Georg Breuer Rudesheim Estate Riesling 2003

The 2003 Georg Breuer Rudesheim Estate Rheingau Riesling is no flabby, syrupy fruit bomb, so you may dispel any pre-conceived notions you may have formed about Riesling or German wines in general. Nevertheless, the 2003 Georg Breuer Rudesheim Estate Riesling does display plenty of praiseworthy fruit; yet, it does so without sugary sweetness. The wine’s tremendous burst of pure Riesling fruit is admirably offset by bracing acidity and subtle minerality, which afford this luscious wine considerable balance as a complement to its rich beguiling flavor. The product of slate soils, hand harvesting, and small yields, the Breuer Rudesheim Estate Rieslingoffers up an array of lovely aromas that include white peach, slate, lemon zest, and a hint of oriental spice. Rich and ripe on the palate, it would be natural to expect a sweet finish to this wine, but this is a Breuer wine, so no sugary residuals need apply. Instead, a dry French Burgundian style finish completes the harmonious tapestry of Breuer’s Rudeshein Estate Riesling. Enjoy this charming, flavor packed Riesling moderately chilled (about 40° F).

The 2003 Georg Breuer Rudesheim Estate Rheingau Riesling is an easy wine to pair with food. The wine’s wonderful fruit and dry finish afford a myriad of possibilities and pleasures when paired with fish, shellfish, sushi, game birds or even pork. One of the panel’s favorite recommendations is Pan Seared Salmon, presented with a fruit, lychee, and fennel chutney. Medallions of pork or veal in a light cream sauce offer another winning choice with the Rudesheim Estate Riesling. Lettuce Wraps, Spring Rolls, and Vietnamese cuisine offer other wonderful accompaniments, as does Japanese tempura. We have also enjoyed this extraordinary Riesling all by itself, so as you like it.

Georg Breuer founded Weingut Georg Breuer in 1880. The firm began as a partnership between Breuer and the venerable shipping firm of Scholl and Hillebrand. Subsequently, Breuer purchased the estate outright and passed it on to his sons Bernhard and Heinrich. Under the expert direction of the Breuers, this family estate has been carefully expanded over the years to its present 54 acres, all in the great Rheingau communes of Rudesheim and Rauenthal – the most prestigious of the Rhine’s many fabulous wine villages. Breuer’s best sites include a major portion of Rudesheim’s dramatic, precipitous Berg Schlossberg and all of Rauenthal’s Nonnenberg. Both are Grand Cru (Erstes Gewachs in Germany) vineyards. Today, Breuer is synonymous with authenticity in Germany. The late Bernhard Breuer was instrumental in forming the Rheingau Charta grower’s association – the forerunner of Erstes Gewachs (Grand Cru) authentic Riesling movement. He was also the founding director of the German Wine Academy and the co-author of many books on the various German wine regions. The Breuer family is respected internationally as tireless defenders of German viticultural integrity. In addition, the very talented Bernhard Breuer made Mont du Toit, an outstanding red wine from one of South Africa’s greatest vineyards – Clos du Toit. Sadly, with Breuer’s sudden passing Mont du Toit will no longer be made. The outstanding 1999 Mont du Toit is now a collector’s item. The Breuer estate makes several distinguished Riesling wines: Berg Schlossberg, Nonnenberg, Rudesheim Estate, and Montosa. All are made dry.The Rudesheim Estate Riesling is the most accessible and charming of Breuer’s top wines, especially in it youth; it marries the freshness of the finest Riesling to a high polished minerality. In short, it is the purity of the Riesling fruit and the subtle minerality that springs from the steep hand picked slopes of Rudesheim that set the Breuer Rudesheim Estate offering apart. However, all of Breuer’s wines are meant for the serious table. They are age-worthy, investment-quality wines of the highest order, and for more than a century they have brought the Breuer name respect and international acclaim. The Rheingau The Rheingau is Germany’s finest piece of viticultural real estate. For nearly its entire length the Rhine River flows steadily north, until just below the city of Mainz. Here, the Rhine confronts the steep, wooded slopes of the Taunus Mountains, causing the river to turn more than 90º to the west until it reaches Rudesheim. For these twenty glorious miles the steep marly slopes above the Rhine play host to Germany’s most heralded grape varietal, Riesling. Upon these hills, the vines bask in a sun bowl of glorious light created by the Rhine and the river’s perfect westward bend that affords the vines an optimal southeastern exposure. The Rheingau is comprised of the finest vineyards along the right bank of this twenty mile stretch that runs from just east of Eltville to Rudesheimer Berg. Along the Rheingau, the climate is milder than nearly anywhere else in Germany and the reflection of light from the Rhine casts golden rays of sunshine upon the grapes that line its slopes. Consequently, the Rheingau style of wine is nothing like the soft, sweet, self effacing wines one encounters from most other parts of Germany. Instead, the Rheingau is known for full-bodied, highly aromatic wines that age well in the bottle and develop complexity and nuance of flavor. The wines of Rauenthal are typically the fullest and spiciest in the Rheingau; while the finest Rudesheim offerings are more immediately ingratiating. Rudesheim and Breuer’s wines in particular marry superlative fruit to strength of character, all of which yield over time considerable complexity as well as world class wine.