German Icewine

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Back in October, I was in Party Town, talking with my favorite wine guy, JP. We were talking about icewine and dessert wines in general, when he dragged me over to the German area and shoved an Eiswein in my arms. "You have to try this. It’s completely unexpected."

He’s right. The 2004 Eugen Müller Forst Weissburgunder Eiswein is a completely unexpected icewine.

I did a little research and had to haphazardly translate some German to get the information I was seeking. Here’s hoping it’s correct. The winery is in a forest in the Pfalz region of Germany. The winery itself was opened in 1935 and was purchased by its current owners, Kurt & Elizabeth Mueller, in 1971. The vineyards cover 17 hectares, with over three quarters planted in Riesling. The winery specializes in sweeter wines, including their reds.

We were quite surprised, as our experience with icewine is northern Ohio and the Niagara region of Canada. This was acidic (quite puckery) and cleansing. It reminded me of a crisp sorbet you might eat between courses. There was a lot of citrus, especially lemon and apricot. The Weissburgunder was lighter than we expected, not heavy and mead-like, as in some icewines. It also wasn’t overly sweet, but pleasant.

We discovered that the wine needed to be chilled first, which made a difference in the blending of the flavors. Overall, we enjoyed this recommendation and will definitely buy it again.

Our score: