Weingut Pfluger, Riesling Trocken 2013, Germany
German wine suffers from a real stigma amongst many UK drinkers. It's those memories of sweet, cheap Liebfraumilch and Piesporter that did it, the Blue Nuns and Black Towers that topped the charts in the 70s, but which now seem terminally uncool.
It's such a pity is that many of us will pass over those tall, slender 'flute' bottles of Riesling on the shelves without realising that the stuff inside can be dry, zingy and eminently modern and delicious - and made from one of the world's truly great grapes. For the irony is that most of those 1970s wines were not made from Riesling at all, but from a whole bag of vine varieties like Muller-Thurgau, bred specially to produce large quantities of sugar-filled grapes even in a cool climate like that of northern Germany.
German Riesling can be just thrilling stuff, set on a knife-edge between sweetness and shimmering acidity, with its naturally low alcohol also making it very easy to drink. But more and more German winemakers are now making dry wines too, labelled as 'trocken' in German. This lovely example comes from the Pfalz, a more southerly wine region where grapes have a little extra ripening power. It is very fresh, at the moment with a tiny spritz of Carbon dioxide on the tongue, but that is just its youth - this is a dry, still table wine.
The 11.5% alcohol makes it very easy to drink, opening with aromas of fresh sliced apple and pear, a hint of citrus zest and of almond blossom - very spring like. On the palate it is just delicious. A fine core of acidity gives that crisp orchard fruit balance again of tartness and sweetness, with a lovely saline note adding a savoury aspect on the finish.
Watch the video for more information on the grape, the Pfalz region and this wine, and for specific food matching suggestions. It costs £9.75 from a small merchant called Dudley-Jones Fine Wines, or £8.77 by the unmixed case (www.djfw.co).
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