Welcome

Welcome

This is a resource for people who want to buy an interesting bottle of wine on a budget of about $20. If you get lost between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and have access to a Dan Murphy's or Vintage Cellars (or Aldi, as of 2015!), you've come to the right place. Where possible, wines are listed with their single-bottle price from DM/VC/A and the winery's home page.

A good place to start is the 'Index', or if you know what type of wine you want, head straight to the 'Recommended Reds', 'Worthy Whites' or 'Stunning Sparklers' that only show 4 & 5 wines.

Your experience will be different to everyone else's, which makes wine such a pleasure. The same vintage wine at different ages will be distinct, as will the same aged wines from different vintages. What the glass holds is a unique parcel of time that should be enjoyed as such.

Monday, 12 October 2015

(W) Peter Mertes: Gold Edition Riesling 2014, from Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel Valley, Germany

Appearance
Light gold & crystal clear!

Smell
Early: Very floral & lots of stone fruits, with a bit of citrus.
Later: Ripe & slightly bruised apples, & some grapefruit zest lingering in the background.

Taste
Early: Off-dry, with a healthy dose of acidity & almost little spritz. Lots of grapefruit & crunchy golden apples carried by a light (but not thin) mouthfeel.
Later: Given time to breathe & warm up, the palate explodes with apples, followed by white florals, some subtle pear flavours & the entire experience fades gracefully until only the citric acid of a grapefruit remains.

Unsurprisingly, this German staple goes fantastically with a chicken schnitzel. Whether fried or baked, the Riesling has enough acid to cut through oil, breadcrumbs, chicken filet & anything else thrown in its way! Even a pork parmigiana wouldn't stand a chance. That said, this is not a sophisticated Riesling, or something you would buy a case of to cellar & share when your first born comes of age. This is simply a fresh & delicious Riesling, full of acid & aroma, and suitable for a regular appearance at the dinner table.

Tale
Peter Mertes is a German wine powerhouse! Almost a century ago (in 1924) in the little town of Minheim on banks of the Moselle river, Peter Mertes decided to go one step further than the family tradition of growing grapes & to actually produce wine for sale to the public. In the 50s, Peter's son-in-law Dr. Gustav Willkomm expanded operations to include the Rhine & Pfalz valleys. The following decade the winery expanded operations again to include vineyards in the Rheingau & Nahe valleys.

The winery continued to expand in the following decades, with feats including creating the largest barrique cellar in Germany for local red wines. The brand is now powered by more than 300 employees producing close to 20 brands from 4 continents & is still guided by the principle of providing the general population with German wines of the best quality, at affordable prices.

Price: $10

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