WBW #45: Old World Riesling

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted by Tim at Winecast and focuses on Old World Rieslings. What is Old World? Well, Tim wanted us to pick a Riesling from Germany, France’s Alsace region, and Austria. We were happy to discover a German Riesling chilling in our storage fridge.

2005 Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spätlese 

Leitz is located in the Rheigau region of Germany. I had the chance to meet Johannes Leitz last year, and I was impressed. This is a young winemaker, with the profession running through his veins. He’s incredibly personable and loves to share his wines. Here’s what Jancis Robinson has to say about Johannes:

Young Johannes Leitz is now one of the absolute superstars, not just of the Rheingau but of German wine in toto. By taking an analytical look at the small Rüdesheim estate he inherited when very young he has steadily improved wines into some of the most thrilling by reducing yields, using ambient yeasts, imposing stringent hygiene so that the wines can be fermented at a snail’s pace on its lees.

This Riesling is a Spätlese, which refers to grapes that are selectively picked at least 7 days after the main harvest. Because such fruit is riper than the grapes from the main harvest, it contains more sugar and produces wines that are rich and sweet. The natural sugar must attain around 19-23% sugar by weight.

This wine was named for a donated Magdalene cross in a village that had been racked by the plague in the 17th century. The grapes are grown in loamy, garden-type soil. This wine has a lot of minerality and balanced acidity, thoroughly refreshing. We had the Magdelenenkreuz with some good ol’ American fried chicken, and it complemented the meal wonderfully.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. It’s a great patio wine – crying out for a perfect early summer evening.

Our review:

Thanks to Tim for hosting for the third time around!

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4 Responses to “WBW #45: Old World Riesling”

1. Tim says:

   May 7, 2008 at 6:22 pm

   That yellow smiley face takes me back to the ’70′s
   Glad you loved the wine. Thanks for participating.
   Cheers,
   –
   Tim Elliott
   Winecast
2. valereee says:

   May 7, 2008 at 6:29 pm

   I have a friend who prefers rieslings. I’ll have to pick up a bottle for her next visit! Thanks for the rec!
3. Dale Cruse says:

   May 13, 2008 at 9:46 pm

   Sounds like you had as much fun with your German Riesling as I did on this Wine Blogging Wednesday!
4. Hydraulic valves says:

   June 16, 2009 at 3:50 am

   Thanks for the rec!