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GERMANY
German Rieslings are my favorite wines in the world because of the quality and low prices they are still at. You can get good Spatlese for under $20. Here are some great links for further information on German Riesling:
1990
1990 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg (AP6) Auslese
Color: Light gold
Nose: Honey, floral, mineral
Taste: Still stunning with floral, mineral, nectar
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Germany Riesling is one of the best wines to age a long time. Tried in 08. 92 points
2000
2000 Joh. Jos Prum Wehlner Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Petrol, slate, honey
Taste: Semi sweet with slate, honey, some petrol
Finish: Medium, balanced, and multi layered
Evaluation: A pleasant surprise from a bad vintage 92 points
2000 Joh Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, petrol, apricots
Taste: Floral, petrol, apricots, sugar cubes
Finish: Dies quick
Evaluation: Drink up not much left 87 points
2001
2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Pineapple, honey, slate
Taste: Good acidity with pineapple, slate, honey
Finish: Solid
Evaluation: Nice wine for the price 89 points
2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spätlese Riesling $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Citrus, honey suckles
Taste: Sweet with citrus, honey, slate
Finish: Medium and balanced wine
Evaluation: Great vintage from a great producer 92 points
2001 Fritz Haag #6 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling $$$$
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Apple, candied fruits, slate
Taste: Wow with apples, candied fruits, peaches, and powerful slate taste
Finish: Long and complex wine with an interweaving of flavors
Evaluation: Wish I had more! 94 points
2001 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Citrus, spice, mineral
Taste: Some sweetness but more sour with spice, mineral, and citrus notes
Finish: Light wine for a Spatlese
Evaluation: No flaws but lacks intensity 89 points
2001 Dr. Loosen Erdener Pralat Auslese Riesling $$$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Lemon, candied fruits, sour apple
Taste: Minerals, lemon, honey, peach, and floral notes
Finish: Long but not intense
Evaluation: Great Auslese that will cellar for 20 more years 94 points
2002
2002 Baron Heyl Nierstein Spatlese Riesling $$$
Color: Dark yellow
Nose: Honey suckles, floral,
Taste: Sweet, honey suckles, sour, apples, candy corn
Finish: Medium with mineral, honey suckles, apples
Evaluation: Tried in 07 and Spatlese Rieslings can age for 20 plus years. Solid overall. 88 points
2002 Joh Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Slate, peach, honey
Taste: A touch of sweetness with honey, peach, slate dominating
Finish: Medium and in perfect form
Evaluation: Excellent wine from a sub par vintage 92 points
2002 Joh. Jos Prum Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese $$$
Color: Light Gold
Nose: Floral, honey, mineral
Taste: A blend of sweet and sour (balanced). Honey, mineral, pear, peach
Finish: Long with peach, pear, honey, mineral, and a little butter scotch
Evaluation: One of the best Spatlese I have tasted. 93 points
2002 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Honey, slate, peach
Taste: Peach cobbler, honey suckles, nice sour component
Finish: Medium and concentrated with honey, slate, peach, and floral. Super balanced wine
Evaluation: Wonderful wine from a great producer 94 points
2002 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese $$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Clean nose with candied fruits, petrol, minerals, peach, lime
Taste: Sweet and refreshing with slate, honey suckles, peach cobbler, lime, rose petals
Finish: Medium and smooth with nice balance
Evaluation: Light wine with tons of flavor! 93 points
2003
2003 Muller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Schlossel Rieslaner Spatlese Riesling $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, ginger, golden apples
Taste: Little petrol with floral, ginger, spices, and minerals
Finish: Medium with some powerful flavors
Evaluation: Great wine from the Pfalz region 92 points
2003 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Kabinett $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Vanilla, mineral
Taste: Mineral, vanilla, off taste
Finish: Short and not tasting like a Kabinett
Evaluation: Disappointed 80 points
2003 Dr. Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Mineral, peach, pear
Taste: Light Spatlese with mineral, peach and pear
Finish: Mild sweetness with good acidity
Evaluation: Not bad from an OK Vintage 88 points
2003 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Spatlese $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Slate, peach
Taste: Light with slate and some fruit
Finish: Short and light
Evaluation: Not impressive for a Spatlese 86 points
2003 Joh Joh Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Pineapple, slate, honey, minerals
Taste: Peach, slate, pineapple, honey
Finish: Medium and intense with slate, peach, honey, pineapple
Evaluation: Incredible wine and a steal at $35. 94 points
2003 Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Mannberg Spatlese $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, light honey
Taste: Floral, and really bitter
Finish: Short and disappointing
Evaluation: Poorly made. 78 points
2004
2004 Muller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Pfalz Spatlese $$$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Floral, citrus, mineral
Taste: Very different then the Loosen with spice, floral, wet rock not much sweetness as it is a drier styled wine
Finish: Medium and balanced
Evaluation: If you like sweet then try the Spatlese wines from the Mosel as the Pfalz tend to be produced with a drier style 92 points
2004 Joh. Jos Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese $$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Honey, tropical fruit, mineral, Intense!
