Wannabe Wino

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Bin Ends Wine for the Twitter live tasting.

The fourth and final wine (we're going a little out of order here...) that I tasted during the Bin Ends Wine live Twitter tasting was the 2004 Hugel Riesling Jubilee. It had a real cork closure (dhonig, I'm sure this one was one of the real corks!), clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and runs about $49 from Bin Ends Wine. This was easily my favorite wine of the evening, though, I'd probably be more inclined to purchase the Gentil or Gewurztraminer given the price point.

My first note on this wine was: "Like nothing else I've ever smelled." And that's the truth. The wine had an aroma like no other wine. The nose showed peach, lime, flowers, fig, vinyl, green apple, caramel, a hint of petrol, and lemon. I would love to smell this wine in another 5-10 years. I imagine it will be nothing short of amazing. In the mouth I found lemon, peach, minerals, stone fruit, tropical notes, honey, green apple, banana, and lemon.

Overall, this wine was something amazing. I've never had another wine like it. I just finished the bottle 4 days after I opened it, and I did nothing but stick it in the fridge with the cork in it. It still showed really well. I'm impressed. The wine was tart, with some residual sugar, but not sweet or overpowering in any way. It had great acidity and a wonderful mineral finish. I'd recommend picking up some of this wine and socking it away for at least 5 years.