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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2012
$25.74
Riesling
Germany
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750ml
N/A
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More Details
Winery
Franz Kunstler
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Riesling
The pale skinned fruits of the Riesling grapevine have been grown in and around Germany's Rhine Valley for centuries, and contributed much to the country's wine culture. Today, Riesling grapes are grown and processed in several countries around the world, where they are prized for their ability to grow well in colder climates, and their unique flavors and characteristics. Riesling grapes produce an impressive array of wines, including fine semi sweet and dessert wines, to excellent dry white wines and sparkling varieties, all which allow the grape to shine through as a premier example of an excellent white wine varietal. One of the things which makes Riesling such a special grape is the fact that it is highly 'terroir expressive', meaning that the features of the land it is grown on can come across well in the flavors and aromas in the wine. As such, it isn't unusual to find flavors of white stone, or smoky ash-like notes in a fine Riesling alongside the more usual orchard fruit flavors more commonly associated with good white wines.
Region: Rheingau / Rheinhessen
Rheingau in Germany is one of the country's most prodigious and well respected wine regions, with the south facing slopes of the mountains in the area producing Riesling grape vines of exceedingly high quality. The region has a wine making history which stretches back for centuries, and the wineries of Rheingau have long since mastered the art of expressing the beautiful, windswept and mineral rich terroir through their characterful white wines. With only three thousand hectares of Rheingau being under vine, the region is relatively small, yet has been home to many of the country's finest wines, and a large proportion of the most important viticultural innovations of Germany. Whilst Riesling is by far the most popular grape varietal in Rheingau, Pinot Noir is also grown quite widely, and today, many wineries are continuing to experiment with new grape varietals in order to make a wider range of wines.
Country: Germany
If German wine has had something of a bad reputation in the past, it may well be the fault of the fact that for a long time now, the Germans have simply kept all the best produce to themselves. Visit any town or village in wine producing regions of Germany, and you'll be faced with a stunning array of extremely high quality wines, each matched with local dishes and full of distinct character and flavor. As white wine production makes up for about two-thirds of all Germany's wine industry, this is by far the most visible and widely enjoyed type of wine, but one should not overlook the quality and range of rosé and red wines on offer from this fascinating country. In particular, the Spatburgunder wines (the German name for Pinot Noir) are generally of an exceptionally high quality, being full of dark, intense hedgerow fruit flavors and exciting spicy notes with a silky smooth finish.