Today is WBW #45!Tim of Winecast chose the theme this month, Old World Riesling. You had to select a wine made from Riesling grown in Germany, Austria or Alsace although you could also chose one from Northern Italy, the Czech Republic or Slovenia.
Valckenberg Wine Merchants is Germany’s oldest family-owned and operated wine import/export company. Valckenberg also has their own vineyards, which are over five hundred years old. The vineyards are located in the town of Worms on the banks of the Rhine. About 80% of the vineyards are planted with Riesling. The vineyard is also maintained to be as ecologically-friendly as possible.
For my wine, I decided on the 2006 P.J. Valckenberg Estate Falcon Hill Dry Riesling ($8.99). Though many people seem to think Rieslings must be sweet, there are actually many good dry Rieslings. And what better way to get people to try these Dry Rieslings than with a good value wine below $10.
The Falcon Hill is a light yellow in color with a nose of bright citrus. On the palate, there are plenty of interesting fruit flavors including grapefruit, pear and a bit of lemon. It is a crisp, smooth wine that almost seems to have a tinge of sweetness despite its dry style. It is a lively wine and will be perfect for a warm, summer day. It is a nice entry wine to the dry style Rieslings and something I heartily recommend.
Thanks for your review Richard. Sounds like it might be one of the best values of the tasting so far.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
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Tim Elliott
Winecast
Richard,
ReplyDeleteAt first glance of your label pic, I thought, "That's not old world Riesling." I would have guessed Australia or California. Then, of course, "Rheinhessen" snuck out from under the little blue bird.
Its packaging and branding are clearly new world in terms of marketing approach, designed to take the shopper's attention away from thinking of the wine as German.
All of that said, I'm glad to see you liked the wine. I haven't had the opportunity to try it.
Thanks Tim, I look forward to the round up. Sounds like we had excellent participation for this WBW.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you David. The wine clearly is intended to appeal more to Americans who are leery of German wines because they can't understand the labels. I admit I don't have a lot of experience with German Rieslings so can't really say how it compares much to others. But, for the price, it was a good wine.
Sounds like you had as much fun with your German Riesling as I did on this Wine Blogging Wednesday!
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