| GERMANIA: What The Rhine Means To Wine | | | | By: Jonathon Alsop | << back  Page 2 of 3 next >> |
Rheingau Rieslings
 2004 Leitz "Dragonstone" Riesling (about $13)
Dragonstone is the literal translation of the vineyard name -- Drachenstein -- where this wine grows, which itself was named for the footprint of an ancient dinosaur discovered on the estate years ago. The packaging and labeling are very modern, clearly designed to appeal to an international market, and the wine's flavor profile is easy and accessible too.
Dragonstone is a semi-dry/semi-sweet riesling with great flowery aromas and flavors of pear and white peach. Leitz makes about 9,000 cases a year, and as with all their wines, 90% of it goes to the export market. It's a great starting point for discovering the rest of the Rheingau.
2004 Leitz Ruedesheimer Klosterlay Riesling (about $20)
A fantastic and delicious example of thoroughly modern riesling from the Klosterlay vineyard, this wine is full of tropical fruit and creamy marshmallow aromas with exciting zippy acidity that you normally don't expect in a riesling. For only $4 a glass, it's a winner.
 2004 Leitz Ruedesheimer Berg Rottland (about $50)
When people think riesling, they almost always think fresh happy fruit and plenty of sugar. This example is strong on white fruit flavors like apples and pears, but the most striking thing is the texture: on one level, it's big and oily, but the deeper you go, the harder and stonier it tastes, like wet slate, or how a sidewalk smells after it rains. Sugar is subdued here, and I think that allows the underlying mineral flavors to shine through.
2004 Leitz Ruedesheimer Berg Roseneck Spaetlese/Late Harvest (about $45)
Golden sunny color, delicious fruit aromas like pineapple, banana, apricot and super-ripe pears. There's a hint of fresh bread and butter here, and something about it reminds me of the sugar-cinnamon toast my grandmother used to make us when I was a child. Wine maker Johannes Leitz calls this wine the "big brother" of the more available Dragonstone.
 2004 Spreitzer "303" Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Spaetlese/Late Harvest (about $50)
303 is an industry number that refers to the sugar content of the grapes when they were harvested. The bigger the number, the riper the grapes, and in potential at least, the bigger, better and more flavorful the wine. Needless to say, 303 is a pretty hefty number or they'd never put it front and center on the label in the first place. Still, it's all a little arbitrary -- like Spinal Tap's guitar amps that go up to 11 instead of 10. There's no way for a normal wine lover to know if we shouldn't have held out a little while longer for the cuvee 310.
In this wine, Spreitzer has achieved an amazing balance between hugely ripe fruit on the one hand and bright zingy citrus acidity on the other, not exactly an easy thing to do. 303 smells like honey and tastes like flowers.
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