Riesling Beerenauslese

We're getting sweeter today. Although it is not a legal requirement, there is no point in making a dry Beerenauslese. Literally, select berry harvest, Riesling Beerenauslese is the second highest classification of the pradikat.

Because of the lateness of the harvest, most Riesling Beerenauslese grapes have stayed on the vine long enough for botrytis, or noble rot, to have set in.

What's so special about this?

When produced as a Riesling, we know that Beerenauslesen (BA) are produced only in vintages in which the weather conditions were suitable for such production. That means that as much as 10-20 days after the normal harvest, and after the grapes had been botrytized, only when were they picked. What we get from this is wines of extreme ripeness, lush and sweet, but well-balanced with the high natural acidity of the Riesling grapes. This allows most BA wines to be extremely ageworthy.

The must is required to be quite heavy, at least 125 Oeschle in the Rheingau, although most Riesling Beerenauslese in our current region have must meaningfully weightier than that.

All of the wines we are sampling today are in either 375 or 187.5 ml bottles; that is they are either 1/2 or 1/4 the size of the traditional wine bottle.

In comparing these wines to what we are used to in the US, the differences are striking. A high-alcohol content BA may be as much as 7-8% ABV, even less than some of the boldest craft beers being made and well less than is found in some of the west coast alcohol bomb wines, often weighing at 15.5% ABV or more. Our wines today carry the character of the other Rieslings we have been tasting, but having a far more nuanced, honeyed aroma, flavor, and texture to them. They gently coat the palate providing a long, lingering finish allowing the taster to savor the wine often for a minute or more on each sip.

Note the interplay of the honey with the stone and orchard fruits. These wines pair wonderfully with such delicacies as foie gras as well as traditional multi-course dinner creamy desserts such as berries and cream or peaches and cream. Consider drizzling just a bit of honey over your dessert or serving with lemon pastries also with a bit of honey.

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