Funerals and 2008 Riesling

I spent the day in eastern Kentucky attending a funeral for my uncle. It's the second time in fifteen days that I've been there for a funeral, the first time was for my aunt. She and my uncle were married for 67 years and they died fifteen days apart. Somehow it seemed appropriate.

Over the years I spent time with them on many occasions and it always led to a party of some sort. They loved cocktails, good food, good wine and country music. Whenever I showed up there was always lots of each intermingled with great conversations and many happy memories. I'll miss those visits.

Somehow it seemed like the thing to do to stop at a wine and liquor store coming home. While cruising the aisles I noticed that the 2008 German Riesling were on the shelf. I picked up several and after a brief chill this evening I opened a Leitz Dragonstone from the Rheingau region. The nose was all lime peel, a few wild flowers and some honey overlaying some minerals. Add some tart apples to the mix and that's exactly how the wine tasted. The acidity was great and the finish was just enough off dry to make it very appealing. The slight 'spritz' to the wine added another pleasant dimension.

It's difficult here to find a more consistent and good Riesling in the $12 to $17 range than this wine. Checking the cellar log there are at least one bottle each from the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 vintages of this wine on hand. There are several bottles of the 2005 and it remains my favorite. At $14 I may add another bottle or two of the 2008 for near term drinking.