Black Tower Rivaner 2002 (Wine Review) (PB)

“Billy” of this blog picked this up while he and (NW) also of this blog, were here for Thanksgiving when they made a wine run without me. It was one of the wines left here unopened once they departed. I opened this German wine thinking I was unfamiliar with this grape but found it is just another name for Müller-Thurgau, the second most planted grape in Germany.

It is named for Prof. Müller-Thurgau who created the grape in 1882 crossing Riesling and Gutedel. I am not widely experienced with this particular grape though I have had a few over the years. Irrespective of the type of grape used, this one is a good example of a bad wine.

In the glass it is a pale straw with a mandarin orange bouquet that is not unpleasant even if light. But there is a grapey undertone that always shows up in either very poorly made or very inexpensive wines; the kind smuggled into highschool football and basketball games by underage adolescents.

In the mouth this wine is flabby which is due to a lack of acid and consequently, the sweetness is cloying with that same grapey, cheap-wine finish. Ick. “Billy” paid $8 for it which was $9 too much.

Don’t raise a glass of this and quickly open something else to get the memory out of your head and off your palate!