Reinhold Haart, Wintricher Ohligsberg, Riesling Großes Gewächs, 2007
Light, clean colour. Just seconds after the cork comes out of the bottle, your nose tells you that this (dry) wine is a little different from the sweet Haarts. The mineral is more steely, focused, with light melon, fresh acidity, less herbs than usual.
In the mouth, again steely with a sharp edge, lots of sharp acidity, very clear and quite elegant, with some melon and green fruit (and I could have sworn there were coffee beans at some point, while C recognised strawberries).
This dry GG keeps some of the light, elegant features of the fruity Haarts, but combines them with dry acidity punch and a more steely, uncompromising mineral core. For a top class wine of this type I probably opened it at least a couple of years too early, presenting itself a little more austere, but it was already very enjoyable and went nicely with both the parsnip and apple soup for lunch and the melon risotto for dinner.
Comments
"uncompromising"
Wow... amazing that we both refer to the wine as being "uncompromising"! Not a tasting term I use very often, so it must be true if we both felt it :)
In reply to "uncompromising" by Vimpressionniste
"uncompromising"
Actually, I think I almost had not used it for this wine - for me it was mostly in comparison to the sweet Haart wines. I don't want to say that the sweet wines are boring in an way or average, quite the opposite actually, but they are always pure joy and accessible. This one, my first dry Haart, was different and, well, just uncompromising. It should be interesting to try one in a couple of years. Sadly, they only make a few of them and I doubt we will be able to find one... Glad you enjoyed yours, Didier.
In reply to "uncompromising" by torsten
Heart to Haart
"My first dry Haart" - reading this out loud, all I can think of is my first high school girlfriend :)
In reply to Heart to Haart by Vimpressionniste
lonely Haarts
The number of jokes is almost limitless. There is the 80s tv show "Hart to Hart", of course, you may agree that "home is where the Haart is", complain when someone is a Haart-less bastard or you may even find some other wine "Haart to stomach". And then of course it is always better to be a looking at a "lonely Haart" than to have no wine at all.
In reply to lonely Haarts by torsten
Haart puns
Please don't tell me that you just blew out the very best Haart puns in just one comment.
In reply to lonely Haarts by torsten
puns
hahaha! Thank you for opening your Haart and sharing with us :)
In reply to Heart to Haart by Vimpressionniste
lol
Didier, you're such a wine-perv! :P
BTW, finally some Haart wines entered my cellar. Saw a 2006 Auslese "Schnäppchen" and just had to snap it. Greets
In reply to lol by Alex
Interesting! I will be
Interesting! I will be looking forward to reading about the Haart; so far the Spätlesen have vowed me more, apart from the really old wines, so I am curious how you will find it.