We tasted these four last night at our Pig+Fig tasting:
1. Frankland Estate Riesling Isolation Ridge Vnyd/Frankland River/Western Australia (12.5%; www.FranklandEstate.com.Au; USA WineWest/SanRafael) 2003: Med.light gold color; beautiful Mosel valve oil/petrol pungent/smokey bit R/floral/mango very complex lovely nose; very tart slightly off-dry beautiful intense/petrol/Mosel valve oil intense floral/R/mango/pineapple slight chalky very complex flavor; very long/lingering petrol finish that tracks flavor;very much like an old Mosel but much richer in character; beautiful example of petrol in a Riesling.
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2. Van Volxem Wiltinger Gottesfuss Alte Reben (12.0%; Terry Theise Slctn; www.VanVolxem.DE; Q; Ap.Nr. 3 567212 06 02) Wiltingen/Saar 2001: Med.dark gold color; strong very floral/mango/R/smokey light Mosel valve oil/petrol very complex bit subtle beautiful nose; slightly sweet intense R/floral/mango fairly tart light petrol/Mosel valce oil classic Saar R very complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering complex finish that follows flavor; still on the youthful side & not a lot of petrol development showing yet; a beautiful rather gentle expression of Saar R. $51.95
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3. Trimbach Riesling Reserve AC: Alsace (13.5%; Esprit du Vin/Port Washington/NY) 2011: Med.gold color; very strong R/mango/floral slight petrol some complex lovely youthful nose; quite tart bit lean very dry strong R/floral/mango/bit flinty/steely beautiful youthful flavor; very long finish that mimics flavor; still needs more age & not showing much evolution yet; loads of pure/youthful R fruit; should age well for another 10 yrs or more.
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4. Hugel GWT Vendange Tardive AC: Alsace Selectionne par Jean Hugel (12.5%; Dreyfus/Ashby) Hugel et Fils/Riquewihr 1976: Med.dark gold color; beautiful spicy/GWT/nutmeg bit cedary/pencilly/earthy fairly smokey lovely very complex nose; slightly sweet quite smooth/elegant spicy/nutmeg/GWT slight hair-oil somewhat youthful very complex flavor; very long/lingering finish that tracks flavor; shows no signs of being a 50 yr old wine & no signs of oxidation or drying out; on the gentle/elegant side and just now starting to fade quietly into the sunset; a spectacular expression of fully mature Aslsatian GWT. $nc (BSvSG)/$14.90 (vTH)
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More bicklekick from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Dug deep into the archives for these gems & they did not at all disappoint. None of them were showing a whole lot of age and no signs of imminent demise. A pretty spectacular foursome w/ the Hugel being my slight favorite for its complexity.
Tom