I’ll be honest – I drink a lot of wine. I have drank great wines and I have politely sipped wines better suited to use as the basis for moonshine. I am not an expert, but rather an aficionado who enjoys sharing good wine with friends and family. Therefore my “reviews” are simply my opinion and you may agree or disagree with my thoughts and conclusions. With that being said, I am reminded that this is my small corner of the internet and here my word is law. As we go through various wines, please comment if you have something to add or notice anything I may have missed.
The first wine to be featured here has started to receive quite a bit of attention in recent years, and with good reason. The 2008 Tantalus Old Vines Riesling is brought to us by Tantalus Vineyards, an old and established vineyard just north of Kelowna, B.C. They are a winery for purists, only producing one red wine grape – Pinot Noir, and one white – Riesling. This focused approach has paid great dividends for Tantalus, allowing them to guide each vintage to its full potential.
This potential is realized as soon as one opens the bottle and pours the light, straw coloured liquid into a glass. The nose is intoxicating, with the scent of green fruit, citrus and lots of mineral. There is a sense of acidity, but clean and not overpowering. The body follows through, with tart green apple, lemon and pineapple on the tongue. The mineral remains, allowing you to taste the very ground the grapes grew from. It finishes crisp and dry, but it is not excessively drying. The minerals continue to tickle your tongue as they leave your mouth.
The 2008 Tantalus Old Vines Riesling is in a word, phenomenal. It is a carefully crafted example of how focusing on being the best at one or two wines can be so much better than making five or six good ones. This Riesling is without a doubt the best I have ever had and stands with the best wines I have had the pleasure of drinking. I had to immediately buy a few more bottles to add to my cellar to enjoy in the near future.
A brief synopsis:
Availability: Limited
Price: High $30 – $40 (Depending on your location)
D’s Rating: 5/5
Notes: An unbelievable wine that is a must try for any dry Riesling fan.
It’s going to be difficult to find wines that can compare to this one, but I’ll have to see what gems I can unearth.
The 2008 Tantalus Old Vines Riesling is the best Riesling I’ve tried in a while! Have tasted nothing else like it!