2005 Rauenthaler Nonnenberg Riesling, Georg Breuer – a Rheingau monopoly

As the Mas Daumas Gassac  from my previous post is a legend for the Languedoc, Georg Breuer estate equally is an icon for its own wine region, the Rheingau. The late Bernhard Breuer was a pioneer for the renaissance of dry Riesling in Germany and his wines often are cathedrals of minerality that can age for years without losing freshness while gaining in complexity.

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Categories: Germany,Rheingau

“Midnight in Paris” Blind Tasting: The Whites

Finally I’m back home after 2 weeks of agitated travelling, and I have lots of stories to tell from my trip to Shanghai, and some more from my subsequent getaway to Paris. But let’s start time-incoherent with a blind-tasting that kicked off my weekend in Paris. I was a guest at my friend Didier’s home and, as usual, we couldn’t meet without popping a few corks. We each added a couple of bottles to this tasting and they were served to us mixed and blind by Didier’s wonderful wife Mizuki, who has developed a hand for pouring the right bottles. Of course, I mostly brought German wines, as I also know Didier has a weakness for these (one among a few) and they’re rather hard to get in France. Here’s the first half of the tasting, dedicated to the white wines.

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Restaurant Kronenschlösschen* in Hattenheim, Germany – Classic with a twist

After a spree to the Rheingau wine region on a beautiful sunday we were looking for a place to have dinner. While we couldn’t come up with any casual restaurant that day, we had the sudden inspiration to go for Patrick Kimpel‘s fine dining restaurant within the Hotel Kronenschlößchen in Hattenheim. Read the rest of this entry »

2007 Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, Weingut Georg Breuer, Rheingau

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The vineyards of Rüdesheim not only figure among the most famous of the Rheingau region, they are certainly also the steepest. And the section that takes the crown is Berg Schlossberg, where inclination reaches 70%, meaning that for each meter in distance, the vineyard climbs 70 cm. Also, with a nearly perfect Southern orientation -the Rüdesheim vineyards are located exactly Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Germany,Rheingau

2007 Breuer Rüdesheimer Estate Riesling, Rheingau

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As the first sunrays appear, a quick trip to the Rheingau is a must. At Rüdesheim, the whole kitschy tourist-trapping scene –which I dislike, melts with some of Rheingau’s top winemaking scene – which I kind of like :). One of the most acclaimed estates here in Rheingau even runs a hotel with a restaurant and winebar; of course a nice occasion to try Breuers 2007 vintage. And the Rüdesheimer Estate Riesling is as nice as one would expect it to be in such a perfect year. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Germany,Rheingau
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