Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken
I was complaining just a couple weeks ago about the long names that appear on German wines and I think I just found a longer one. Wow. The name of this wine is a mouthful. But then a mouthful of this wine is a very good thing.
There was a time when I fell into the same trap that many American wine consumers do, I thought I didn’t like riesling. I’ve since figured out that I was just drinking the wrong riesling. And I might even go far as to suggest that riesling is the king of white wine, but I wouldn’t be the first to do so.
Yes, there are plenty of bad rieslings out there, but the good ones are exceptional. And the versatility of riesling is amazing, from bone dry to sweet dessert wine and every stage in between riesling excels. This one from the Mosel region of Germany is a “halbtrocken” which translates to “half dry” and means that the wine is a touch sweeter than “trocken” or “dry” wines. But it’s still relatively dry. You might think of it as an off dry wine, although in German “feinherb” means “off dry.” That said, feinherb isn’t a technical classification, while halbtrocken is.
Have I mentioned lately how anal the German’s can be about wine classifications? In a way I like it (disclosure: I have some German heritage) but in a way I don’t know how any normal wine consumer (i.e. someone who’s not a total wine geek) can understand it all.
Regardless of how much time you want to invest in learning all the terminology associated with German wine, you can still enjoy this wine.
This wine has exactly what I love in a “half dry” riesling, showing aromas like lemon, pear, honeysuckle, bath salts and petrol. Some people are turned off by the petrol aromatics that riesling can show, but it’s varietally-correct and I think it adds depth and character. The palate is nice and tart, but thankfully not puckeringly-tart, and offers lemon, apple, pear and mineral flavors. The acidity is perfect. The finish is plenty long, with lemon and apple flavors, plus a touch of salty mineral. This wine is fantastic!
Wine: Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 91
Price: $20.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
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