During Jaunary in London, it’s customary for there to be a whole plethora of wine tastings and events. On each day solid, for around a fortnight, pretty much everyone within the wine industry is frantically tasting and scribbling to keep up with all that’s going on. Normally, the great and the good all end up with a lot of black teeth and consequently after sampling such a volume of vinous liquid, dentists are booked up for many weeks later. From time to time, there are even up to four or five tastings in one day. I ask myself, how is it seriously possible to taste so many wines properly in such a short space of time?
Time for some wine
I’ve been a sommelier and wine consultant/buyer for many years now and this year I decided that I would take things a little bit more leisurely. Here at www.robertgiorgione.com I have no time, inclination or necessity for such absurdities of simply ‘having to try’ around 500 wines in one session and being herded around like sheep. I understand how and why all of this goes on, yet this time, as always, my focus was on quality not sheer quantity. After a while, it does get very tiring, even for the most seasoned slurper and experienced wine taster. I must admit, even though I was a bit more choosy this time, I still remained open-minded, I did have a few personal highlights. They will be posted on here, either with my wine reviews, tasting notes or video blogs.
Anyway, onto more pressing matters and fresh, lively and mouth-watering Riesling! Last year’s Pinot Puzzle event was a great success and I really wanted to continue the momentum and theme of hosting blind tastings, yet to make them fun and interractive. Owing to my passion for Riesling and I know that generally people from within the wine trade also tend to love it, I thought it would be great to host a ‘pop up’ tasting to rally everyone’s enthusiasm and thoughts. Thus, with a few tweets on Twitter, a flurry of hashtags and a social media fanfare, on Monday January 24th “Ravenous For Riesling” was born. My idea, which I had a few years ago, was now being put into practice. In addition, I decided to launch my @rovingsommelier concept on the same day.
Somehow, I managed to cobble together, on a shoestring budget and with the support of many wine suppliers and vineyards, a selection of 75 Rieslings from all over the World. In fact, even though I may say it myself, it was a great line up. It was a shame though, that a few interesting examples from Finger Lakes/New York State in USA couldn’t make it over in time. Moreover, they were all to be tasted blind. The real challenge for me though was in which sequence should I line up the wines. With wines, but with Riesling in particular, you have to contend with crucial factors such as acidity, alcohol and residual sugar. However, I also did not want the tasting to lose the overall concept of demonstrating any stylistic and regional nuances. Putting them in the wrong order would also play havoc with everyone’s palate. I had to draw the line somewhere and decided that the Rieslings had to be dry, otherwise again it just may have got far too complicated. I was most impressed and grateful to the support given to me, as my project grew from the initial 50 wines to 75! I managed to gather together a very good group of tasters, many of whom are quite high profile, who are just as passionate about Riesling, including sommeliers, wine buyers, WSET and MW students, wine experts, journalists, MW’s and bloggers.
The venue: 28-50 Wine Workshop, 140 Fetter Lane, London – Xavier Rousset MS is co-owner of this amazing wine bar, which provided a very convivial and appropriate ambience for my pop up tasting. Yes, we have been packed in like sardines, but we all had fun.
Ravenous For Riesling
The tasters: Andrew Connor (Lutyens Restaurant), Roberto della Pietra (Gauthier Soho Restaurant), Jean-Louis Naveilhan (Sumosan Restaurant), Xavier Lamande (Sumosan Restaurant), Emily O’Hare (River Cafe), Virgilio Gennaro (Locanda Locatelli), Simon Cassina (Wine Consultant), Pauline Nash (Wine Consultant and blogger), Jayson Bryant (legendary NZ wine blogger at Wine Vault TV), Torsten Reimer (Riesling lover and wine blogger at The Wine Rambler), Anne Krebiehl (Wine Consultant, writer, blogger and MW student), Richard Hemming (Wine writer on www.jancisrobinson.com and MW student), Tim Atkin MW (Wine writer, communicator and educator), Christelle Guibert (Decanter Magazine), Patrick Schmitt (The Drinks Business and MW student), David Hunter (WSET tutor and Riesling enthusiast), Maureen Kerr (WSET Diploma student), Fleur McCree (Little Beauty), Olly Bartlett (Indigo Wines), Ben Smith (Enotria), Giles Burke-Gaffney (Justerini and Brooks), Jean-Marie Pratt (TerraVin and former sommelier), Silvia Garatti (OW Loeb and former sommelier), Donald Edwards (New Generation Wines and former sommelier), Pete Connell (Liberty Wines and former sommelier), Mauro Segatta (Liberty Wines), Tamara Stanfill (Westbury Communications and Riesling enthusiast), Alex Layton (Westbury Communications) and Debbie Coxon (Focus PR).
