2013 Schlossgut Diel, Rose de Diel, Nahe Germany.
Caroline Diel’s wines are stunning and amazing examples of commitment and poise in the bottle, you always know when tasting Schlossgut Diel wines that you are experiencing something special. I was very fortunately able to catch up with her (Ms Diel) at Terry Theise’s San Francisco tasting recently and take note of her latest releases, her 2013 Rieslings all are of exceptional quality and show brilliance and refined elegance, but I adore this Rose of Pinot Noir and had to mention it here, it is both fun and serious, it ranks up there with the best of vintage with even the top Provence pinks, maybe even better. It is worth mentioning that Pinot Noir is rather rare in the Nahe, more famous for Riesling of course and Diel also does one of the most sought after and prized Spatburgunder in the region, so it is always a pleasure to taste the Rose, as it does give insight as to what the grape can do here in any given vintage, and while I liked the 2011 and 2013 versions of this pink wine, I think the 2013 surprisingly might even be even better overall with lots of vibrancy, tasty fruit and layers of earth, mineral and spice. The nose hints at rosewater, violets, pepper, steely/stony notes and citrus leading to a vivid and tangy palate of red citrus, peach, strawberry, watermelon and tart cherry along with flinty/smoky slate, minty herb, river rock and apple skin. This crisp and cool pink finishes with a nice cut of acidity, but leaves a seductive aftertaste, drink all year long from now until the end of 2015.
($32 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive
