I think, right off the bat, this wine wins the award for longest name yet reviewed. Do with that what you will. As a thank you for my most recent episode of house / animal sitting, I was given some posh ramen, direct from Japan, which came highly recommended by a Russian oligarch TE knew. (As one does.) And make no mistake, these were posh indeed. First, they came in a cardboard box, not some plastic packaging. Second, the cardboard box was studier than some I’ve had wine shipped in. I could go on, but, honestly, you get the idea. Except I’ll add that the noodles weren’t your usual round affair of dried, squiggly noodles. No, these were all neatly lined up and held together with some sort of papery tape-thing.
Such ramen was not to be treated lightly. It obviously required a serious wine. The ramen were supposed to be spicy. I thought a Riesling, and a Kabinett one at that would probably be a good choice. So, when I found myself in a Cambridge Wine Merchants branch, but not the usual one I frequent, I browsed their Rieslings. And I saw this. I had never heard of the producer before, but I was intrigued, and thought I’d give it a go.
In the glass
Let’s go with pale lemon, clear. It’s pretty. Well, actually, technically, I probably should rate it more like ‘it’s wine,’ But the anticipation is making me appreciate it more.
The nose
A very faint hint of petrol and lemons. (Insert usual disclaimers here.)
The palate
Crisp, off-dry. Not overly so, more a hint of sweetness. Very nice acidity. Very drinkable. I’d call the body medium. Lemon and some lime for the taste. Not a lot of stone fruit, but later, and on a second evening, there’s a hint of peach, and melon.
Melon, perhaps somewhat oddly, is what remains in my memory of the finish.
This is another wine that suffers in its review because of its yumminess. I was going to call it Yummy-plus, but I’m going with Yummy-double-plus-good instead. It’s quaffable, dangerously so. But it also works well with food. It was damn near perfect for the posh ramen, and a day or two later, I had it with spicy prawns over rice, and that was also very good.
Rating
Yummy-double-plus-good. It’s pretty on visuals. A great wine. Both on its own, and with food. And low alcohol – 8%, which is a plus.
Sustainability
Nothing that I can find.
The technical info
8% ABV, Riesling, £22.99 from Cambridge Wine Merchants
Other Stuff
Despite the fact that it took me until Thursday to post this, I actually tasted the wine last Thursday. Yeah, I need to get my life in order. Or at least my posting.