A couple of Kiwis - Pete Connell and Jayson Bryant
Emily O'Hare of The River Cafe
Unfortunately, the following who were invited could not attend: Ben Austin (Wine blogger @number1wino and former sommelier), Rosemary George MW, Angela Mount, Natasha Hughes, Bethan Wallace (Sopexa), Roger Jones, Martin Lam and the legendary Freddy Price.
Saba Ranzato helping me to prepare the bottles
The wines: I arranged them in two flights (1-36 Northern Hemisphere) and (37-75 Southern Hemisphere, except no.73, which was unavailable).
- 2007 “Saering” Schlumberger, Alsace, France
- 2004 “Cuvee Frederic Emile”, Trimbach, Alsace, France
- 2007 “Rosacker”, Mittnacht, Alsace, France
- 2009 Gissellbrecht, Alsace, France
- 2008 Jean Sipp, Alsace, France
- 2006 “Cuvee Ste Catherine”, Weinbach, Alsace, France
- 2008 “Heissenberg”, Ostertag, Alsace, France
- 2009 “Schlossberg”, Albert Mann, Alsace, France
- 2008 “Kritt”, Remy Gresser, Alsace, France
- 2006 “Domaine et Tradition”, Mathis Bastian, Luxembourg
- 2008 Van Volxem, Saar, Germany
- 2008 “Scharzhof”, Egon Muller, Saar, Germany
- 2009 “Red Slate”, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany
- 2007 “Von Blauem”, Heymann Lowenstein, Mosel, Germany
- 2009 “Urziger Wurzgarten”, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany
- 2009 “Pechstein”, Villa Wolf, Pfalz, Germany
- 2009 “Ruppertsberger”, Burklin-Wolf, Pfalz, Germany
- 2008 “Reiterpfad”, Von Buhl, Pfalz, Germany
- 2008 “Bishopfsberg”, August Kesseler, Rheingau, Germany
- 2009 “Spatlese trocken”, Schloss Vollrads, Rheingau, Germany
- 2006 “Berg Kaisersteinfels”, Leitz, Rheingau, Germany
- 2008 “Bechtheimer”, Dreissigacker, Rheinhessen, Germany
- 2009 “Niederhauser Hermannshohle”, Donnhoff, Nahe, Germany
- 2009 “Zobinger Heiligenstein”, Jurtschitsch, Kamptal, Austria
- 2008 “Steinhaus”, Rabl, Kamptal, Austria
- 2009 “Zobing”, Hirsch, Kamptal, Austria
- 2004 “Gaisberg”, Hirsch, Kamptal, Austria
- 2007 “Seeberg”, Loimer, Kamptal, Austria
- 2008 “Weinzierlberg”, Turk, Kremstal, Austria
- 2008 “Berg”, Anton Bauer, Wagram, Austria
- 2007 “Steinriegel”, Smaragd, Prager, Wachau, Austria
- 2007 “Setzberg” Smaragd, Donabaum, Wachau, Austria
- 2009 “Kaiton”, Peter Pliger, Alto-Adige, Italy
- 2009 “Kung Fu Girl”, Charles Smith, Washington State, USA
- 2008 “Eroica”, Chateau Ste Michelle/Ernst Loosen, Washington State, USA – n.b 1st bottle corked
- 2007 “Erbacher Marcobrunn”, Schloss Schonbrunn, Rheingau, Germany
- 2009 Plantaganet, Great Southern, W.A, Australia
- 2009 Howard Park, Great Southern, W.A, Australia
- 2009 “Isolation Ridge”, Frankland Estate, Frankland, W.A, Australia
- 2009 “Ad Hoc Wallflower”, Larry Cherubino, Mount Barker, W.A, Australia
- 2009 “The Yard”, Larry Cherubino, Mount Barker, W.A, Australia
- 2010 “Hand Picked”, Skillogalee, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2009 “Bin 7″, Leasingham, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2009 “Mort’s Block”, Kilikanoon, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2009 “Springvale”, Grosset, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2009 “Hand Picked”, Knappstein, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2008 “Polish Hill River”, Paulett’s. Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2008 “Hanlin Hill”, Petaluma, Clare Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2008 Radford, Eden Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2004 “Wigan Reserve”, Peter Lehmann, Eden Valley, S.A, Australia
- 2007 “Kayena”, Tamar Ridge, Tasmania, Australia
- 2008 “Kanta”, Egon Muller, Adelaide Hills, S.A, Australia
- 2006 “Kanta”, Egon Muller, Adelaide Hills, S.A, Australia
- 2009 “Craighall”, Dry River, Martinborough, New Zealand
- 2009 “Te Muna Road”, Craggy Range, Martinborough, New Zealand
- 2009 “Old Vines F-Series”, Framingham, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2009 “Limited Edition Dry”, Little Beauty, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2010 Hunter’s, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2007 Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2010 “Premium”, Saint Clair, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2008 “The Valleys”, Forrest Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2008 Astrolabe, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2006 “John Forrest Collection”, Forrest Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2008 Isabel Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2007 “Envoy”, Spy Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2009 “Select”, Framingham, Marlborough, New Zealand
