KM 501 Rhein Riesling
KM 501 Rhein Riesling, wonderful Riesling with fresh white fruit aromas and a crisp and juicy fruit flavors with the right touch of sweetness. Delicious with all kinds of seafood, white meats, and salads as well as spicy cuisines. Product of Germany. The number 501 refers to the starting point of the Rheingau, the largest and most famous Riesling region of the world along the Rhine river, precisely 501 kilometers from its source in Switzerland. The cool climate conditions in the Rheingau bring forth well- balanced, light, and fruit driven wines that truly reflect the taste of this beautiful region. KM 501 is a new approach to the world of fine Riesling from the famous Ress family, producing wine in this region since 1870.
Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is – if the majority of top wine critics are to be believed – the world’s finest white wine grape variety. For many, the claim above may seem at odds with the sea of chaptalized, low-quality wine exported from Germany in the late 20th Century. In truth, very little of that infamous wine was Riesling at all, but instead higher-yielding grapes such as Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner), but the reputation has nonetheless stuck. Riesling has also been stereotyped as just a sweet grape, used only to make sticky wines. But while botrytized Rieslings are among the finest sweet wines in the world, the majority of global Riesling wines are either dry or off-dry.
Rheingau is one of the most important of Germany’s 13 Anbaugebiete wine regions. However it is far from the biggest; with 3,076 hectares (7,600 acres) of vineyards documented in 2012, its output is around one tenth of that from the Pfalz and Rheinhessen regions. Located on the Rhine a 20-minute drive west of Frankfurt, the –gau suffix denotes that it was once a county of the Frankish Empire.
The classic Rheingau wine is a dry Riesling with pronounced acidity and aromas of citrus fruits and smoke-tinged minerality – typically more “masculine” than its equivalent from the Mosel. It is worth noting, however, that the region also produces some of Germany’s very finest sweet, botrytized Rieslings, with flavors as exotic as apricot purée, honey and caramelized mandarin. Now atypical (yet still a fascinating part of the region’s wine history), is the sweet Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) once widely produced in Assmannshausen until the late 20th Century.
