Rare and Unusual German Wines

German Wine Society
Shane’s Notes

This tasting featured rare and unusual wines from members’ private cellars. Jen and I don’t have a cellar so this was an interesting tasting for us. We primarily drink young wines while a majority of the wines in this tasting were from 1976. We did taste a few spectacular wines but overall, this tasting did not change our preference for younger wines.

We did not take any notes, but here are some of our general impressions. The 1972’s were well past their prime but most of the 1976’s were still tasting well. They had good acidity which proves the aging potential of a good German Riesling. However, with over 30 years of bottle age, the fruit flavors had faded and were replaced by subtle, floral flavors. We prefer the fruit flavors.

The tasting featured several Scheurebe, and we are continually surprised by how much we enjoy this varietal. We have never bought a bottle of Scheurebe but we just might on our next wine buying trip. They age as well as Rieslings if not better.

The following two wines were absolutely amazing:

Egon Muller, 1976 Scharzhofberger Auslese – This was the only Riesling we tasted that still retained some of the fruitiness of a younger wine. Underneath a honeyed overlay, elegant palate showed an amazing array of tropical fruit flavors with hints of citrus underneath. The flavors were seamlessly integrated and the finish went on for minutes. It is one of the best Rieslings we have ever had the pleasure to drink.

Louis Guntrum, 1976 Niersteiner Paterberg Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese – The color of this wine was as dark as a Pedro Ximenez sherry. Even the taste was similar to a PX albeit without the raisiny overtones. The dense, rich palate was dominated by a brown sugar, caramelly flavor. As with the Egon Muller, the finish lasted for several minutes. It was our first TBA and we were very impressed.