WTN: German Wines and Cambodian Food

These are notes of a tasting of German Rieslings mated (quite well, I would add) with Cambodian food – not too spicy but very tasty. We (well most of us) drink these wines so seldom, it was a real treat to sit down with some other aficionados and get stuck into them. Sticklers for correct German spelling should take pity and make allowance for poor lighting and sticky fingers.

The Cambodian cuisine turned out to be a good choice, less fiery than others from SE Asia. I resisted the temptation to order a carafe of the Khmer Rouge....

2004 St. Urbans-hof Piesporter Goldtropfchen (MSR) – light floral nose, crisp and clean with a grapefruity thing happening.

1993 Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese – darker wine with a more pronounced petrol in the nose, a bit less lively on palate due to lower acidity than I’d have liked, but definitely richer.

1996 Gunderlach Nackenheim Rothenberg Auslese – darker straw colour, with a very unusual nose of apricots and ash tray – really, it was a smoke thing, but it wasn’t a bad thing. The wine was balanced and had good length, showing the obvious late harvest qualities.

1994 Berres Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg Auslese (MSR) – this one, on the other hand, showed a lighter colour, not much in the nose or on palate, and was fairly well balanced but thin.

2005 Dr. Thanisch Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spatlese – fresh nose with some light petrol scents, quite rich and fairly sweet but balanced. The over all impression was a pleasant wine that was very fresh.

1998 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Spatlese – decent nose, lighter style, smooth and well integrated but I doubt it will be a long ager.

1999 Dr. Thanisch Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese – same vineyard as the Spatlese and a bit controversial as it sported a highly scented petrol nose which some though also had TCA in it. I didn’t think that and as it abated with air I still don’t. Fairly rich and unctuous but with good offsetting acidity. This one has a future.

1992 Sichel Kirchheimer Kreuz Beerenauslese – not normally a long lived vintage, but the RS on this carried it very well. Amber colour, rich oily nose, with obvious botrytis, quite sweet in the mouth but balanced, and a long concentrated finish. Made me glad I’d bought this one.

1998 Prinz von Hessen Winkeler Hasensprung Eiswein – a rare one, especially in full bottle and a wonderful step up from the BA. True amber colour even at this fairly young age, with ripe pear and honey in the nose, with hints of spice (we argued about mace or nutmeg), and pear and raisin in the mouth. Super concentration, probably with an RS between a BA and a TBA.

I hope one of the other guys posts pics of the food. The crab was delicious! Great event.

Thanks for nice notes. I think you meant Dr THanisch (those scripts can be hard in dim light). Curious re the Khmer food, hope someone posts.

Thanks to all for venturing out on what turned out to be a dark and stormy night...

With salad rolls and hot and sour soup:

2004 St. Urbans-hof Piesporter Goldtropfchen (MSR) – Great starter - light yellow in colour, with a rather light but fruity nose, with mainly grapefruits and lemons on the palate. The best feature was the wonderfully refreshing and racy acidity, which really whetted the palate (B+/A-).

1993 Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese – Deep yellow/gold, with lots of petrol and baked peaches on the nose. Mouthfilling throughout the palate, with lingering sweetness and a long finish; honey and apple were the main features here (B+).

With chicken salad and papaya salad:

1996 Gunderlach Nackenheim Rothenberg Auslese – Golden in colour, with a real 'wow' nose of apricots on steroids; much the same on the palate, with a hint of ashtay as well; a little more complexity and acidity would be nice, but it didn't cheat you on flavour intensity (B+).

1994 C.H. Berres Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg Auslese – I never had heard of this producer or vineyard before. Light yellow, with a sour nose; quite dry on the light bodied palate, with mainly citrus fruit (lemon and lime); a little too light, but pleasant (B/B+)

With whole crab done two ways:

2005 Dr. Thanisch Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spatlese – Thanks to Coop for opening up his backup! Light yellow in colour, with nectarines, peach, mint and sage on the nose. Off dry, a little sour on the finish, with more nectarine and peach on the palate. Nice future here, I think (B+).

With a basil shrimp, rare beef, pea shoots and gai lan:

1998 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Spatlese – Lost my notes on the next two wines. Medium gold in colour, but rather disappointing in regards to intensity. (B/B+).

1999 Dr. Tanisch Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese – Don't remember much on this, other than I liked it...

On their own:

1992 Sichel Kirchheimer Kreuz Beerenauslese – Interesting negociant BA. Aging very well, and should last a while yet. Lots of botrytis here, and finishes surprisingly dry after the initial blast of fruit. Very nice (A-).

1998 Prinz von Hessen Winkeler Hasensprung Eiswein – Copper coloured, with caramel, tamarind and a sweet and sour note on the nose. Wonderfully rich and complex - smoky apricots were one of the many flavours on profile - and it managed to finish rather dry despite the richness and intensity of the wine. Long, long finish. A 'wow' wine, and another indication of how simplistic many Canadian icewines are compared to the German examples (A).

I am still getting over a strep throat, so my taste buds aren't in prime shape, but I was a little disappointed by many of the wines. I love German rieslings, and according to Celleratracker! I have more of it than other other wine (15.2% of my cellar), but few of the wines really jumped out at me. None were 'bad' by any means, but I was hoping for more. Of course, as always, it was still a great night spent with fellow wine fanatics!!

I thought the restaurant did a great job, given how unused to this type of event they were, and I really appreciated all the extra effort they spent on our table. I hope everyone enjoyed the food. I just love their chicken salad, and the beef dish was also great - and it went well with the riesling too!