I shall be patient

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Who was I? As I walked into the seminar room I noticed some people curiously glancing at my name tag, which said "Der Kellermeister" in bold Helvetica lettering. Seemingly some people had never heard of Riesling's best friend.

Where was I? In the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City, overlooking Central Park, this prime piece of vineland sadly sacrificed to human repose and weekend entertainment. The international Riesling Fellowship, hosted by Wines of Germany, was about to present Rieslings of 60 different producers from around the globe. The tasting began with a seminar on how Riesling ages. And this is the part of the event I would like to look at a bit closer here.

Rows of empty glasses were waiting to be filled with golden liquid. At the front of the room the twelve discussion panel members took their seats. The stage was set. The seminar's twelve aged Rieslings in the order they were poured:

Why bother?

Intrepid readers may take a quick look at the tasting notes below, which show (clearly, I think) that all of the twelve wines had benefited from bottle maturation. There is a sense of grace and refinement which a young wine rarely shows. A young Riesling from Clare Valley in Australia, the Finger Lakes in New York or in the Nahe region of Germany are full of fruit and invigorating in taste, but time adds a suaveness that is infinitely more rewarding. A two year old Auslese from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr is a bit like the younger sisters of Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice": pretty, chatty and delightful at parties, but still immature and a bit scatterbrained. If you haven't read "Pride and Prejudice" and missed the BBC's excellent adaptation, just look at your high school year book photo and you know what I mean.

Winemakers like Paul Blanck or Marc Tempé from Alsace hold back their top Riesling for at least 3 years before they are being released to the public. Three years may not make a wine particularly aged, but it gets me to my next point.

The fact that Blanck and many other producers (just think of Bordeaux) are holding back a wine for a few years simply means that the winemaker thinks the wine is not ready to be drunk at this early stage. In case of Riesling this may be less obvious than it is for a Bordeaux or Barolo, where initially harsh tannins demand the mellowing effect of ageing for at least a couple of years before they are somewhat ready to drink. White wine is considered to be less age-worthy so Riesling is drunk too young, particularly in the U.S. Magic things happen where patience reigns. Blanck's Furstentum Vieilles Vignes 2007 may be perfectly drinkable now. But it would simply be a sad thing to do so considering how incredibly more refined it will be in 10-15 years from now. So the next question would be: what exactly happens during that time?

Chemical brothers

Nobody really knows. We know that over time the aromas and the flavors of a wine change. In regard to aromas, we can divide this process into three stages: the primary aromas is the grape aromas. For Riesling these would be citrus fruit, apricot and peach. The secondary aromas include fermentation and cask ageing aromas. Since Riesling often spends 6 or more months on its fine lees to soften the mouthfeel, there is often a yeasty aroma noticeable, which may at the beginning be more dominant than the primary fruit aromas. Cold fermentation also sometimes adds a candied fruit aroma, often a tell-tale sign of Australian Rieslings. By using certain cultured yeasts some winemakers add a tropical fruit note to the Riesling. I am not particularly fond of tropical allusions in a cold climate grape variety, but some people seem to like it nevertheless. And finally there are tertiary aromas, which are the ones that are being developed during maturation in the bottle. We are now entering a completely different world of honey and floral notes, petroleum and orange peel, spices and nuts. Sometimes all of those (and more!) can be found on both the nose and palate in a single wine.

The panel representing the twelve Rieslings
Photo courtesy of Wines of Germany

While the wine rests quietly in dark cellars, continuous chemical reactions are happening, which alter the wine's initial aroma and flavor profile. The anaerobic maturation process in the bottle can be described as "chemical reactions between constituents of the wine, largely between alcohols, acids and water. Alcohols and acids form esters, which in turn are broken down by water to alcohols and esters, which then inter-react producing yet more esters, and so on." ¹ This, of course, applies to both red and white wine. But in different ways. A major compound responsible for ageing are the aforementioned tannins, but this antioxidant is more or less absent in white wines. In Riesling it's primarily the acidity, the extract and - in sweet Riesling - the residual sugar that prepare it for a long and promising life in the bottle.
Except for the Jacob's Creek all of the wines in the seminar were at least semi-sweet. But a Riesling does not need to have a generous amount of residual sugar in order to age well. Acidity and higher levels of extract will give a Riesling the necessary backbone to evolve in the bottle. In regard to ageing of dry white wines Michael Broadbent says that "unlike their red equivalents, they may not have appreciated proportionately in value, but in sensory terms they can be a revelation. This is really what tasting is all about." ²

I agree wholeheartedly. Some Riesling vines are more than a hundred years old. I feel I should treat the fruit of their life with due patience.

Tasting Notes

Jacob's Creek Steingarten 2003

The Steingarten vineyard was planted in the earl 1960s and its Riesling is known for its ageing potential. Jacob's Creek tries to avoid petrol character in Riesling. 2003 was a difficult year. There was little rainfall during winter and spring, which resulted in less bunches per vine and therefore lower yields. An initially cool ripening season in December was followed by hot summer temperatures in January with the much needed rain following in February.

Medium lemon color. Developed nose with pronounced citrus fruit, grapefruit, fine earthy farmyard aromas and very faint candied pear. Dry on the palate with a medium acidity level. Medium alcohol and body. Medium intensity of apples, minerals and a bit of yeast. Medium(+) length. Very good.

Weingut Hirsch Zöbinger Gaisberg 1999

Grown on schist soil, the vines are 38 years old and the yields are kept very low (25 hl/ha). Only indigenous yeasts are used and the wine rests on its fine lees until mid April.

