German wines were my first real study wines. Then the market for German wines just seemed to keep escalating and I lost interest. But learning how to read a German wine label is perhaps the most interesting and informative of any label on any wine. I won’t go into that now...
Liebfraumilch–literally “Mother’s Milk”is one of the most popular of wine due to its low coast, and “soda pop” flavor. It is not meant to be great wine; just a quaffing table wine. This one comes in a yellow glass bottle–typical of the Reinhessen–an area of Germany. (Wines from the Mosel–Saar-Ruwer always come in green glass bottles–just one of the many complexities of reading German wines...)
At any rate, this is one of the Mix ‘N Match wines (NW) dropped off on a recent visit. It is pale yellow in the glass with a really nice and pronounced bouquet of apples, apricots, and peaches with a little honey. This wine reminds me of a blend of Chenin, Riesling, and Gewurztraminer. What it is, is anyone’s guess as it is a blend of local German grapes from the region.
In the mouth it is predictably sweet–too sweet, with some decent flavors of peach and honey but it is cloying–sort of a lifeless, sickening kind of sweet that makes you click your tongue repeatedly with a scrunched nose. This is due to insufficient acid in a wine. As a learning experience it is a good wine to demonstrate lack of acidity and how unexciting and lifeless a wine with some other good qualities can be.
Again, I don’t know what (NW) paid for this wine but I would guess it was around $8. Except as a lesson in the importance of acid, I’d pass this one up and raise a glass of something else!
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