Not a bad price, always a tasty wine from a reliable producer and importer, and this one's from a particularly ripe vintage. I haven't tasted this (I'm still coasting on all the 2001's that I bought), but it sounds like a good deal to me.

An even better deal, if you don't mind buying from Pop's (and I seem to recall that you do mind): $243/caseat Pop's

You've got a good memory. I have no problem with recent arrivals at Pop's. The few times I've been in the store in the Summer, it was too warm for me to risk anything they'd been holding for a while.

The 2003 is not the wine that the 2001 is IMO. Darting excels in higher acid vintages, and while he did ok in 2003, it was not the best year for him. Now 2004 is a stellar vintage for Darting, and the 2004 Ungsteiner Bettelhaus Rieslaner Beerenauslese is a stunning wine and a great value.

Would it be a waste to try one of the 2003s now?

I would not say a waste. The 2003s are actually drinking pretty well now. I've been sampling across regions, and have not had any that were closed down yet.

Thanks. I may pop one on Thanksgiving.

I can't believe it, we have our own section now. I may visit and post more, although I have been quite busy this year.

Rieslingfan makes a great point. The 2001 is a very special wine and the 2003 is disappointing even though it is a big wine. I bought 3 cases of the 2003 and I have to say that it is not even 1/2 as good as the 2001.

I was shocked to find some 2001's still available a couple of months ago (in NY) and I bought everything they had.

GATC, how about a little update? I have three of the 2001s. When should I open the first? Also, how do you feel the 2003 is showing now? Thanks, Stranger.

Like I said, I have always enjoyed the 2001 from release until now. It always shows well IMO. I've tried the 2003 around 6 times (upon release and every 2 months after that). I've always been disappointed. Not a bad wine, but disjointed and nothing like the 2001, but what is. I'm hoping that it will get better with time, but as Rieslingfan said, Dartings are not that great when the acid is down, so there may not be much hope. Still not a bad wine.

I would drink the 2001 whenever you want. To be honest, I have always had trouble aging rieslings since I enjoy them so much young. Now that I have so much, there is a chance that I will be able to age them 10-20 years.

I'm like that too. I much prefer Rieskings at about 4 years of age.

A lot are also great about a month after arrival (I like to let them sit after their long journey). It appears to me that the 2001's sent to sleep quicker than most vintages. Although not intentional, I used to drink a lot of the 2001 Monchhof Wehlener Sonnenuhr spatlese and I would drink it quite often. After drinking about 2 cases over a year, I noticed that it shut down after 15-18 months. I should try some now since I haven't tried it for about a year. Some people have also commented that they prefer rieslings right after they come back, so 4 years is not a bad benchmark.

We had the 2003 tonight. I found it to be an excellent wine with nice fruit and some sweetness, yet a relatively simple wine. Drinking it now seems fine to me.

That's good to hear. It really seemed disjointed to me and of course comparing it to the 2001 is not fair. I just put in an order for a case of the 2004. If it is good, I'll get more. The great thing about German wines is that they are inexpensive and fairly easy to get.

I pulled on the cork on my first bottle of this Sunday afternoon and finished it up last night. I gotta say - I really wasn't expecting the cloying sweetness this wine has to offer. I think I remember someone on this forum indicating they'd serve it as a dessert wine and I have to agree. Although, the remaining 3rd of my bottle paired relatively well with my spicy "country" Pad Thai noodles.

Glad I have more of these, but certainly not a bottle one should plan to consume by one's self in an evening. Not that I've ever done that, of course.

Back in 2003 it was the hands-down winner in a pairing with seared foie gras, beating out d'Yquem and some ZH sitckies.

mdriver, how ready to drink is this wine?

It's ready and enjoyable now, don't get me wrong. It also seems, at this point, to be fairly well integrated and balanced aside from being (perhaps) a bit overly sweet. I don't have much experience in estimating the ageability of these types of wines, but I'm really not sure how I'd expect this to change with age. It was also a little darker than I expected.

Maybe someone with more Riesling experience than I have can, however.

It shoul;dn't be dark at all at this age. I have three and was considering opening one last year but was talked out of it by somebody here, GATC, I think.

Not dark. Just darker than expected. Much darker than the '01 Prum Auslese I had a few months ago.

This was one of my recently purchased bottles and it may have been sitting in the store for a couple years. Not sure.

huh, interesting. I've had this numberous times (thanks GATC!), and I've never associated "cloying" sweetness with the wine. Yes, it is quite sweet, but very much in balance with excellent acidity keeping it lively. I typically associate cloying with insufficient acidity, which doesn't fit this wine at all.