- 2009 Mudhouse, Waipara, New Zealand
- 2008 Pegasus Bay, Waipara, New Zealand
- 2008 “James Hardwick”, Muddy Water, Waipara, New Zealand
- 2008 “Otago Station”, Craggy Range, Waitaki Valley, New Zealand
- 2009 Carrick, Central Otago, New Zealand
- 2009 “Target Gully”, Mt Difficulty, Central Otago, New Zealand
- 2010 “Limelight”, Misha’s Vineyard, Central Otago, New Zealand n.b this wine was not shown (unavailable)
- 2007 Peregrine, Central Otago, New Zealand
- 2009 “Carmen Reserva”, Vina Carmen, Casablanca, Chile
1-36 Northern Hemisphere Flight
37-75 Southern Hemisphere Flight
Some interesting facts and figures with regards to the total 75 wines presented:
Sourcing of wines: Alsace (9), Luxembourg (1), Germany (14), Austria (9), Italy (1), USA (2), Australia (17), New Zealand (21) and Chile (1)
Types of closure: Screwcap (47) Natural cork (26) Vinolok (2)
Prices provided as a guideline by the agents/suppliers/distributors: Ranged from just over £7.00 to £45 per bottle
“Top Three” wines tasted:
- 2004 “Gaisberg”, Hirsch, Kamptal, Austria available from Indigo Wines Please contact: Ben Henshaw or Olly Bartlett for further details
- 2008 “Scharzhof”, Egon Muller, Saar, Germany available from Top Selection Please contact Jean-Pierre Rabaste for further details.
- 2007 “Steinriegel” Smaragd, Prager, Wachau, Austria available from Fields, Morris and Verdin Please contact Damian Carrington or Lenka Sedlackova for further details
Other wines which achieved excellent marks and comments from the tasters included:
2004 “Cuvee Frederic Emile”, Trimbach, Alsace, France available from Enotria Please contact Ben Smith for further details.
2008 “Heissenberg”, Ostertag, Alsace, France and 2008 Isabel Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand both available from Fields, Morris and Verdin Please contact Damian Carrington or Lenka Sedlackova for further details.
2008 Jean Sipp, Alsace, France available from Laytons Please contact Simon Powys-Maurice for further details.
2009 “Red Slate”, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany available from ABS Wine Agencies at the following stockists: Corney and Barrow, Ellis of Richmond, Genesis and Laytons. Please contact Lesley Gray for further details.
2006 “Berg Kaisersteinfels”, Leitz, Rheingau, Germany available from ABS Wine Agencies at the following stockists: Ellis of Richmond, Genesis and The Revelstoke Wine Company. Please contact Lesley Gray for further details.
2008 “Reiterpfad”, Von Buhl, Pfalz, Germany available from Great Western Wine. Please quote my name and RG10DEAL for special price when ordering Tel: 01225 322 820.
2008 “Polish Hill River”, Paulett’s, Clare Valley, Australia available from Ellis of Richmond Please contact Louise Wishart for further details.
2008 “Hanlin Hill”, Petaluma, Clare Valley, Australia available from Bibendum Wine Merchants Please contact Gareth Groves for further details.
2009 “Limited Edition Dry”, Little Beauty, Marlborough, New Zealand. Please contact Fleur McCree for further details.
Incidentally, I pre-tasted the wines and picked 5 ‘personal favourites’ from all 5 main regions: 2004 “Cuvee Frederic Emile”, Trimbach, Alsace, 2008 “Reiterpfad” Von Buhl, Pfalz, Germany, 2007 “Steinriegel” Smaragd, Prager, Wachau, Austria, 2008 “Polish Hill River”, Paulett’s, Clare Valley, Australia and 2008 “James Hardwick”, Muddy Water, Waipara, New Zealand. Of course, I had a little ‘heads up’ as I knew how the wines were arranged, but it’s always good to taste and see what you discover.
Here’s some comments and feedback from the tasters:
Andrew Connor – “Far too many wines. After a while it was getting tiring. An interesting line up with few ‘disappointments’ and would have been better with some sweeter styles thrown in.”
Richard Hemming – “Far too many wines to taste properly. However, overall a good tasting a representation of regionality and typicity. Alsatian and German examples showed best, with Austrian selection very good, but more challenging. The stylistic nuances of the Aussie Rieslings were more evident, yet rather too similar.”
