General Notes – All of the wines showed some hints of being maderized. Almost all of the corks were difficult to remove, with most breaking. While all the wines were probably better some time in the past the high acidity of these wines still left most of them very interesting. Not being familiar with these types of wines it took me a bit to get over the initial scent of kerosene found in many of the wines. Once you got past the scent of kerosene and oxidation there were many interesting characteristics that could be found in each glass.

(tasting notes by Dean Mitchell)

1976 Erben-Muller Forster Jesuitengarten Beerenauslese Rheinpfaltz

Slight oxidation, tea colored, with a raison nose. Orange peel smell leaning more to the pith of the orange than the skin. A bit herbaceous and smoky. Had a drier finish than expected for a sweet wine. Past prime but still drinkable.

1975 Bildesheim Winkeler Jesuitengarten Beerenauslese Rheingau

Bourbon colored, strong caramel nose, smooth mouth feel with a nice sweet finish. As it sat in the glass the caramelized notes almost became overpowering. It was enjoyable and interesting to see how this type of wine ages and remains drinkable after 30 years in the bottle.

1975 Bildesheim Winkeler Hasensprung Beerenauslese Rheingau

Slightly darker Bourbon colored, honey notes along with a slightly burnt crème brulee smell. Maderized a bit but there was plenty of acid keeping this wine alive. Mid-palate fruit made this a very balanced yet complex wine. It finished both clean and sweet. One of my favorite wines of the evening.

1976 Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium Graacher Himmelreich Trockenbeerenauslese M-S-R

Dark caramel in color, with peach and banana notes. My wife, who grew up in Louisville Kentucky, thought it smelled of sweet tobacco (fresh picked tobacco leafs). Also had one of the highest level of the kerosene notes found in most of the wines. Past its prime but very interesting to drink due to the complexity.

1975 Sanctus Jacobus Trierer Augenscheiner Auslese Eiswein Mosel-Saar-Rumer

From a wine co-op. Wine was dark tea colored. Caramelized, spicy walnut nose. The acid seemed a bit lowing than the others making this wine feel lighter than the rest. The kerosene notes lingered longer in this wine. This was the most controversial wine of the night. This was the favorite of some and really disliked by others.

1975 Bergweiler-Prum-Erben Berkasteler Badstube Auslese Eiswein Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

This wine showed the least effect of oxidation. Very high acid level (pucker factor). Notes of vinyl. Reminded people of paint. Seemed to be a bit out of balance due to the high acid and absent of any real fruit.

1975 P. Licht-Bergweilier Erben Berkasteler Johannisbrunnchen Beerenauslese Eiswein M-S-R

Tea colored, with notes of paint thinner. Some herbaceous and dark fruit notes on the nose. As it opened up the Orange fruit became very noticeable. Low residual sugar. Finished very dry for a Eiswein.