Ancient German Wine Tasting

Have been very excited about this tasting for a while since old German wines are some of the most exciting in the world...

1. 1982 Urspisheimer Johannisberg Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen)
Varietal not noted
Amber with golden rim. Very open on the nose - hits you with citrus and honey notes. Medium bodied. Sweet but with the acidity to match. Rich and very well balanced. Great length but quite dry on the finish, which weirdly has a strong taste of toffee apple. Very good

2. 1976 Kreuznacher Beerenauslese Hinkelstein (Nahe)
Varietal = Weissburgunder
Deep toffee coloured wine. Nose was quite subtle. Fruit notes probably closer to apple than anything else with caramel notes. Quite full-bodied and more prominent sweetness than #1. Crisp, acidic, well-balanced and refined. I liked this one a lot.

3. 1976 Oppenheimer Sacktrager Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen)
Varietal = Rulander
Burnt toffee colour. Nose has a reasonable amount of volatile acidity and smells burnt. Pretty thin on the palate, too much acidity and bitter aftertaste. Past its best.

4. 1976 Framersheimer Petersberg Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen)
Varietal unknown
Relatively pale considering the age and sweetness. Botrytis is prominent on the nose. Lots of toffee. Medium bodied, sweet and very acidic. A little unbalanced. Medium length with a pleasant but dry finish.

5. 1976 Bodenheimer Ebersberg Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen)
Varietal = riesling
Again relatively pale all things considered (and particularly in contrast with the other wines tonight). Nose is classic for botrytised riesling. Toffee apple, apricot and werthers originals all fairly prominent. Well balanced, crisp and refreshing despite the sweetness. Fantastic length. Tastes far too young for its age. Obviously been brought here in the tardis*.

6. 1973 Binger Scharlachberg Beerenauslese
Varietal unknown
Dark brown, lots of toffee and raisins. Some burnt notes. Very open... and similarly upfront on the palate. This wine was well balanced and had decent length (if a little dry on the finish). If it had been the only such wine tasted tonight then I'm sure I would have thought it was very good, but against the competition tonight it just seems ok.

7. 1966 Oppenheimer Sacktrager Beerenauslese (Rheinhessen)
Varietal not recorded
Pale amber. Drying out a little. Fades quite rapidly and the finish is slightly bitter. Past its best.

8. 1976 Urziger Wurzgarten Beerenauslese (Mosel)
Varietal = riesling
Beautiful golden colour, some crystals. The only wine tonight with any of the kerosene/petrol notes I associate with old German riesling. Apparently this is a particularly Mosel thing, not all areas of Germany - who knew? Still smells quite young behind the petrol smell. Lots of apples. Medium bodied, but rich, sweet and acidic. Well balanced and rather delicate. Very long with a burnt sugar finish. A very classy wine!


* = Sometimes the older wines at the wine and dine society tastings are holding up so well we think that they must have been brought here in a time machine. It's only the state of the wine bottles (below) that convince us that they are actually that old.