Tim Atkin MW - “Far too many wines. My top wines were the 2004 “Gaisberg” Hirsch, Kamptal and 2007 “Steinriegel” Smaragd, Prager, Wachau, both from Austria. For me, the Austrian Rieslings showed the best during the tasting and displayed the most character.”
Fleur McCree (Little Beauty) – “A great tasting and a wonderful opportunity to present such a diverse selection of Rieslings from around the World. You should be really pleased”.
At the end of the day, (sorry to sound like a French sommelier sounding like a French footballer), it was an interesting and rewarding exercise to lay on such an event. Personally, I thought the responses and feedback from everyone who attended was very positive and enthusiastic. The general consensus from everyone led me to believe that they would have preferred fewer wines and more time to taste and more examples of older and sweeter wines, which would be easier on the palate without the austerity and high acidity. Judging by most of the comments and by reading through everyone’s tasting notes, the Northern Hemisphere wines tended to show better, with the Southern Hemisphere demonstrating less complexity, which was more disappointing. Only the top ‘benchmark’ examples such as Grosset, Petaluma, Peter Lehmann and Paulett’s did well. The responses for the New Zealand Rieslings were very positive, in particular, Craggy Range, Isabel Estate, Little Beauty, Forrest, Framingham, Muddy Water and Pegasus Bay. Perhaps, this may a grape variety to watch out for here? Sommeliers, wine merchants and buyers, perhaps you will be more encouraged to list more Rieslings. After all it is a wonderful and very food-friendly grape.
Once again, thank you very much to the wine suppliers for their support and to Ed, Riccarda and the 28-50 Wine Workshop team.
I’m already in the process of working on the next pop up wine tasting, which will probably be #CravingForChenin. In addition, this time I will definitely limit the selection to no more than 50 wines! The date and venue is still yet to be confirmed, but it should be sometime in June 2011. I’m looking forward to your comments.
The roving sommelier is the facilitator of liquid enjoyment and by sharing my knowledge, passion and experiences, I will be your friendly tour guide on this gastronomic jaunt.
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I’m looking forward to hearing about your own food and wine stories and comments.
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The epicurean odyssey continues…
Robert,
There was a lot of wine but it was great to taste so many examples of this truly wonderful variety. Also lovely to meet lots of new people, like a vinous speed dating session!! Well done for setting it up. By the way, there is not massive of Gaisberg 04 left so if people want it, they should be pretty quick. Chenin next? Sounds great… Thanks again
Fascinating tasting. But Germany accounts for 2/3 of the world Riesling production and was clearly underrepresented, in particular the dry wines. Here is a link to a tasting of First Class Dry Rieslings at the 1. International Riesling Symposium. http://www.schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-class-dry-riesling-wine-tasting.html
Once again, an innovative idea from you, Robert – well done! For me, it was great to see that 21 of the wines were from NZ and although Old World appeared to fair better nonetheless, I agree that NZ Riesling is ‘one to watch’ and I certainly applaud your clarion call to sommeliers and buyers to list more (NZ) Rieslings.
[...] We should all know by now, that when you say Riesling you smile. At the recent “Wine Barn” German wine tasting in London, I caught up with and interviewed a couple of people. These were fellow sommelier Andrew Connor of Lutyens Restaurant and Gunther Hauck of Weingut Bassermann-Jordan. The latter is a wine producer at a wonderful estate in the Pfalz region of Germany. Both, like me, are passionate about Riesling. [...]
Thanks for your comments and glad you enjoyed participating. Working on next one…
Christian is right in pointing out that if you look at the amount of wine produced and at the range of styles and great producers Germany was under-represented. However, I enjoyed that there was a broad range of wines and lots that was new to me, so I won’t complain. I am also not sure how far you can take being representative in such a tasting – there will always be bias and limitations, for instance with regards to producers and merchants willing to contribute. I am definitely looking forward to the next one, Chenin Blanc should be fantastic – I just hope we will have a little more space to be able to appreciate the wines more.
Here is the link to my summary of the event, including a little discussion on the nature of big blind tastings: http://www.winerambler.net/blog/150-minutes-74-rieslings-1-mouth-madness-ravenous-riesling
[...] http://www.robertgiorgione.com/wine-reviews/ravenousforriesling-pop-up-blind-wine-tasting/ [...]
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Very interesting article. Panel members are to be applauded for their frank criticisms of the number of wines tasted. Within the Australian wine show system, similar admissions would be treated with derision, with repeat offenders being sin-binned or banished to sit on panels judging 200-300 exhibits of one-year-old Shiraz. Keep up the good work!
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You’ve got a great blog there keep it up. I’ll be watching out for most posts.
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