The Summer of Riesling kicked off last night with a party in New York that I was unable to attend. But from what I hear, it was fantastic. Which is exactly what I expected: The promotion is a great one, and the wine itself, in all its incarnations, is among the most easily lovable and sneakily complex in the world. I’ll be covering a good bit of Riesling here in the coming months, but for now, I wanted to note the beginning of the festivities with a review of a wine that utterly charmed me when I tasted it recently, a dry Riesling from the Rheinhessen that absolutely sings.
Weingut Liebfrauenstift Dry Riesling “Stiftswein” 2009, Rheinhessen
Taut, shimmering aromas of white peach, white grape, mineral, slate, and a touch of spice lead to flavors of lemon, lime, white grapefruit, pronounced minerality, and a serious spine of acidity. This is a wine that will age nicely, or be excellent with rich, spicy foods right now. Very well made, a seriously accurate representation of where it’s from, and of the many significant pleasures of this dry style of Riesling. Delicious wine. From Valckenberg.