Online Resplendent Riesling Fine Wine Encounter- Featuring Trimbach Clos St Hune

Without doubt, this is the finest line up of white wines we have ever put together for a YWS tasting... either virtually or in real life! We know that many many Wine Schoolers out there share our ardent love of the regal Riesling grape, and over the years we've tasted many fine examples together, including my personal favourite style- Alsace Riesling. So how we could top our 31 Days of Riesling line up? Or our Meet the Maker sessions with the indomitable Anne Trimbach? Or our Ribeauville Riesling masterclass? Surely we couldn't, could we?? 

With a bit of strategic string-pulling, and a few words to some people high up in the wine supply chain, we have managed to secure a handful of bottles of three glorious expressions of German Riesling- two 'Great Growths' (Grosses Gewachs), the top tier of dry single vineyard wines, from Rheingau and Pflaz. A Berenausleese from the Nahe, for all of you who like a bit of spine-tingling sweetness in your Riesling. Two wildcard choices from our favourite Sicillian winery, Planeta, and up and coming Tassie outfit, Stargazer. But, the absolute wow factor will come from our friends over at Maison Trimbach; we are VERY excited to announce that we have a miniscule allocation of their incomparable top wine- the legendary Clos St Hune. 

Wine tasting packs are included in the price, posted to you by Avino- a company which produces tasting packs for, amongst others, the Institude of Masters of Wine. Allocation of these wines is very scarce, 5 of the 6 are produced from single vineyards but we are lucky enough to be able to produce 40 tasting packs, each one containing 50ml of each of these world class wines. 

Have a gander below if you want to learn a little more about our line up:

Stargazer Riesling, Tasmania, 2019 (RRP £33)

Another beautiful hand harvested, wild fermented wine from Stargazer. Matthew Jukes rated this one of the top 100 Australian wines in 2018 and remarked on its exceptionally good balance. Just a whisper of sweetness to give plushness to the fruit- softer and more generous than many austere Aussie Riesling. 

Planeta Eruzione 1614, Sicilly, 2016 (RRP £33)

Here is the wine for all you lovers of bone-dry, super-mineral Rieslings, here expressing the black ash from the ancient lava soils on which the grapes are grown. Italy isn't exactly famous for Riesling, but if any winery was going to craft something which captures the unique terroir then of course it would be Planeta with this single vineyard plot over 800m above sea level. 

Knipser Mandelpfad Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz, 2016 (RRP £37.50)

An explosive 'Grand Cru' wine from this almond tree-lined vineyard, a complex wine with hints of beeswax, peach skin and just starting to develop notes of petrol. Fleshy textures of tropical fruit give this wine succulence which belies its dry finish. 

Leitz Schlossberg Grosses Gewachs, Rheingau, 2016 (RRP £44)

True to Johannes Leitz's usual style, this is an opulent turbo-charged Riesling with almost exaggerated tropical fruit flavours of passionfruit, guava, mango come at you in waves and then suddenly the bracing acidity washes over your palate. Schlossberg (literally Castle Mountain) is one of the steepest and most revered sites in the Rheingau. In the hands of this master winemaker, its wines are singing like never before. 

Trimbach Clos St Hune, Alsace, 2014 (RRP £165)

No words needed perhaps for this wine, possibly the finest dry Riesling produced anywhere in the world? From a tiny 1.67 hectare plot, entirely within the Rosacker Grand Cru, between Ribeauville and Hunawhir, a wine which needs no additional status and is thus not identified as Grand Cru. Peerless in its ability to age, at a little over 6 years old this wine is certainly a baby, but we'll taste its incredible concentration and intensity and marvel at the complexity already on show. Produced in such miniscule quantaties, it's a priviledge to be able to show it at all. 

Tesch Sonne Beerenauslese, Nahe, 2018 (RRP £48)

And what a fitting way to round off a glorious tasting! Martin Tesch's gloriously honeyed, multi-layered and beautifully balanced sweet Riesling. The effect of the noble rot has beautifully amplified the natural fruit, acidity and sweetness of the grape so that as we sip it we can marvel in the wine's intensity. Flavours of orange marmalade, caramelised pineapple, root ginger in syrup and candied grapefruit peel all sing out of the glass. Pass the blue cheese...

All told, that's more than £360 to buy these 6 bottles- have we gone mad? Truly a Riesling line-up of the ages!

Don't bother with chocolate this Easter... buy yourself the best Riesling tasting in the world ever and stay at home to enjoy good company, great wine, and the ever popular recipe cards!

We’ll be working with our pals over at Avino to produce 39 exclusive tasting packs for this event, these will be sent directly to you in the days leading up to the tasting. Su will also be on hand, tasting away and producing some delightful recipe cards so that you can have the fanciest food in town when you sit down to taste! Let us know if you are a two-person household and you don’t want to share, we can send you a second taster pack for £52.50 All you need to do is tune in on Zoom and get ready to understand Rielsing in a whole new light... a genuinely fascinating tasting awaits!