I promised to write a bit more in detail about some of the wines we tried on our trip to Germany. I want to start with the 2011 Meierer Kestener Riesling Kabinett and the 2011 Meierer Kestener Paulinsberg Riesling Spätlese. I wrote about the tasting experience at the winery in general here.
Bottle (photo courtesy of http://www.weingut-meierer.de)
The 2011 Kabinett was harvested from several lots in Kesten and the crushed together. The grapes used are those that are fully ripe but still low on sugar with a maximum of noble rot of 10%. The wine has 9% ABV with 7.5 grams of acidity/liter and 47 grams of residual sugar/liter. You can tell from these numbers that this is a typical German riesling on the sweet side. The key indicator for a sweeter wine is the lower alcohol content. As sugar is turned into alcohol by the yeast, a lower alcohol content necessarily means more residual sugar in the wine. It was vinified in stainless steel.
In the nose, I got sugary notes, with licorice and gummibear aroma. It smelled like fun! The palate was fruity with a healthy acidity. Unfortunately the finish was rather short. At $6.50 at the winery, this wine is a steal and a perfect summer treat.
Th 2011 Spätlese was harvested when the grapes were fully ripe and had some noble rot on them. The winery website says 10-20%. The wine has 8% ABV with 7.5 grams of acidity/liter and 74 grams of residual sugar/liter of wine.
On the nose, this wine had licorice (again!) and strawberry notes. The palate was really awesome. The wine initially tasted of herbs and peaches but a bit into the tasting more and more tropical fruit aromas showed up. I can only describe those as one of the ubiquitous multivitamin juices. I love that. The finish was nicely long. Another very solid wine.
European readers can order the wines directly from the winery here.
the winegetter 