Trockenbeerenauslese

Wow, I had just drank one of the world's most amazing wine the other day, the German dessert wine trockenbeerenauslese, or TBA for short since the name is sometimes a little too long to pronounce. The particular wine was: Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Ruppertsberger Gaisböhl Trockenbeerenauslese 2002.

I am not sure how I can start describing this wine . . . I am lost for words. I don't think there are words in the world that can be used to describe the amazing experience that I had the other night, but I can try. When poured, the wine mesmerized me with this beautiful coppertone color, and the wine seems a little thick in nature, unlike most of the other wines. I thought the color was quite beautiful, just see the picture to your right. The note of the wine is amazing, wonderful fragrance of apricot and grape juice, and the intensity of the wine is really showing through. It took me a while, looking at the wine, taking in the fragrance of the wine, before I took my first sip. My first sip of trockenbeerenauslese . . . . . . . . . . . how do I describe this feeling? How do I describe this sensation? I think I felt dumbfounded, I felt numb, I felt like I just had my first kiss, the very first kiss, when you felt nervous, but at the same time excited, and thought, this was wonderful. I was literally frozen for the next 5 minutes, trying to digest and comprehend what I am feeling, what I just drank.

The flavor of the wine is an intense sensation of apricot, peach, blood orange. The finish seems to last forever and the wine presents a little bit of raciness, a hint of spiciness that balances out the sweetness of the wine. Good acidity too, which provides the wine with a beautiful balance. However, these are superficial descriptions of the sensation I felt while drinking this wine. Yes, the wine tastes like sweet nectar, but that is not what you will feel when you dare to embark on the journey of drinking this wine. First, when the wine enters your mouth, you felt the wine’s concentration as it glides onto your tongue like a ball of nectar bomb, ready to explode. However, at the same time, the bomb was surrounded by a fluffy coating that is airy, like as if the wine was wrapped around in a thin layer of cloud. The wine has intense flavors and concentration, but in your mouth, the wine felt so light, so airy, fluffy, and seems weightless on your palate, like a feather. Also, like a cloud, the wine floats on your palate slowly until the flavors burst and your tongue is completely covered with the intensity. The wine is also not just about the intense sweetness, it is unlike many of the gloppy, viscous, sugary world of so many dessert wines. Instead, this wine is sweet in a pure, graceful and elegant manner. The sweetness of the wine seems so unadulterated, like our innocent first kiss when we were young (rather than most of our “motives” behind our kisses now). One sip of this wine will stop you on your tracks and leave you speechless. Drinking this wine made me felt I was frozen as if time is magnificently suspended. I remembered the first time I felt this way, which was back in 1996 while I was walking down Time Square. I looked over to the girl next to me, and for some strange reason, I felt as if the world has stopped turning, the massive crowd of people around me had disappeared or stopped moving, the giant screen in Time Square became motionless, and the only thing I can see was this girl in front of me, the only voice I hear is hers, and the only thing I felt was her hand gently holding on to mine. Moment like this happens rarely in a lifetime, but somehow, drinking this wine can reproduce the same marvel.

Perhaps it is the company I was with, my wonderful girlfriend, perhaps it was the fact that it was snowing outside and warm inside. Perhaps also, it was the presence of chocolate fondue and some very good cheese, that all combined together, caused this sensation that made me felt more romantic, like in a dreamy state. Nonetheless, the mystic of this wine and its hypnotic effect cannot be denied. You should probably just drink this wine by itself as everything else will just seem to ruin the purity of the elegant sweetness. Also, this wine, although only in half-bottle, will no doubt last over 4-5 hours and good for an intimate night at home with your love. Imagine the possibilities. One sip of the wine is enough to leave you fixated for eternity.