Beautiful sole
Another delicious lunch. We had sole, asparagus and potatoes . The wine I had selected to go with the meal, I had found by accident in Tops supermarket in Thonglor, Bangkok. Frankly speaking I had never heard about Balthasar Ress and his wines.
From the website I learned later that the winery is managed by the 5th generation of the Ress family and that it had been founded in 1870. Unbelievable for us Australians. The estate is listed in the 2009 issues of the “800 Best Wineries in Germany” but rated as going donw in quality somewhat. Well, I cannot confirm this.
As you know, I just love Riesling wines. For someone from the Mosel it is just heavan on a stick, paradise so to say. The dry Riesling which I selected, a bottle ‘2006 “Von Unserem” Balthasar Ress’ (11.5% Vol. Alc.) from the Rheingau, Germany was not cheap.
Thailand’s wine prices are high due to the tax imposed on imported wines. I paid about 1,000 Bath, which is a little more than 20 EURO whereas the same vintage can be bought in Germany for about 5.10 or so Euro. “Von Unserem” roughly translates into English stands for “of our own drop” indicating that the vintner and his family have made this wine to their preferred drink, solely for them, so to say.
The quality of this dry Riesling is very good; the price in Germany very reasonable. Having access to it here in Bangkok is a treat, a wonderful thing and we enjoyed this bottle tremendously with our seafood meal.
The colour is light straw, the wine is zesty and fresh with beautiful citrus and tropical fruit aromas. It has structure and substance and a nice finish, lingering on for quite some time. Citrus bomb of the noble kind, I would say.
The next day we went back and bought all the bottles left of this wine on the shelf in Tops supermarket. Putting them into my wine fridge was a great satisfaction. More Sunday lunches with a good German Riesling wine are ahead of us. The good life, Epicurus would be proud of me. Life is just so beautiful.
If you visit the Rheingau, please check also out the villeages of Eltville and Hattenheim. It’s so beautiful there along the Rhein river. Indonesian colleagues I once took their thanked me from the bottom of their hearts and tears in their eyes. The term “paradise” comes to mind as the appropriate label.
Address:
Balthasar Ress
OT Hattenheim,
Rheinallee 7
65347 Eltville am Rhein
Tel.: +49-6734-91950
www.balthasar-ress.de
The Man from Mosel River 