2009 Heinrich Seebrich Riesling Kabinett Rheinhessen Niersteiner Ölberg

I am soooooo excited for this wine. I might be drinking it a bit on the early side; the high acidity in many German rieslings will allow the wine to age and improve for much longer than most white wines. I bet this wine will be even better in 5 or 10 years. Of course, I haven't yet tasted it, so perhaps I speak too soon.....

It's a light lemon yellow with hints of silver in the glass - I might think it was a sauvignon blanc if I guessed merely on sight. There is also a hint of effervescence, likely due to the screwcap. There is some hefty lime on the nose - I can tell it's going to be sour! - along with some yeasty, baking bread aromas. This comes from the winemaker leaving the dead yeast cells (lees) in with the wine while it ages, and will also allow a wine to age better, along with the high acidity. There are also some floral and herbaceous notes - dill, I think. (I'm terrible with flower aromas - I clearly need to smell more flowers.)

Oh, yeah, I was right. This is a wine that could age for a few years. In addition to the acidity (which is certainly present, but not overpowering or out of balance) and the lees, there is also a hint of sweetness - sugar can help a wine age more gracefully. The designation kabinett, unless otherwise noted, does indicate a slightly sweet wine, but it is the "driest" of the different levels of ripeness by which German wines are ranked by law. I chose this particular wine because I'm making pork chops with apricots for dinner and I needed a wine that was as least as sweet as my entree. Drinking a dry wine with food that has some sweetness to it can make a great wine taste sour and boring.

That said, this is not a sweet wine by any means. The flavors are savory, dominated by dill and lime, and a touch of that distinctive riesling petrol or rubbery aroma (which Germans claim their wines don't have, but they do). i can still sense the effervescence on my tongue, which adds to the piquancy of the wine.

Now I have to go cook dinner before I drink all the wine by itself!

Vintage: 2009
Grape: Riesling
Region: Rheinhessen, Germany
Price: $14
My rating: 90/100

2008 Hahn Pinot Noir Monterey

I'm back from a sales meeting (also known as the company drunk-fest), followed by a week of abstinence/liver repair. That said, there was some excellent wine during the meeting, along with some excellent food. There was also karaoke. But we won't go there.

Given this wine in a blind tasting, I might not peg it as a pinot noir. It's darker in color than I'd expect, though a vibrant garnet with just a hint of orange towards the rim.  The nose is robust, full of baked blueberry, cinnamon, and smoky tobacco. The tobacco also comes through on the palette, along with some delicious sour red fruits. The wine is absolutely delicious, with just a hint of tannins, well-balanced acidity, and a pleasant, round texture. My only complaint would be that the alcohol seems a little high. 14.5 is too much for a wine a delicate as pinot noir, and it's kind of making my tongue hurt.  But the tastiness of the fruit and the mouth-watering acidity make up for it. And at $12 a bottle, this is a great value wine.

Vintage: 2008
Grape: Pinot Noir
Region: Monterey
Price: $12
My rating: 90/100

2010 Santa Ema Sauvignon Blanc Maipo Valley

Yes, you read correctly - 2010! It's not a beaujolais nouveau, so it must be...South American! Here we have a newly released Chilean sauvignon blanc. It's extremely pale yellow in color, with distinct silver tones. It also has some effervescence to it, though it could be mostly due to the screw cap closure. On the nose, it's fairly classic sauvignon blanc - more New Zealand than France, though. Green grass and mango predominate, with something akin to corn - even corn tortilla - in the background.

It's also quite nice in the mouth. The first impression is just a hint of residual sugar, followed by slight effervescence, pleasant acidity, and tropical fruits. This is an incredibly pleasant wine. The effervescence is making my tongue tingle, which is always fun, and for a $10 wine the finish is incredibly long and juicy. Maybe a bit bitter, but nothing off-putting. Looking forward to trying it with my roasted yellow pepper soup tonight. Thimbs up! 90.

Vintage: 2010
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Maipo Valley, Chile
Price: $10
My rating: 90/100

2007 Dr. Burklin-Wolf Riesling QbA Pfalz Bürklin Estate

I didn't really feel like posting tonight, nor was I planning on opening another bottle of wine. But I ended up making some shrimp scampi that required me to open a bottle of white, and all I had on hand was this German riesling. I still wasn't planning on posting, but it turns out this wine is just too good not to share.

It's darker in color than I would expect from a German riesling, pure gold with a real brightness to it. The aromas do feature some of that petrol that rieslings often have (even though the Germans claim theirs never do), but there is more peach and caramel than anything else. I want to inhale this wine. The aromas are gorgeous.

And it's just as beautiful in the mouth. A tiny bit sweet, as many (but not all!) rieslings are, but with perfectly balanced acidity and fruit, and a medium-weighty mouthfeel which is just luxurious. The alcohol is higher than many German rieslings, likely because it comes from Pfalz, which is on the warmer side for riesling, but the wine is by no means "hot" in the mouth. The flavors in the mouth certainly include peach, but also something that I can only describe as muskmelon, which you probably don't know unless you're from Iowa. It's delicious, and I can't say enough good things about it. 90.