Sue Courtney wrote wrote:Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese 2005 - Saar, Germany
The colour of honeyed nectar - wow - the concentrated, honey, botrytis, apricot and green tea scents smell like a beerenauslese rather than a spatlese and the flavours even more so. There’s a lovely touch of spritz to the honeycomb backbone and simply luscious flavours of tangelo, spice, apricot and honey. Mouth coating and deliciously fruity with enough acidity to keep it pure ... it can only be described as spectacular!
8% alc. About NZ$36. Tasted 16 March 2008.
I thought it better to keep this note separate from the thread that evolved into a fascinating discussion on the 1971 wine laws. I have a bottle of this wine open now (its 6pm in Australia), and I'm enjoying it immensely. Slightly different impressions to Sue's, but here they are for comparison.
Just starting to colour up. Nose is delicate and soft. Passionfruit in the main, but you can smell "through" this to a delicate lemon scent, along with white flowers, lavender. The fruit flavours on the palate are quite something. Blackcurrant up front and persistent in that spectrum, leading to honey, lemon sherbet and lime zest that’s just been dusted with botrytis. A soft slightly tingly finish. This is rich & textural, and a drink that just draws you in with everything it has going on. Love it.
And unfortunately not $NZ36, more like $A55 thanks to our rapacious tax system.
cheers
Andrew