Weller Lehnert Mosel Riesling 2001

Happy Monday all and welcome to another installment.  What a funny pattern, its Monday and everyone is back to work, and I am really just starting my weekend.  Too bad there aren't any cool Monday events like 2nd Saturday, oh well at least I have Tuesday Tastings at the Firehouse.  The topic for tomorrow, 8-31, is Burgundy and I am so excited.  But to bring the focus back lets talk about some of my favorite white wines, Rieslings from Germany. 
Considered by many to be the most noble of all the still white wines of the world, I definitely put them right up there with some of the best White Burgundies as the noble white wines of the world.  Ask many sommeliers and they will tell you how much they love Riesling, not only for its quality but for its versatility with food.  Also because you can range from very dry versions to off dry sweet versions allows for a wider range of avaliability with foods.  Also the Rieslings from Europe are grown in cooler climates so the alcohol stays low while the acid stays high.  We in the wine game like this too.
German wines can be confusing to decipher label wise though, and the perception of all the wines being sweet I think has kept some people away.  Here is a quick crash course:  If you like the dry style, look for a basic level QbA wine that is 'Trocken' level.  This is a term for dry wine in Germany.  A QbA is like the equivalent to a base Napa Valley wine, rather than a specific pocket.  Next you get into higher ripeness levels in the grapes and the driest form being a Kabinett, which is what today's wine is.  Next comes Spatlese, Auslese (these are sweet still wines) and then we get into the dessert styles Beerenauslese (BA) and the top of the mountain, trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). 

Weller Lehnert Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett 2001 Mosel Saar Ruwer
Weller Lehnert is the producer, Mosel Saar Ruwer is the region in Germany this wine comes from (Mosel for short),  Piesporter, or Piesport, is the town within the Mosel where this wine comes from (anytime you see and er at the end of a word on a German label it is going to be a town),  Goldtropfchen is the single vineyard where these grapes were sourced from, and Kabinett is the ripeness level of the wine.  A drier style that does have some residual sugar.

Visually this wine was definitely showing the golden yellow hues of age with a high concentration to the color and a very noticable rim variation from the aging.  The tears were minimal given the low alcohol level.
The wine was clean with a moderately high level of aromatics.  Canned pineapple, yellow pear, and apple juice were prominent with the underlying notes of petrol/rubber and a distinct spiced note finishing the palate.
The flavors are confirmed on the palate, with a calmness coming over all the ripe fruit characteristics.  More minerality seems to emerge as the finish lingers.  Medium bodied with high acidity, the wine is definitely off dry with low alcohol and a moderately long finish.  I found the wine quite enjoyable over the course of 1-2 hours.
Again a versitile wine, I enjoyed it with steak tartare and crab cakes into oil poached butterfish, and it all worked.  I like to stay in the fish arena, something with some fatty oily character to it, and don't be afraid to throw some exotic strong spices into a sauce for it either.  Salute!