Cassis aroma in a Riesling?

I was ruminating about the recent TalkShoe thread and Riesling in general. My wanderlust took me to the website of the C. von Schubert'sche Schloßkellerei. There I see three of his dry Rieslings described as having the aroma of cassis. I find that odd. Has anyone else out there tasted cassis in Riesling? Am I just too entangled in the platitude, "White wine, white and yellow fruits. Red wine, red and black fruits?"

(A little TMI for the trivia freaks amongst us: Cassis in German is "Schwarze Johannisbeere" or "Black (St.) John's Berry." It has dialectal nicknames such as "Bedbug Berry" and "Goat's Berry" and "Goiter Berry." I'll spare you the details as to how it earned that third nickname in homeopathic circles. Somehow my Cabernet Sauvignon just ain't ever going to taste the same though.)

I wondered about cassis once also and was told it is a "terroir scent" of the Goldtröpfchen vineyard in Piesport.

I wondered about cassis once also and was told it is a "terroir scent" of the Goldtröpfchen vineyard in Piesport.

Scharzhofberger as well.

Gary, I have often heard/read where the departed (not dead) John Trombley reports on cassis in rieslings. And when it comes to riesling, I take John as gospel.

Well, the black currant and the gooseberry are both species within the genus Ribes and I do get gooseberries from Riesling. (Leave it alone, Stuart!) It's not such a stretch to imagine that the aroma components are similar and could be expressed in a Riesling.

Guess I need to step up my Riesling consumption ... for scientific purposes, of course.

[David M. Bueker]

I more often run into cassis leaf in the Scharzhofberg rieslings. I have run across cassis though. Think fresh,wild cassis, not some distilled essence. I had a chance to smell and taste wild cassis (and crush & sniff the leaves) last fall & it was very revealing.

I more often run into cassis leaf in the Scharzhofberg rieslings. I have run across cassis though. Think fresh,wild cassis, not some distilled essence. I had a chance to smell and taste wild cassis (and crush & sniff the leaves) last fall & it was very revealing.

In all my years in Germany, I never smelled the leaf. I've only had the fruit in a variety of presentations. Maybe that's the difference. I'll have to talk my ex into mailing me a few leaves.

Blackcurrant is classic in Sauvignon, and Riesling is sometimes surprisingly close to SB blind.

I think dark fruit notes are harder to pick up in white wines because we're not looking for them. I once smelled a red wine that smelled a lot like fresh cream, which was equally unexpected...

The most pronounced cassis aroma I had in a Riesling so far was in a Zeltinger Schlossberg by Selbach-Oster. The vienyard has a reputation for producing such aromas.

Peter

Watch out for honey in red wine too. I was once struggling to put a name to a caramel-like odour I was getting from Beaucastel 99 last year. Someone across the room said "honey". Bingo! That was exactly it.

I'll keep a eye (nose) out for blackcurrant on Riesling. Haven't noticed any yet - stuck in a petrol and lime rut I'm afriad.