Straw colour with a beguiling nose of honey, lilac, peach and orange peel; light-bodied, off-dry, elegant and beautifully balanced with great length. Just a pleasure to drink.
From a relatively new varietal. Clear but nearly opaque plum red. Healthy nose, port-like, smelling of raspberry jam and pipe tobacco. Low acid and soft tannins make for a smooth mouthfeel, tasting of ripe dark plums with spices and smoke on a medium-long finish. Will last a couple more years.
Established in 1723, Weingut Tesch is one of Germany’s classic producers, typifying the Nahe. Unplugged is driven by racy, ripping acidity, driving heady yellow fruit, green fig, white peach and honeysuckle, all cut by weathered stone and funky earthiness. Though Nahe's generosity is cut with shearing acidity and crystalline orange peel, this is still very dense, vibrating on the finish. Not quite cohesive at this point, but still fun to drink (unlike what the dude on the label will make you think)
Feinherb is a relatively new German descriptor meaning “off-dry.” This example is light straw in colour with a spicy, minerally, floral nose of sweet limes; it’s light-bodied, with a honeyed grapefruit flavour. Good value for the price.
Heady white florals, petrol and pear skin lead off this cool, young, dry Riesling, from a 600-year-old+ wine estate in Trier. Quince, mandarin and spiced yellow apple pick up on the medium-bodied, bright and crunchy palate, one corseted with fine bones and lingering with a hum of minerality. Vineyards from the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer are utilized in the RK blend, their "entry-level" cuvée.
With a sheen of petrol and a surge of honey, this Mosel Riesling opens with a potency that carries through to the finish. Light flinty smoke, rich pear, light white florals and spiced quince paste are tempered with a thin frame of bitter herbs. From a steep southwest-facing slope of medium deep, stony, loamy weathered schist, this absorbs the sunshine and reflects it back in powerful wines like this one. This Kabinett balances out 91 g/l RS with 8 g/l acidity in a tidy 8% alcohol bottle. Delish now, and over the next decade.
This Pinot Blanc, or Weissburgunder as it's known in Germany, opens with tight green apple, ripe yellow apple, slate and bitter melon notes. Tight and narrow with a bitter citrus cut, but with a cushion of cream and lees that floods and textures the palate floor. The finish is sparse, much like this wine itself.