Struktur 2004 Riesling

Struktur is another Precept Brands wine label, though this one is in Germany's Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area, the heart of Germany's Rieslings. The grapes are sourced from vineyards growing at fairly high altitudes along the Mosel River, a winding, twisting river that curves through German's Mosel valley and creates the soil, and the micro climates, and is responsible for the complexes of terraced vineyards along the steep hills that have made this the mother land of Riesling.

Now, don't get me wrong, I heart Washington Rieslings, and I'm a fan of Pacific Rim, especially their Pacific Rim Dry Riesling from Washington. This is a whole 'nother Riesling, though. Part of it, to be sure, is the age; this Struktur 2004 Riesling is five years old. But there's this complex of flavors too, that's very hard for me to pin down. It's richer . . . it's, well the best way for me to explain it is to use a geek metaphor. This is 16 bit, not 8 bit; it's thousands of colors, not hundreds.

This particular Riesling was made by winemaker Gerhard Grans, who is better known as the owner and winemaker of Weingut Grans-Fassian based in Leiwen, also in Mosel, and known for Riesling wines. The wine was fermented in stainless steel, and kept on the lees for two months, then bottled, unoaked, which is one reason that the sweet-but-tart flavor of the fruit is so apparent.

When I first opened the bottle, the initial aroma was sharply acidic, which worried me, but in the glass there was a decided honey/pear quality, and the taste was, while definitely Riesling, more about the apple/pear qualities, with a very different finish, more crisp and mineral than the residual sweetness that I'm accustomed to from Washington Riesling.

We picked this up at a local bargain grocery store for $2.99; we'll be back for more, and, while the tradition is to pair Riesling with spicy Asian dishes, we're thinking about it with chicken salad. But I'm also thinking about Pad Thai takeout, with chicken, or maybe, shrimp . . .