Zimmermann Rosshimmel Riesling
Zimmermann Rosshimmel
Vintage: 2006
Region: Kremstal (Austria)
Varietal: Riesling
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $16.99
I must admit that I find wines from Germany / Austria the most baffling in the sense that the labeling is in a language that I do not understand. What exacerbates this problem is that white wines from these areas can be sickeningly sweet, at least to me, which makes their selection a huge gamble. I am a fan of dry and off-dry Rieslings that contain those flinty, mineral and petrol notes on the nose and palate. It was these qualities that I was looking for when I selected the 2006 Zimmermann Rosshimmel, which is from a little known family ran producer located on the north side of the Donau River between the towns/villages of Krems and Rohrendorf.
Out of the bottle, this wine gave a nice look to it with light, pale yellow tones, almost like a newly minted Sauvignon Blanc. On the nose, this wine presented a wonderful bouquet of peaches, citrus, minerals and green apples. The first taste showed clean with lots of citrus fruit (think grapefruit, lemon or lime) and minerals with wonderful hints of light residual sugar and a surprisingly long finish with an nice acidity making it very refreshing sipper. As I was tasting it, I could literally see myself on a deck or patio on a warm summer afternoon drinking this wine with a oil and vinegar salad (Greek maybe), grilled fish or cheese plate with friends and family. As I continued to sip, the terroir to which the grapes were grown continued to shine through with those much desired flint, rock and mineral aspects pouring through. This is a tremendously elegant and balanced wine that I would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a white that is transitional as something to be enjoyed on its own or paired with lighter fare. Along with this, if you are entertaining guests who like sweet wines, this should be acceptable to them with that light sugar, but be complex enough for your guests who prefer drier whites.
92 points
- Zimmermann Rosshimmel Riesling
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on October 8th, 2008
- Photos:
- Vineyard in Autumn in Austria
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