Susan and Steve Muller were fantastic hosts for our tasting of German and Austrian wines. They provided just the right setting and mood for becoming reacquainted with the wines of Mosel and Rhine. The evening did provide some real surprises in terms of your preferences. Here are the results:
Wine most likely to cause an argument: Vier Jahresezeiten Gewürztraminer 2005 $15 Some people loved it, some hated it. Whatever opinion you held, this is true to the taste of a well made Gewürztraminer. The consensus was that this wine had enough character to stand up to Indian curry or spicy Chinese cuisine.
Surprise wine of the evening: Here we had a tie. The Huber Gruner Veltiner 2007 (Austria) and the Clos des Rochers Pinot Gris 2006 (Luxembourg) were equally appreciated. Both of these wines are great aperitif wines or served with lighter meals. One commented, "It is a great summer evening walk in the garden type of wine."
Some like it sweet: Spatlese wines are produced with a bit of residual sugar and hence yield only 8.5% alcohol vs. the more normal 12%. I was really nervous about serving my friends these wines because the perception is that off-dry wines don't have much character. The group preferred the Gunderloch Riesling 2003 over the better known JJ Prum Riesling 2003. Good thing because the Gunderloch costs about $35 a bottle and the JJ Prum checks in around $45. Each of these wines were exceptional examples of the complexity and nuance that is present in off-dry wines.
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