TN: Mainly wines with Residual Sugar

[Fengyi]

I haven't posted any tasting notes before (sorry if I do them incorrectly!), but we had a very interesting dinner where most of the wines had some degree of residual sugar and I found tasting them like this quite interesting so.....[deep breath]...here goes

1997 Oberhauser Listenberg Riesling Kabinett,, Hermann Dönnhoff

Served with Prawn bisque with sorrel and Gravadlax with dill mustard sauce

Lovely pale greenish-yellow colour with quite a restrained steely nose with kerosene and lemon. Flinty too. The palate was nice and crisp with low-moderate residual sugar and good balance. There was slight disagreement on the drinking window for this - I thought it would keep beautifully for quite a few more years, others argued for drinking it now...

1973 Burger Hahnenschrittchen Riesling Auslese, Mosel, Werner Müller

Served with Gruyères soufflé with chives

I've never had a 73 Mosel Riesling - and this was lovely!!

Medium-deep gold yellow colour with a waxy, petrolly nose that seemed a bit closed at first. On the palate, it was gorgeous (if you like that old Riesling taste) with both the acidity and the sugar levels being moderated and good richness coming through with a bit of a honeyed feel. Bring on more 73s I say!

2000 Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Bertagna

Venison with Lyonnaise potatoes and cabbage with caraway

A bit light to stand up to the (admittedly quite high) venison.

Colour was good -and showing no signs of the maturing rim I've seen on other 2000 red burgundies. The nose again was youthful with lots of warm raspberry fruit and a slight whiff of mushroomy-ness and a nice bit of oak. The palate was rounded and warm with good acidity and a richness. Quite robust.

2003 Jackson-Triggs Proprietor’s Reserve, Vidal Ice Wine, Niagara Peninsula

Served with Autumn plum crunch cake

The night before, I had had a 1995 Oak-aged Vidal Icewine (from Hillebrand) which was ever so much more darker and more oxidised. This J-T one was much closer to what I think of as 'Icewine' (in my VERY limited experience!). Colour was a medium rich gold. The nose was very clean - honeyed and slightly floral (in a rich perfumed sort of way). Again, it tasted very 'clean' and bright (despite the sugar), and the acidity was nicely balanced. It went very well with the cake.

2000 Gewurztraminer SGN, Marcel Deiss

Served with Rebluchon and Bleu d'Auvernge (sp?)

This was just bought this summer on a trip to Alsace - and I wish we had bought more...a lot more!!!

Colour was a bright gold. The nose was superb: Gewurtztraminer lychees and rose petal and spicy floralness with an undertone of honeyed sweetness. It was like essence of gewurtz in a glass! The palate was rich - with surprisingly high (yet fine) acidity for a Gewurtz. The sugar levels on this were not outrageous - in fact, on first tasting it, I thought for a second we'd opened a Vendage Tardive wine rather than an SGN. But, as such, it went beautifully with the cheeses... and the sugar didn't overwhelm the delicacy of the floralness and spice on the palate.

Did I mention....I like sweet wines...