Almost every Whole Bottle Review I do will be red wine with the notable exception of White Burgundies. Those can be so heavenly, I am literally forced to do a Whole Bottle Review with them, simply so I can enjoy the entire bottle. But outside of those, I haven’t really found any magical bottles of white wines…but I do find magical glasses on occasion.
I like to drink a glass of a great, high acid white wine before I start drinking any red. The acidity tunes your palate, warms you up, and in most cases, gets you ready to drink the real stuff. Drinking a white wine always makes me look forward to drinking the red.
I’m a huge fan of Riesling, especially the dry, lean, electric ones that give you a good jolt. Many people think of Riesling as a sweet wine only (thanks Relax, and Chateau St Michelle), but there are many very fine German, Alsatian, and Austrian dry Rieslings.
What got me into Riesling was notes of Petrol- gasoline- on the nose, and in the palate. How in the hell could a wine have notes and aromas of gasoline, and how could that taste remotely good?
Turns out Riesling has a chemical called trimethyldihydronaphthalene (TDN for short) that produces that aroma- if you look closely, the operative word is “naphthalene,” pretty darn close to Napalm. “Napalm wine,” is simply a must try, especially since it’s also described as “electric.” Nothing like the combination of electric sparks and gasoline, especially with every sip.
One of the finest examples of very high acid, dry Riesling is Emrich Schonleber, and one glass will show you the magic. It has fantastic orange blossoms and some “napalm” on the nose, along with peach, a bit of lemon, and the slate that defines the best Rieslings. When you take a sip, you can feel the electricity start to crackle and build- it reminds me of the cover of AC/DC’s Powerage. That wonderful high acidity races up and down your tongue, bringing you both orange blossoms and napalm at the same time. To say it explodes in your mouth is not inaccurate…I wouldn’t light a cigar around this wine. But why would you when you have a full glass of Emrich Schonleber to enjoy before you get into a high bottle of red?
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