The second wine of our #7 virtual wine tasting was very disappointing.  I ordered this Trimbach having really enjoyed it before, the reviews were great and the brand is solid.  No one in the tasting group enjoyed either the room temp version nor the chilled.

Paint thinner, petrol, pine, grass and pineapple were descriptors that we heard.  Personally I found the wine disjointed, the nose muted and the flavors were just off.  I am going to re-taste tonight but don’t have much hope.  Interestingly, I tasted the 2013 Riesling twice in 2017 and had very different tasting notes, but they were both consistent 90 point wines.  This one is 86, and at $17 it’s a 2 point wine.  Salut….

Quite pale yellow in the glass with fine grained legs belying it’s 13% alcohol. On the nose I get lemon zest, minerality and slate.  I’m expecting a cutting wine versus a sweet version of this varietal.  On the palate I was wrong, it’s not tart, bracing or edgy.  It has a warmth that surrounds yellow apples with lemon curd.  The acidity is well in check but still obviously present.  There’s a raw lemon component that appears on the midpalate and there is a nuttiness too.  The mouthfeel transitions to a racier version with some nice honeyed notes on the mid-length finish.  Very tasty and flexible, this one is going to pair nicely with my blackened salmon.  Drink till 2030.  90 points and 4 stars for this $25 effort.  (The pro’s went way higher BTW).  Salut….

Very pale yellow, probably the lightest colored wine I have ever seen.  The nose has pineapple, quince, peach and nectarines.  On the palate it is enticing- mainly peaches to begin with.  There’s a petroleum note that typifies the varietal alongside some yellow apples.  Super tasty mind you, with some focused acidity to keep things sharp. The midpalate has some enjoyable flab, a weightiness that fills the mouth and adds to the body.  The finish gets all serious with some flinty minerality, a resurgence of the apple theme as well as the nectarines and is medium in length and smooth.  Overall this is a terrific wine that gets 92 points from me.  Drink till 2025.  $45 is rather steep, but this one’s a keeper that gets 4 stars.  Salut….

It’s been a while since I had this brand, always dependable in the white arena.  The wine starts off very pale yellow in the glass.  The nose offers up peach, pineapple and some pecan nut.  It is really a different profile, but enjoyable nonetheless.  The palate shows off lemon curd, stone fruit, cardamom and a crisp green apple note.  The wine is juicy, like mouth watering.  The acidity is ever so present and persistent yet not obtrusive.  The mid palate is more of the star fruit meets pineapple variety.  It is unique and tasty.  The finish is rather short and tart with some more of the lemon hints.  I pulled this wine out for the Blackened Salmon with Garlic infused Kale that I am preparing.  I’m onto something with this pairing.  If you haven’t read my Evolution of a wine drinker, now is a good time to go back to 2014 when I wrote it.  The same rings true today.  Drink this wine now and for the next 5 years.  90 points and 5 stars for this $14 perennial go-to Riesling.  Salut….