Darting 1998 Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Riesling Kabinett

In ancient Pompeii, ruts were worn into the stone streets over the course of centuries as wagons rumbled beneath the ominous gaze of Vesuvius. Millennia from now, archaeologists might well detect similar furrows here in Richmond, between River City Cellars and Thai Diner Too. On a near daily basis, the scant few hundred feet between the two sees the epicurean pilgrimage of one or more staff from RCC in search of any number of delectable Thai dishes.

Seriously, we at RCC love Thai cuisine with its freshness and the complexity of flavors. The flavors of many Thai dishes (as well as other East Asian cuisine) find companions in the white wines of Germany and Alsace. The Darting Riesling has an unabashed sweetness about it; a sweetness which helps to tame the heat of a Thai curry ("medium spicy" is, as I have discovered, a relative term). The wine provides ripe, bright fruit flavors such as those found in pears and pineapples; flavors that enhance and are enhanced in turn by the interplay of spices and coconut milk of the curries. Outside the core of fruit, there are other attractions here: a granite-like stoniness as well as a not-too-aggressive floral perfuminess (perhaps limeflower).The fruit and sweetness are ably supported by an invigorating, mouth-watering acidity that leaves one wanting another bite of curry and another sip of wine.

My only criticism of this wine is its lackluster, if inoffensive label: a defect quickly forgotten when one realizes that this is a 1 liter bottle (rather than a standard 750 ml). Hey, for an "extra" couple of glasses of wine, I can put up with the no frills, no nonsense label!