Developed nose with a medium intensity of cabbage and floral aromas and distinct minerality. Off-dry on the palate. Medium acidity and medium(+) body. Soft mouthfeel with a pronounced intensity of apple and peach fruit. Medium(+) length. Good - very good.

Domaine Paul Blanck Furstentum Riesling Vieilles Vignes 1989

Furstentum faces south and lies on a relatively high altitude of 400m. Very stony, well-draining soil. Grapes are pressed gently using pneumatic presses, which avoids pips and stems to be crushed. Natural yeasts only. After 4 - 10 weeks of fermentation the Riesling is matured in large oak barrels for 12 months. The domaine stores the bottles for 2-3 years before they are released for sale. This helps to mellow the oxidized character and develop Riesling's full varietal expression. Domaine Blanck's Riesling have a pronounced complex, often spicy aroma.

Medium golden color. Developed nose of honey, petrol, ripe peach and just a hint of deliberate oxidation. Medium sweet and medium acidity. Soft, almost oily mouthfeel. Pronounced herbal character on the palate along with orange peel and peach. Long length. Very good - excellent.

Cave Spring Cellars Riesling "CSV" 2000

The vines in the Cave Spring vineyard are 26 years old and the average yield is 50 hl/ha. The soil is loamy clay rich in limestone. Temperature controlled fermentation at 15°C in 100% stainless steel over 3 weeks. Maturation on its fine lees for 5 months. Slight filtration before bottling.

Pronounced citrus and mineral aromas; pear, honey. Medium sweet on the palate. Crisp acidity. Light, refreshing peach fruit flavors. Medium(+) length. Good - very good.

Weingut Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 1990

The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is a continuation of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr downstream. The slopes are very steep, facing a widening of the river Mosel. The soil of the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is composed of large chunks of Devonian slate. It has a relatively thin layer of subsoil consisting of decomposed slate on top of slate bedrock. The 1990 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese was made from grapes entirely free of botrytis. It showed a beautiful aroma of spicy honey and luscious peach/strawberry notes. Still very youthful on the palate, showing grand ripeness without being fat. Sweet, crisp acidity. Long length with a refreshing citrus finish. This Riesling still has another 10(+) years of refinement ahead.and the wines have a crisp acidity. Very good - excellent.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Johannisberg Riesling Semi-Dry 1989

Finger Lakes winegrowers used to label their Riesling as "Johannisberg Riesling" in order to demarcate them as wines made from the true Riesling grapes as opposed to the non-Riesling varieties grown in some parts of the planet (e.g. "Welschriesling" in Northern Italy).

Creamy peach aromas and strawberry, not unlike the Selbach-Oster Spätlese before, however less luscious but with an added mineral verve and notes of honey. Sweet on the palate, with a crisp acidity and very nice flavors of flowers, honey and apricot. Long length with a spiced finish. A beautiful, well-balanced wine with a pleasantly low alcohol level. The still lively acidity should give this wine another 5 years in bottle to develop even further. Very good.

Weingut Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 1983

The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard has a very mineral-rich soil, consisting of blue Devonian slate, which itself sits on a layer of decomposed slate subsoil.

Youthful perfume and mineral aromas. Sweet on the palate, crisp acidity and a light body. Medium intensity of peach, spices and smoked pork chop. Long length. A 25 year-old Spätlese still showing so much youth and an excitingly hearty flavor profile. Very good - excellent.

Weingut St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese 1998

The wine is made from ungrafted vines, believed to be over 80 years old. The exact age is not known since this particular parcel of the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard is close to the cliffs of the "Loreley" and only difficult to access.

Wonderful earthy character on the nose. Pronounced minerality and citrus fruit, very linear and precise, with hints of smoke. Sweet on the palate. Crisp acidity. Very light, celestial body. Pronounced intensity also on the palate with light peach fruit. Very elegantly balanced. Long length. Very good - excellent.

Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Spätlese 1998

The Pittermännchen vineyard is a fairly small vineyard (1 ha). Its clay soil has a high content of grey slate, gravel, pebbles and quartzite. 1998 was an extreme vintage, with very high temperatures in the summer and ample rainfall in September. Grapes were hand-picked and the wine fermented in 20-year old "Stückfass" (traditional large wooden barrels holding 1200 liters).

Luscious aromas of peach, citrus fruit and honey with hints of smoke. The palate is sweet with a pronounced intensity of citrus fruit, spicy honey, apples, apricot and minerality. Still very young tasting. Drink now or keep for 15(+) years. Very good.

Weingut Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 1997

Interesting funky farmyard aromas. Pronounced elderflower and minerality with a dash of refreshing citrus fruit. Sweet on the palate, crisp acidity, spiced honey and luscious apricot fruit. Long length. Very good.

Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Auslese 1976

Picked at 180° Oechsle from grapes that were affected 100% by botrytis. Leitz' Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Auslese had a deep golden color. Pronounced rich honey aromas. Apricot, orange peel and marzipan. Hints of petrol. Sweet on the palate with still high acidity. Pronounced apricot and honey flavor, aromatic spices. Long length with an herbal finish. Very elegant. Excellent.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling Late Harvest 2000

Medium golden color. Thick aromas of sweet peach fruit and raisins. Sweet on the palate with plum flavors and spice. Very good.

¹David Bird, Understanding Wine Technology: The Science of Wine Explained
²Michael Broadbent, Wine Tasting, p.25