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April 2023 - Delibo Wines - Fine Wines of Germany

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We were privileged on Thursday last to welcome David Wright of Delibo Wines to present Fine Wines of Germany. 

David has been in the wine trade all his working life and is now sales and marketing director for Delibo who import from producers off the beaten track and sell mainly to the independent retail and the wholesale sector.

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We tasted wines from three producers, one each from the Pfaltz, the Mosel and the Rheingau areas. I guess many of us will remember some pretty iffy wines of German origin from our youthful drinking days: Liebframich, Blue Nun, Piesporter Michaelsburg and so on.  Sweet and swiggable Reisling wines.

 

Well times have changed and our German colleagues make some excellent dry aperitif and food wines from the very adaptable Reisling Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

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We began with a Rose oak-aged Reisling Sekt (dry) called Provokateur with pleasant notes of brioche and typical Reisling flavours made by Bibo Runge. There followed a dry Reisling from the Mosel called Solitar by producers SA Prum, an aromatic dry fruit scented appetiser wine, a second Bibo Runge Rheingau wine called Kleiner Revoluzzer  and a delicious Pfalz region Pinot Gris (German: Grauburgunder) made by David's third producer, Oliver Zeter.  This was an easy drinking wine, aromatic and rich.

Our last white was a Sauvignon Blanc fume, also by Zeter. Jancis Robinson describes this as "A very serious Sauvignon with some honeysuckle and weight with green grassy aromas  and enough freshness" . It was delicious. 

 

There followed two Pinot Noir wines (German: Spat Burgunder). Bibo Runge's was a basket pressed, oak-aged dry and fruity wine, long and complex.  Oliver Zeter's was a Reserve Pinot Noir. Typically lighter in colour, body and tannic acidity than its counterparts from warmer climates.

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We finished with a enchanting sweet Sauvignon Blanc with 105 g/l of residual sugar. Oh joy.

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David's wines, even at discounted prices averaged at just over £20 per bottle.  German wines are not cheap, but they are very, very nice.