Herm. Donnhoff 1989er Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese Nahe redux

Not quite a year since I last enjoyed this.

Orange color, tending brown.

Peach, orange smell, some diesel bus exhaust.

Tart tangerine flavor, plenty of fruit remaining, quite food-friendly fresh with acid. Coconut taste at end.

Past prime,I think, but still quite respectable, I still trust it for a few years.

Muller-Catoir 1989er Scheurebe Mussbacher Eselshaut Auslese

Cork was dry and hard, center pulled out when I attempted to remove with a ScrewPull, wound up having to cut it out with a sharp thin knife, then filter through a Melita filter to get the cork crumbs out.

Orange-brown color, as commercial iced tea.

Sweet smell, commercial peach iced tea.

Sweet peach flavor, apricot, mango, soon thins to a brief tannic finish with bitter hints. Pleasant but well past its prime, I think.

Inadequate medium-weight bottle for $35.99.

Herm. Donnhoff 1989er Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese Nahe

Rich golder/orange color. Petillance develops.

Fruity peach, apricot, tangerine smell, hints of diesel bus exhaust.

Off-dry peach flavor, ripe and rich, some petillance. Fruit sweetness is wonderfully matched with acid.

Proof that good Riesling ages as well as any white. I'm in awe of how much a fresh and fruity Riesling can improve in 20 years or so, even in a Spatlese(!) I have a few more bottles, so I'll see about it again in a few years more.

J.u.H.A. Strub 1989er Niersteiner Olberg Riesling Spatlese Rheinhessen

Golden color, petillance forms on the glass.

Ripe peach and apple smells, diesel stink is apparent (and much welcome!)

Rich off-dry peach flavor, petillant on the tongue, seems to have less than the optimum amount of acid.

An interesting bottle, good but I don't greatly regret the absence of further bottles, fair to say this is in decline.

Muller-Catoir 1989er Gimmeldinger Meerspinne Gewurztraminer Auslese

Medium golden-tan color, "I'm Brown, from the Sun," the long-set sun of 1989's summer in a bottle. Quite a few tartaric acid crystals. Still Spritzig after all these years: petillant bubbles from on the walls of a glass of this 21-year-old wine.

Smell of tangerines, honey, peaches, distinct hints of roses. There'd be a market for this perfume,I think!

Tannic taste of sweet iced tea, honey, mango, and tangerine.

Outstanding bottle for $59.99, but I doubt you'll be able to buy an example (or that I'll be able to buy more. I cherish those that I have.) Time has been kind to it, but I doubt it will improve further.

Mountain View 1989 Monterey / Napa Pinot Noir

I discovered a still-sealed case of this forgotten in the basement. It's been down there thru nearly 20 years in New England, without air-conditioning, and was never intended for long cellaring, so it's more a curiosity than anything else, but I'll try it and see. In the last two years I've drunk a lot of indifferently-stored wine.

Bright clear ruby color, brown tint, clear at edge. Smell of raspberry and leather. Berry / dark cherry flavor, richness of bitter chocolate. There’s an odd menthol thing happening at the finish. Past its prime, but it’s still rather pleasant.

The next day the stoppered bottle has collected a smell characteristic of pinot noir that immediately blows off, leaving just some raspberry and alcohol, hint of leather. The flavor is tart raspberry, hints of chocolate.

While I wouldn’t seek this out, with a case in my possession I can see no reason not to drink it.