WTN: Muller-Catoir, Jakoby-Mathy, Van Volxem, Dönnhoff

David and Laura Bueker came down to Storrs for dinner yesterday and the three of us drank through some fabulous German Rieslings and Scheurebes. We began with some Indian vegetarian starters - a stir fry of ivy gourds with cashewnuts and mustard seeds, and a paneer makhani - and a dry wine, the 2007 Van Volxem Wawerner Goldberg Riesling Erste Lage. This was light yellow in colour with a great nose showing pears, flowers, stones and steely minerals over softer smoky and herbal aromas. Rich on the palate with bright pear and apricot flavours over notes of beeswax, herbs and stones with a stony mineral character underneath and a long finish. Despite the low residual sugar in this, I found a faint glycerin sweetness in the back of the mouth. A fascinating wine to sit down with over a few hours.
I then served blind a 2007 Jakoby-Mathy Kinheimer Hubertuslay Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel that David immediately pegged as an 07 Middle-Mosel. I had heard a lot of praise for Jakoby-Mathy's 07s, and this was really sensational - a brilliant wine combining incredibly bright, clear apple, peach and other orchard fruit flavours with layers of slate and saline minerals. Rich yet light on its feet with bright acidity and great balance, finishing long leaving streaks of slate in the mouth.

We moved on to a main course of Chinese fried rice with Guilin chillies, chicken, peanuts and mixed vegetables, accompanied by a trio of Muller-Catoirs.
To start - a 2001 Müller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Schlössel Rieslaner Spätlese. Hideously corked. Bah!
David then opened the 1998 and 2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese, both absolutely sensational (and my favourite wines of the night).
The '98 was incredibly aromatic with a fantastic nose of grapefruit, mango, sage, spices and some faintly grassy/herbaceous notes underneath. A really dynamic wine that's great to sit down with and explore, with the flavours constantly changing and developing with air - one moment it's all grapefruit and grass, the next it's like the essence of mango. Incredibly refreshing with bright acidity, and a tremendous pairing with the food.
The '01 for me was even better; coming across as riper and more flamboyant and tropical than the '98, loaded with mango, flowers, pepper, pineapples, pink grapefruit and a ton of other tropical fruits and spices. There's an amazing brightness and clarity to the flavours here, refreshing acidity underneath - a really thrilling, delicious wine that I couldn't stop coming back to even with the other great wines on the table.

We finished with a half bottle of 1999 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese. AP #14-00, imported by 'Adventures in Wine, CA' - I'm not sure whether this is the regular or second Auslese bottling from this year (hopefully David will chime in with the AP number clarification). Much more botrytis than I've noticed in Donnhoff's other Auslese with a dominant butterscotch flavour over honey, peach, flowers, red fruits and faint oily notes. Rich, full bodied and silky in the mouth with moderate acidity, finishing long and creamy. Delicious.

Great way to spend a Saturday night!

Thanks for notes. I've always liked the '98 MC Scheurebe, have one more

[David M. Bueker]

Quick comment: the AP#14 of the Hermannshohle is the regular bottling. It matches the bottles in my cellar that came in through Theise.

More later...

[David M. Bueker]

Further comments:

Once again Salil made some great food. I think I could get used to those Indian vegetarian dishes, and the fried rice was great, especially with the wines.

The Van Volxem was indeed a bit "glyceral", and that gave it a presence that I liked very much. I will admit that I do not see the Van Volxem wines in the same light as many, but I do enjoy them.

The Jakoby-Mathy was delicious, and a big step up for this producer. I like what they have done in 2007 (and 2006 by the way), and I hope they keep it up. The combination of crisp fruit and mineral with a touch of creaminess reminded me of Christoffel.

I was less enamored of the '98 Catoir Scheurebe due to its initially grassy and gasoline aromatics. Over time that faded somewhat and the wine showed more of the tropical fruit (grapefruit, mango) and I did like it more after the transformation. My advice to anyone who still has bottles (like me) is to drink them up soon before more of the tropical elements pass away. The 2001 is in prime drinking form right now, with all its tropical glory, but in a more balanced package than the 1998 ever was in its lifetime.

The Donnhoff was very interesting with all that butterscotch. That must be an artifact of botrytis, as its an unusual element (and the Theise selections tend to de-emphasize botrytis) & more spicy honey tones came out later. Very fine wine that is perfect for drinking now.

As for the '01 Catoir Rieslaner what can I say? It was just so romantic to pull the cork and find the wine nearly mute except for the aroma of vintage newspaper, wetted by spring rains and left to mold in the warm sunshine. Somehow having that wine with a good friend across the table and my lovely wife by my side made the evening complete.

Sounds like a great evening, as usual David has a nice sum-up. Salil, you sound like an excellent cook! Cookbook coming up?!

Just finished a glass of leftover '98 Scheurebe with dinner, and WOW - after a day it had turned into pure essence of mango. Yum.

I'm a big fan of the Muller-Catoir Scheurebes also but may be down to my last bottle or two (not sure of the vintage but may be the 2005--under new winemaker?) I loved the 1998 but don't think I have any of those left.