Reinhold Haart, Piesporter Grafenberg, Riesling Kabinett, 2008

When you put your nose into a glass of wine and it smells a little bit like a car dealership, but in a good way, you can be fairly certain that you have a Riesling in front of you. This Haart Riesling from the Mosel is not one of the petrol noses, so please don't think of a garage wit lots of oil and grease, but its bouquet has a little of the more refined version of that smell, just think of a BMW car dealership salesroom. Or rather walking through one while eating a peach.

So we have already established that there is a bit of petrol in the nose of this one, to which are added smooth peach and citrus fruit, mineral and herbal notes. Over time the bouquet became more fruity until, after about 48h, the petrol notes were more of a faint memory.

Even so, the wine was fruitier on the tongue than its initially somewhat closed nose suggested, with citrus and peach meeting mineral and a hint of vegetable. The Riesling has pleasant acidity and moments of juicy fruit, although not all of that seems to have translated into the finish. The finish was still not bad though, with a bitter-sweet quality, it just could not quite hold up to the initial promise. Again, over time the fruit became a little more intense.

While it is not among the best wines from Haart, it was still thoroughly enjoyable.