With dinner (simple chicken casserole) last night, after finishing the primitivo, we drank a bottle of Biengener Maltersergarten Pinot Noir Trocken Auslese 2003 Badische Winzerkeller - barrel aged. Fairly light in colour, a good mid red fair legs. The nose was almost absent, which surprised me more than somewhat. Suspecting the possibility of fruit scalping, I tried hard to see if I could find any trace of mouldy cardboard/wet dog, but honestly couldn't find any, though what little nose was present was slightly odd. In the mouth on the other hand the wine was attractive, light again, but good Pinot Noir character. Adequate if barely more. To be re-tasted.
After dinner, we stepped up a gear or three, and my brother opened his last bottle of Durkheimer Fronhof Huxelrebe Beerenauslese 1975 from the Winzergenosschenschaft vierjahreszeiten Kloster Limburg. This was a wine that we've been drinking on and off since my father bought it back in around
1980 on the vehement recommendation of his wine merchant. It won more gold prizes at the time than I'd had hot breakfasts. At 32 years old, it was getting on a bit, but still had life in it with good balancing acidity.A deep caramel brown colour, the wine looks as if it is way over the top, but it was always pretty dark, and hasn't changed much since last I tasted it about 5 years ago. On the nose, hugely complex with a bit of caramel, some marzipan, still a little apricot. With further air, I found hints of tobacco, though no one else agreed. On the mouth a great explosion of flavours, perfectly balanced between sugar and acidity but with the fruit well evolved to ripe apricot again with peachy tones together with almond.
A wonderful wine that has accompanied much of my adult life. One can hardly imagine how a sweet wine could be much better than this.