Ja! Ja! Ja!

Riesling!!! After a long period of relatively non-overly-exciting wines, a glass of 1976 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese was handed to me... my guess (I tasted it vintage blind - I knew the producer, just not the vintage) was 1983 (!). The wine was so fresh I could not believe my eyes when I looked at the label and saw 1976... The wine is still so young, so fresh with vibrant petrol, orange blossom, honeysuckle, stony-slate, mouth-coating minerality. Amazing, amazing wine. One of the great Rieslings I've ever tasted, and better than the 1964 Beerenauslese I had from this winery a year and 1/2 ago. I can not believe it... tasting almost bone dry, the wine didn't appear to have darkened at all in color yet (!!!!!). This is why Riesling is the greatest white grape varietal on the planet. The 2003 Joseph Phelps Insignia Magnum was beautiful as well... lots of dusty cocoa, black plum... very Phelps. Better than the pre-release of the 2005 a few weeks ago. The 1996 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace was Pauillac - California style. Tons of cedar, cassis, black cherry and dusty earth. Almost Lafite-like in its elegance.