Winemaker Notes
The signature-flavors run to lemon grass and the minty herbs; mint itself, tarragon, Japanese green teas(Sencha and Gyokoru), spicy apples (Empires) and lime-zest; wintergreen too-you get the picture. Peachy it’s not. But there’s a kind of density of spice, as if set alight on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mint, anise, sassafras, lily-of-the-valley, lemon and pear entice the nose; then inform the silken, succulent, coolly-stimulating, sorbet-like palate of Strubs’ 2011 Niersteiner Paterberg Riesling Spatlese. Noticeably sweeter than other wines of this estate and vintage, it could use some time in bottle to better focus and balance, but its finish lingers so lusciously that provided one doesn’t object in principle to overtly youthful, high-fructose sweetness, it will be difficult to resist now. Look for at least two decades of cellar potential from this fine value.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
WVWGST170_2011 Item# 157506