Schlossbergkeller Riesling Auslese 2018

-
"Give me a flagon of red wine, a book of verses, a loaf of bread, and a little idleness. If with such store I might sit by thy dear side in some lonely place, I should deem myself happier than a king in his kingdom." Al-Khayyam

Today I have decided to start this post the other way round as I often do, by first offering a quote. The reason why is to reveal one of my main inspirations when I think about wine and literature. Omar Al-Khayyam was a Persian poet who has dedicated most of his works to wine. The different perspectives that his poetry offers to the pleasure of drinking it have been a changing point on my perception of the experience of wine drinking.

 Rather surprising was my experience in Iran, where wine is exclusively drunk by Christians during prayer (at least officially), where Al-Khayyam is still referred as one of their main poets. When I have asked about the potential conflict between the elegy of wine and a regime which sanctions all the ones who drink alcohol, most have answered that wine was no more than a poetic motive, as some sort of leitmotiv, with which the poet may have had no contact at all.
Definitely a different perspective, I dare to say.

But different perspectives of a same subject are always enriching oneself.
And that's the reason why I have decided to try the Auslese (late harvest) from a wine that I have already reviewed here.

Same grape, same producer, same harvest location.

Compared to its Hochgewächs version, the first difference noticeable is its stronger yellow colour as well as a more flowery bouquet, which is no big surprise, taking in account that it is a late harvest. Also not too surprising was to see it losing its intense minerality giving place to a more sweet taste with a strong presence of flowers and ripe fruits. This fruity taste is very present throughout the whole tasting, granting it a long and persistent ending.

It is quite a nice wine for the long summer evenings making it a interesting match with some typical smoked fish from the north.

Still, I have to confess that it is rather sweet for my personal taste, but I could not resist to taste the maturation of the grape and open to me new perspectives.



15,5/20
Country: Germany
Region: Mosel
Grapes: Riesling
13%
Winemaker: N/A
Website: https://schlossbergkeller.de/Weinkarte 
Location: Hamburgo, Alemanha

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luckert Müller-Thurgau 2021

-
Image
 There are grapes which tend to be seen as not prestigious as others.  Müller-Thurgau is, somehow, one of them. Created by the Swiss Hermann Müller as a crossing between Riesling and Madeilene Royale, it is still associated with low quality half-dry wines which were tremendously popular in Germany during the 70s and 80s.  Even though a long time has passed since then, it is interesting to see how most customers politely deny my recommendation whenever I do it.  In fact, it is quite hard to sell it to people aged between 30 and 50 as it may recall some bad memories of wine they may have tried with their parents.  The most positive side of it is that younger generations do start having a different approach to it, specially due to its flexibility to match spicy dishes and more exotic cuisine.  And that's exactly where this Müller-Thurgau has shown a tremendous depth with elegant ripe apples, nutmeg and a slight smoky note which made it tremendously interesting...
Read more

Guado al Tasso 2021

-
Image
 Last Tuesday I was at a wine fair promoted by one of the biggest German wine importers at one of the premium hotels in Hamburg. With a strong focus on gastronomy and small shops it was quite a mixed public, quite different in many ways to the habitués of masterclasses. Besides the tremendous offer, there was a couple of episodes which are still living inside me and that I would like to share.  The first one, I was at a South African stand and a man behind me pushed me and screamed to the person behind the stand that he wanted to try the Shyraz. I have quickly shared with him that he should try the amazing Pinotage before the Shyraz as it was surprisingly light and fruit driven. As an answer I got a lecture on how he was working for more than 50 years in the wine business and that there was nothing I could teach him about it. I have smiled and moved away. On another stand I have asked the person responsible for it if the Ribera del Duero that I was trying was a single graped T...
Read more

AOP Maury Ambré Louanges 1932 Chateau de L'Ou

-
Image
 How important is the history of a wine? Even though I always assume the challenge of trying to be impartial in my personal evaluation of a wine, I also have to confess that I barely achieve such goal as I tend to let myself seduce by all kinds of extra information which may influence my tasting. I am just too sensitive to the worlds you can build around a particular world which is a bottle of wine. Going directly to the wine in question, the fact that it was a 1932 harvest has directly awoken in me an almost uncontrollable world of expectations. Tasted at a recent event of Wines of Roussillon in Hamburg it came as the biggest highlight of a very eventful evening.  Composed of Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc it has revealed nice dried apricots, dates and some bitter almonds coated by an acidity which imposed a tremendous freshness to a wine which is over 90 years old.  In a way, it presented itself fresher than a 2002 tasted right before. Only having been bottled in 2022...
Read more