A friend came over to trade some bottles, I opened the 2007 Gysler Weinheimer Riesling Kabinett (Rheinhessen). Lovely, light, and lively. Bright sweet green apple fruit with a little hint of peaches, off-dry, bright and invigorating acidity. Maybe not complex or long,but the perfect summer Riesling. B+, solid A for value ($14, which in today's market is inexpensive).
Heatwave is here, which doesn't normally mean Bordeaux for me. But it was so hot I was sticking to AC, and besides Jenise had put out a call for data points on the 94s. So I sipped on cold Riesling as I dashed out to grill to sear some loin lamb chops in a rosemary/sage/garlic marinade.Served with leftover pasta and a salad featuring first local tomatoes of year, and the 1994 Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien). Decanted for about an hour in advance (surprisingly almost no sediment). Yep, still has some tannins hanging in there, but they are ripe/silky enough not to be harsh. Cassis fruit augmented by a little note of blackberry liqueur, there's a bit of espresso and pencil shavings. Medium-weight Cabernet profile, balanced acidity, good fruit for the vintage. I think this will hold well for several years, I personally doubt it this will ever achieve elegance. As with many 1994s, I think it's best drunk over next 4-6 years with some red meat. I enjoyed Saturday. B+
Sunday Betsy arrived back from NH, but had a flight out to CA that evening. After Lucy and I dropped her at JFK, we sadly headed home for dinner- kibble for Lucy, hot dogs for me. I opened the 2007 Leitz Eins Zwei Dry(3) Riesling QbA (Rheingau). Cute name. It's actually just a tad off-dry to my palate. There's a saline/slatey mineral note somewhat dominate. Good acidity, nice length. Doesn't grab me quite as much as the Gysler, but a very solid drier QbA. B
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.