Silly titles aside, it's high time I did another white wine on this slice of the blogosphere. This tasty gem is a 2008 Prinz Rheingau Trocken. What's that mean? Rheingau is the part of Germany that this wine comes from and the Trocken is a German word for "dry", indicating that this is a dry Riesling versus some of the sweeter examples.
There are in fact specific requirements for Rieslings to be labeled Trocken, a quick summary can be found here. As someone who has an admitted preference for dry white wines, I was more than happy to pick up the Prinz from San Diego Wine Company a few months back. All I needed was a reason to open it, but when that failed to come about, I figured that if I wanted a quick and easy blog entry, this would be the solution.
See the things I do for you, my awesome readers! That being said, I actually have a reason to open this wine and celebrate something: I bought my first pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses today! By far the most amount of money I've ever spent on a fashion accessory but do they ever look goooooood! Ladies, watch out.
After coming out of my wine refrigerator (set at 55 degrees) I opened and poured the wine immediately. Did I mention I was thirsty? No? Well, I was thirsty and it was a gorgeous warm day, why not open a cool, dry white wine?
Right away I was struck by some lovely aromatics, like perfume and fresh sliced apricots. Slices of lemon caressed a stone fruit and floral backbone making it difficult to keep writing notes on just the bouquet. Somewhere in there was that distinct kerosene/petrol note but it was rather elusive..Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
On the palate, the flavors screamed past like Mika Hakkinen used to do in Formula 1. A more distinct petrol note, lemon peel, barely unripe peach and apricots following perfumed flowers, all held together by superb acidity and balance. Hints of residual sugar on the finish, another nice touch.
Prinz made a straightforward, accessible, well balanced Riesling. For $12 you can't beat the QPR (quality-to-price ratio) and I can think of a few dishes that would bring out the best in this wine. For me, an easy A- and a BUY recommendation. If you have been hesitant to try Rieslings because you think they're all sweet, gross wines, do yourself a favor and grab this example by Prinz and see what the fuss is about.
Nice review. I'm more of a Mosel guy, so it's cool to see a write up on something from the Rheingau. It's also cool to hear that the apricot flavors stuck around even in the dry style. I bet you'll get to put those sunglasses to good use in Walla Walla!
ReplyDeleteMosel will always hold a special place in my heart, can't get enough of them. This Rheingau surprised me in a good way. That reminds me, I need to go white wine shopping again. See you in Walla Walla!
ReplyDelete