The Desert Wine Guy - 2020 Clean Slate, Riesling

 

2020 Clean Slate, Riesling

     Today it is a beautiful 84 degrees here in "Freedom" Central Florida and all I can quite honestly think about is the pool and of course, this wine here in front of me :) While you guys may find it hard to believe me when I say this, I normally don't find the humidity here in Central Florida to be all that crazy or overwhelming. I did say normally right? Besides when it comes to the garden at least, I always believe and say, "if you're not sweating, your not in the garden" and since I love being in the garden, sweating is good :) Today however, I do have to admit, it does feel a bit rough out here for some reason but that's okay because today is a well deserved day off from the garden and so staying "cool" and "clean" are the words of the day. With the weather being what it is, what better wine to enjoy then what will hopefully be a nice Riesling? While I usually don't review Rieslings, it doesn't mean I don't enjoy them as I certainly do. I normally stay away from the varietal because I always feel as if I am drinking my sugar rather then eating it. As a rule I stay away from sugar anyway and those of you who feel the same way can probably understand where I am coming from here. Besides, if I was going to have some sugar, I would rather have a piece of chocolate cake then a couple of glasses of wine. Hopefully this wine will at least be good and therefore be some consultation for my indulgence. As a final note here, I don't exactly know why but I am really excited to taste this wine for some reason so let's go ahead now and see exactly how the wine is as I get into this review.

Dominik Meyer - Winemaker

   Today I am going to be taking a look at the 2020 Clean Slate, Riesling (https://cleanslatewine.com/). This is a wine from the Mosel River Valley of Germany and was bought at a regional big box liquor store here in Florida costing me $10.99. The bottle was sealed with a screw cap and it comes in at 11% alcohol. As far as the producer of this wine goes, I can't find anything. What I have found is that an importer named The Winebow Group (https://www.winebow.com/) is responsible for bringing the wine into America. The winemaker for this wine is Dominik Meyer and the wine is 100% Riesling and was aged for 4 months on the grape skins.
   Taking a look at the label on this bottle now, I totally get it. I mean, it is a Riesling and for whatever reason, I don't believe it is a varietal to be taken too seriously. I do like the thin long label design as for some reason as it just goes well with the varietal. I also totally get the drawing of the Slate plates located under the crust of the Earth that represent the soil the grapes were grown in, nice job here.
   Let's talk about the wines bouquet now for a few minutes. Green Apple and kiwi are certainly present here on the nose and are not shy in their presentation. A gravely/Slate note is another note that I am picking up here (more reason to love the label) and I am completely in love with this note guys, like really. Before I move on, I have to ask, have you ever smelled something and even though you have never tasted that something (in this case Slate), you already know (or can imagine) what it tastes like? For those of you new to wine if you haven't already experienced this, you will very quickly see what I mean.

For those of you who have been into wine for a bit, I know you already get it. Next up is a White Peach note which comes along and adds a sense of what might very well be a dry, fruity zippiness to the wine yet doesn't appear as if it will be challenging for dominance however it does appear as if it is still going to be effective in adding it's two cents into the overall mix of things.
   It is indeed Palate time now. While the bouquet can be amazing (and it is here), what good is it if the wine doesn't taste good? As with the nose, the wine does put out both Green Apple and kiwi here on the palate and these two notes come together as one deliciously presented juicy note. Actually, as I take another sip I want to tell you that at least one great thing about this wine is that the palate is just swarmed by everything all at once which is awesome if you ask me because in the end, it works out incredibly well. As you taste the wine I found that my mouth didn't have time to dwell on any one note in particular as there are many and they come fast. Let me go back for a second and talk about those two notes that I first mentioned with the first one being that Green Apple. This apple is fresh....bright ....juicy and like....really super nice without being too over the top. Now the kiwi is presented in the same way and helps in making this wine robust and maintaining that tropicalness that this wine is exhibiting to a great extent. There is something that I need to tell you now. Yes, I know we are early into the review but I feel compelled to let you guys know if you haven't guessed already and that is, I am already highly impressed with this wine guys. Alright, moving on now, there is some incredibly nice minerality (Slate anyone) expressed towards the mid-palate of this wine and it really causes a nice type of a break from the tropicalness of the wine and the other awesome notes, this is not your average, everyday Riesling.

This minerality is nice enough to bring a bit of a dryness along with it as well which I found welcoming. So guys, I have to now let you know that I am not only impressed with the wine now, but I am indeed in love with the wine. Okay, so I am not done here. Guys, how about a Riesling with a spice to it? Would that be something that strikes your interest? If you answered yes then you need to read on.The wine exhibits an amazing spice to it that will not take a back seat to any fruit note. I am not talking about a pepper spice of course but rather one that I really can't find the words for. What this spice brings with it is a sort of "what was that" type effect. The spice and the minerality might as well have been brought up together because they just connect with one another flawlessly. Is spice in a Riesling a good thing or a bad thing you might ask? As you can probably guess, at least in this particular wine, I think it is a great thing. Keep in mind that this spice isn't trying to dominate, only trying to keep up with some of its lighter note friends. Let me go ahead and throw in some lemon which doesn't have it's twang thankfully so the odds of it tweaking the wine towards any sharpness is not good. This lemon is intermixed with everything else and is perfectly presented here guys, seriously. I am getting a hint of apricot here as well but it is an underlying bit. Underlying or not though, the apricot is tasted and again, I really enjoyed it being there for sure. I think what else is really nice here is that  the Slate terrain the grapes were grown in really leaves its mark here on my palate. This Slate is what I think adds a mineral note onto the palate that I mentioned earlier and as it is tasted it is a nice slight change of direction for the wine and adds a lot of complexity to it as well. Acidity in the wine is just perfect guys and is yet another note which  adds a lot to the wine. I am kind of tempted to say that without this wonderful acidity, this wine be missing a certain something. Acidity is super important in any wine folks and this wine meets that need nicely. If you think that I am done here, think again because next up is some White Peach that transfers over from the nose and again here, it's not fighting to dominate but is simply happily letting you know it is here.

Now with all this tropical fruit being present, I would certainly be remiss if I didn't mention that there is some sweetness to the wine, especially at 11% alcohol. Amazingly, on one hand, the nice crisp sweetness of the wine takes a back seat here yet at the same time, it is a note that you will pick up and actually appreciate. To me, there is the perfect combination of sweetness and other wonderful notes, with those wonderful notes certainly winning out over the sweetness. Keep in mind, this is a low alcohol Riesling and by its very nature, there is some sugar left in it. To me, this is the perfect compromise for those who both enjoy a semi-sweet Riesling and those who do not. So, that is it, this review is done so let's get to the conclusion paragraph and wrap it all up.
   As I go to close out this review, I have to just come straight out and say it. This is the best Riesling that I have ever had! Now, admittedly, I don't have a ton of experience with the varietal but I challenge you to tell of a Riesling that you have enjoyed more then this one once you taste it. The wine was super fresh and juicy. Super vibrant, flavorful and presented a surprise of spice as well. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 94 points. Guys, at $10.99, you have no excuse not to buy three bottles. I promise you that with the pool weather coming you won't regret it.

                                                                                                                              The Desert Wine Guy

 

www.desertwineguy.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?fref=nf

https://twitter.com/DesertWineGuyLV

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCUb3w1n2S_UGU2yYRkFYQ/videos