We tried this at the London Wine Trade Fair last week and our case was delivered this morning. It is bursting with youthful charm.
Riesling Spatlese Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck “Old Vines” 2007, Leitz
This has a completely lovely nose of grapefruit and creamy minerality. There are hints of cucumber and mint there as well, which smell a lot more attractive than they sound. The nose is very complex and pleasing, with that wonderful ‘puppy fat’ character that young German Riesling often displays. The palate has lots of delicious citrus fruit and perfectly balanced acidity which makes this burst with youthful exuberance. The sweetness is very harmonious with the fruit and acid; this is a proper Spatlese not a de-classified Auslese as many of these wines tend to be from really top vintages. It is very long, with real old vines concentration of flavours and wonderful, wonderful complexity. OK, the [link2post id=”979″]Prum Spatlese[/link2post] from a few days ago may be a slightly more refined, elegant drink, but this is a superb example of Rheingau Riesling at a deeply reasonable price. It is not short on style or class, indeed it is quite delicious. Marks and Spencer tell us this wine should be drank within the next two years, and I think that is probably correct. Leitz wines are lovely when young but I have not had an older example that I think provides as much pleasure.
