puts stars on his—always his—special bottles, often made with grapes from a small parcel, though that's not regulated.
This pale, straw-colored wine transported me back to our recent vacation. You couldn't ask for a more crystalline example of the smell of slate, the rock that dominates the best vineyards in the area. In this wine the aroma has begun to exhibit the "petrol" note common in slightly older Mosel Rieslings. Strong citrus smells suggest grapefruit, and there's an undercurrent of nuttiness reminiscent of blanched almonds. The wine comes alive in your mouth. Its acidity is sprightly, almost spritzy, though there aren't any bubbles from the small second fermentation that sometimes occurs. The residual sugar—more than 18g/l for German wines not labeled as trocken, halbtrocken, or feinherb— gives the wine a weighty feel and the still young flavors convey a sense of ripe, custardy apples with a firm peel still intact. The minerality rakes your taste buds, leaving flavors of orange, orange peel, vanilla, and peanuts as the medium finish dissipates.
Serve this wine with a big tray of sushi or charcuterie.
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