Never stop learning. Especially when you have the Master of Riesling, Olivier Zind-Humbrecht MW, taking you through an extraordinary tasting of Rieslings from 14 top growers in Alsace, with each grower showing off two of his or her Grand Cru Rieslings from different vintages.
Learnings came fast and furious. Here are a few: 1) forget the idea that Alsatian Rieslings are all chaptalised, opulent and (almost too) rich – many of these wines were tight and grippy with zesty, almost linear acidity; 2) global warming has had some positive impacts such as changing the quality of the acidity from high levels of malic to much lower levels giving better mouthfeel; 3) alcohol levels do not have to be high with increased temperatures if rainfall is low (or irrigation, allowed since 2023, is restricted); 4) massale selection now means there is much more diversity in the vineyards vs 10 years ago when there was just one Riesling clone, number 49.
There was lots more information, jkust tumbling from Olivier’s lips. A true delight for wine geeks.