I do love sulfur

Long time readers may recall [link2post id=”4533″]my rant on the brilliance of sulfur[/link2post] – I think the stuff is a wonderful aid to fine wine-making. Jay Jay, the premier producer of Wehlener Sonnenuhr does not hold back his hand when sulphuring his wines and this results in them being incredibly cellar worthy. Sure, when you pop a bottle at the age of the one I’m currently necking it may have a somewhat volcanic aspect, but at seven years old or more they have incredible life, energy and are utterly desirable.

This lunch-time’s drinking was brought about by a desire to taste an instructive pair of 2009 Mosel Rieslings. They definitely show it is a great vintage full of fruity charms that will be enjoyable for many years to come.

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Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2009, Dr Weins-Prum

This nose is gloriously attractive with plenty of lovely apple fruit and a reasonable amount of minerality. It smells totally charged with allure and, whilst it is clearly ripe, it has just the poise and restraint one wants from a Kabinett. The palate is also quite the charmer, that fruit is so lovely and it is impeccably balanced by good acidity. I might want a bit more minerality to it, but as far as delivering those ‘pleasure’ goods goes I have not had a Kabinett that does it with such consummate ease and style in… oh… a period of time. It is not going to blow your socks off with dimension, but it’ll slap a massive grin across your face nonetheless. From Leon Stolarski Fine Wines.

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Riesling Spatlese Graacher Himmelreich 2009, JJ Prum

Pow! Zap! Wow! Now this nose positively throbs with dimension and it is also slapping a massive cheesy grin right across my visage. Sure, it is as sulphury as a sinister day on Mount Etna, but there is so much here to revel in with unabashed delight. The fruit is very focussed and limey and its intensity of mineral aromas just boggles my mind. It smells like a seriously, very seriously, fine wine of the most nipple-nibbling brilliance. The palate is charged with floridly desirable fruit and it does seem quite sweet, but also has that pleasing savoury character that some wines show. The acidity hurts. Good. It just makes my mouth water and makes me want to keep on drinking, why isn’t this bottle a magnum? Sure, flasher, and perhaps finer, Rieslings exist, but this wine dips its flag to very few others. Amazing cellar potential. Come back when it is ten or more and just laugh and laugh and laugh. From The Wine Society.

Oh yes, just in case anyone is interested in the fall out from the recent ‘nearly snuffing it’ experience I am pleased to say that, whilst I still feel pretty bloody awful, I am definitely improving. I think on Friday and Saturday I spent a total of four hours awake, I’ve been up all day yesterday and today without feeling the need to sleep. I think this is a good sign. I have to inject myself once a day with a drug that makes me feel like I am going to die, but that stops on Wednesday, so I’ll be much better after that.