Taste: Wow. Honey, slate, peach, pear, and really balanced
Finish: Long and intense.
Evaluation: A treat to say the least. 94 points
2004 Joh. Jos Prum Wehlner Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling $$$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: A little funk that blew off, slate, peach, apple
Taste: Wow really intense with slate, honey, peach
Finish: Long and super balance wine
Evaluation: 94 points with room for improvement
2004 Dr. F. Weins Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Pear, apple, mineral
Taste: A touch of sweetness with sour apple, pear, mineral, and citrus fruit
Finish: Medium with a hint of sweetness along with apple, pear, mineral, and citrus fruit
Evaluation: Very well made and a balanced wine from a pretty solid vintage. 88 points
2005
2005 Alfred Merkelbach Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese Riesling$$
Color: Light
Nose: Floral, acidic, mineral
Taste: Rich and bright with crisp fruit
Finish: Short with mineral and fruit
Evaluation: Nice and should drink well without food. 88 points
2005 Donnhoff Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Floral, honey, mineral
Taste: Semi sweet compared to Kabinett and beyond. Honey, mineral, floral, apple
Finish: Satisfying with mineral, honey, pear, apple, and floral
Evaluation: For under $20 a must try. 90 points
2005 Bollig Lehnert Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese $$
Color Light gold
Nose: Peach
Taste: Peach, mineral, grass and some sweetness
Finish: Short and not strong
Evaluation: Simple wine but decent 85 points
2005 Prinz von Hessen Rheingau Riesling $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Slate, peach,
Taste: Acidic with slate, peach, chalk
Finish: Starts out strong and then becomes very light
Evaluation: Due to a weak finish and a high alcohol percentage for a German Riesling not a good wine in my opinion 82 points
2005 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Auslese $$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, apple, peach
Taste: Intense with floral, apple, peach, pear, slate
Finish: Long for a Riesling with complex character. Incredible balance between acidity and sugar levels.
Evaluation: One of the best German wines to date 95 points
2005 St. Urbans-Hof Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Piesporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Light almost clear
Nose: Explosive crisp smell with mineral, tropical fruit. Acid present
Taste: Medium sweetness with citrus, floral and little acidic element
Finish: Medium with citrus and minerals
Evaluation: Tremendous value. A wine that can be drunk alone or pair with food. A crowd pleaser at one of my tastings. 90 points
2005 Joh Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, minerals, honey
Taste: Sweet honey, mineral, floral, and sour
Finish: Long with honey, mineral, floral, and pear
Evaluation: Wonderful wine made in the sweet style. 90 points
2005 Kesseler Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Yellowish hue
Nose: Mineral
Taste: Mild sweetness, floral and thick texture
Finish: Medium with floral and mineral
Evaluation: A nice inexpensive riesling from the home of riesling 87 points
2005 Baron Knyphausen Erbacher Steinmorgan Spatlese Riesling $$$
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Citrus, flint, honey
Taste: Wow! Super balanced wine featuring nice acidity and citrus, lemons, flint, honey. Of course a little sweet but it was a perfect balance to the acidity.
Finish: Long and pleasing. Complex wine that went over really well with non white drinkers.
Evaluation: A stunner at $22! 94 points
2005 Studert-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Intense floral notes, honey, melon, mineral
Taste: Sweet, floral, melon, minerals, good acidity
Finish: Initial burst of flavors but overall short
Evaluation: Well made and acceptable for the price. Only flaw is the finish. 87 points
2005 Weber Riesling $
Color: Clear
Nose: Mineral and acidity
Taste: Sweet, fruit and mineral
Finish: Short and not much there
Evaluation: Weak finish but for the price it is drinkable. 82 points
2006
2006 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Urziger Wurzgarten $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Peach, mineral, floral
Taste: Sweet with huge slate, floral, orange peel, honey, peach
Finish: Floral dominates the finish with hints of slate, orange peel, honey
Evaluation: What an interesting wine. A lot going on. 90 points
2006 Fritz Haag Qba Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Mineral, floral, honey
Taste: Mineral, floral, honey, more sour then sweet
Finish: Medium and balanced
Evaluation: Fritz Haag is one of my favorite producers 89 points
2006 Von Hovel Oberemmeler Hutte Kabinett Riesling $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Honey, melon, mineral
Taste: Little sweet and sour with nice mineral, melon and honey
Finish: Good acidity on this medium finish
Evaluation: Nothing spectacular87 points
2006 Dr. Loosen Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Beerenauslese $$$$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Candied fruits, spice, mineral, floral
Taste: Big and sweet with a variety of elements
Finish: Medium to long
Evaluation: This dessert style wine is not as intense as many but overall nice 92 points
2006 Alfred Merkelbach Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese Riesling $$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Slate, peach, pineapple,
Taste: Sweet with peach, pear, slate, honey
Finish: Medium with good acidity but a little to floral for my taste
Evaluation: Inexpensive Auslese that shows 85 points
Tried a week later and improved to a 90 point score
My experience with 06 Germans is to open and let sit for a few days or cellar for some time.
