The battle of the "Slate" and the "-off"

I tried to think of the most ridiculously absurd title for this post and this was what I came up with. I recently had the 2006 Monchoff Mosel "Slate" Riesling which is all from Erdener Treppchen fruit and also a bottle of the 2006 Donnhoff "Grey Slate" Riesling which is Oberhauser Leistenberg but done in a dry style. Both fantastic wines and each very different. The Monchoff is just a great fun classic Mosel fruity Riesling. Slate, pit fruits, citrus and richly textured are the hallmarks of this wine. The acidity is no slouch either. It was fresh, slightly sweet, invigorating and perfectly balanced. Lovely purity. Labeled "Slate" but is %100 Erdener Treppchen fruit. Just too easy to drink.

Last night had the Donnhoff and it was lovely albeit in a totally different way. Palate was like sucking on a limestone. But not Burgundian limestone. Like a pice of slate made out of lime. Great acidity here and length. This wine really clings to the palate and has great concentration and complexity. Lovely elegance in the midpalate and amazing persistence on the finish. This wine is like a powerful focused laser. So precise and chiseled. I will be buying some as this is a steal when it comes to Donnhoff wines.

No winner in the battle but the Monchoff is the funner wine and the crowd pleaser but the Donnhoff is the more intellectually stimulating.