Embossed on the bottle the sign for ‘Grosses Gewaechs’
I had not had a Grand Cru (or as the Germans say: Grosses Gewaechs) wine for a while. Fortunately, I had participated in a wine quiz of the German wine magazine “Weinwelt” some time ago and won a bottle of Riesling. Not any Riesling, it turned out, but a ‘2007 GG Forster Ungeheuer dry Riesling’ produced by Reichrat von Buhl, Pfalz.
I was completely taken aback when my mother handed me the packet. I could not believe my luck: first time participate, first time win a price. I carried my treasure back to Bangkok and stored it carefully for a special occasion.
The freshly opened bottle
The occasion came faster than expected. Although the cellaring potential of this wine is 12 to 18 years (!), it only lasted a couple of months in my care. Sunday family lunch was just the right time and place for a treat.
A beautiful straw colour in the glass
This is a beautiful wine, powerful, complex and dense, with citrus and mineral characters. It did not overpower the food, though it could just stand on its own, enjoyed just as a glass of wine. The peccorino Sardo on the fish was the right match for the dry Riesling (12.6%).
Flounder with Peccorino Sardo
The salad
Needless to say, one bottle was not enough. That’s why I recommend if you have the opportunity stock up on this noble drop, buy a crate, a dozen or whatever, in any case more than one bottle. The whole Sunday the taste lingered on my palate and could not be deleted from my mind.
Reichsrat von Buhl has a long tradition of excellence, family-owned since more than 150 years, it was leased in 1989 to an operating company owned by two Japanese businessmen. I found this fact quite remarkable, I must say. Another remarkable fact is that it was also owned for some time by the family of the grandfather of the current German Economics Minister, Dr. Karl-Theodor Freiher zu Guttenberg.
The commitment to excellence, however, has remained the same or is even stronger than ever, I guess.
Address:
Source: from the website www.reichsrat-von-buhl.de/english/kontakt.htm
The Man from Mosel River 