2006 Pfeffingen Pfalz Gewurtraminer Spatlese $$$
Color: Dark
Nose: Floral, spice, figs
Taste: Sweet with floral, spice and a pleasant, sharp bitter taste
Finish: Medium with mineral, spice, floral
Evaluation: Solid Gewurtraminer made in the Spatlese style 89 points
2006 Joh. Jos Prum Wehlner Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling $$$$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Peach, mineral, pear, floral
Taste: Great balance of sweet and acidity with peach, mineral, floral
Finish: Long and full of fruit
Evaluation: 93 points
2006 Urban Mosel Saar Ruwer Riesling QBA $$
Color: Pale yellow
Nose: Intense, mineral, straw, pear
Taste: Sweet, mineral, straw, little spice, Balanced acidity
Finish: A balance wine with mineral, sweetness, straw on this medium finish
Evaluation: Well done and a great everyday wine. 87 points
2006 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, mineral, honey suckles
Taste: Sweet with floral, honey, tropical fruit, mineral, and the acidity is well balance
Finish: Medium and sweet with floral, tropical fruit and mineral
Evaluation: Balanced wine that pairs really well with smoked gouda cheese. 88 points
Sample March 08
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Honey, mineral, floral
Taste: Well balanced between acidity/sweetness. This is a thick wine with honey, mineral, tropical fruit, and floral notes
Finish: Medium with pleasing character
Evaluation: This wine has improved since the last sample in 07. 91 points
2006 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Spatlese Riesling $$
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Mineral and honey suckles
Taste: Thick wine with honey, floral, and mineral notes
Finish: Balanced wine with a satisfying finish.
Evaluation: A solid example of a Spatlese Riesling. 87 points
2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese $$$ (better after opened for 3 days)
Color: Light gold
Nose: Honey, floral
Taste: Sweet with slate, honey, slight petrol quality peach cobbler
Finish: Medium with slate, honey, peach, and mineral
Evaluation: A light Auslese with some aging potential 91 points
2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Honey, must, slate
Taste: Sweet with golden apples, intense floral notes, honey, minerals
Finish: Short and light
Evaluation: Not the most impressive Auslese as the finish is weak 87 points
2006 Dr. Loosen Wehlner Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling $$$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Mineral, honey, apple
Taste: Slate, honey, nice acidity, crisp
Finish: Medium with slate, honey, sour apples
Evaluation: Slate as in Terroir here. A great before dinner sipper or try with some fresh fish. 92 points
2006 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Estate Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Slate, honey
Taste: Crisp, acidic, honey suckles, apple
Finish: Medium with a nice balance to the wine.
Evaluation: Buy a six pack for your next party. 88 points
2006 Polka Dot Pfalz Riesling $
Color: Light not the best clarity
Nose: Mineral, honey
Taste: Sweet but the sour component is disjointed. Not concentrated
Finish: Mineral and unbalanced
Evaluation: A very poorly made wine. 78 points
2006 Urban Mosel Saar Ruwer Riesling QBA $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Peach, mineral, pear
Taste: Sweet with mineral, pear, and peach
Finish: Medium and balanced
Evaluation: Summer time wine. 88 points
2006 Villa Wolf Pfalz Gewurztraminer $
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, mineral
Taste: Dry wine with floral, mineral, nice fruit
Evaluation: Solid and nice dry example of Gewurztraminer 86 points
2007
2007 Gysler Weinheimer Rheinhessen Kabinett $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Floral, mineral
Taste: Too sweet with floral and mineral
Finish: Sweet out of balance
Evlauation: Much better out there 85 points
2007 St. Urbans Hof Ockfener Bockstein Spatlese Riesling $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Straw, honey, pinneapple, slate
Taste: Sweet with mineral, peach, honey, pear, straw
Finish: Complex but short with a variety of pleasing flavors featuring peach
Evaluation: Great Vintage and another solid effort from Urbans Hof 93 points
2007 St. Urbans-Hof Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Piesporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett Riesling $$
Color: Medium gold
Nose: Floral, slate, Petrol
Taste: Sweet, slate, floral, petrol, peach
Finish: Short with a heavy slate quality
Evaluation: Not in the same league as the 07 Spatlese from Urbans 87 points
2007 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Mosel Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Apple, pear, mineral
Taste: Apple, pear, slate, honey
Finish: Great acidity with peach, pear, slate, honey
Evaluation: Wonderful wine! 90 points
2007 Paul Anheuser Kreuznacher Scheurebe Riesling $$
Color: Light gold
Nose: Mineral, peach, honey
Taste: Semi sweet with peach, slate, and graham cracker
Finish: Medium with slate, peach, and a nice, crisp acidic quality
Evaluation: Solid everyday Riesling 88 points
2007 Villa Wolf Ffaltz Pinot Gris $
Color: Light
Nose: Mineral, orange peel
Taste: Light with mineral, orange peal, nut
Finish: Light and refreshing
Evaluation: Better then most Italian Pinot Grigios 88 points