Monday, May 16, 2011

And two others...


1990 Maison Leroy Maranges
Cork 100% soaked through, even wine under the capsule.
C- Cloudy violet, starting to brown at edges.
A- Tart cherries, acid, earth, caramel, truffles.
F- Light, aromas come through. Lingering woodsy flavor, cocoa powder.
Overall- Good pinot, probably about time to drink up. 89.
2008 Orin Swift "The Prisioner"- Napa Valley red wine(majority Zinfandel), 15.2% abv.
C- Dark violet/garnet. Clear but very concentrated color, making it hard to see through.
A- Alcohol, Dark/red fruit. Touch of oak, woodsy aroma.
F- Woodsy, dark fruit, jammy. Balanced, full bodied with medium finish. Drank this over a few days and from day two on it had a really interesting anise/Szechuan peppercorn thing going on.
Overall- Very good, in a similar league and price point to some Turley and Ridge zins. 92.

German Riesling tasting and comparison.


I recently wanted to do a tasting of three Rieslings from different regions of Germany. Even before my wine bug was itched somewhat recently, Riesling was probably a varietal that I would buy more over others. Why? Well, I think the simple answer is that I like sweets and liked the apparent 'lightness' of the grape. But now that I am paying alot more attention to what things actually taste like, I have learned to appreciate Rieslings in a much different way.
Germany is very far north, in fact one of the northern most wine producing regions in the world. This will often create problems with growing grapes, mainly them getting enough light and warmer weather to fully ripen. The cold conditions also create alot of acid in the grapes. These are wines that will really wake your palate up. But think about how they would taste if there wasn't that residual sweetness to balance the wine. Maybe acidic to the point of being undrinkable.
So while a good German Riesling will often have some sweetness to it (unless you see the word 'trocken'-dry on the label), the sweetness actually serves to create a balanced wine in the end. The combination of acid and sugar (both act as preservatives) means that German Rieslings can be some of the longest lived white wines in the world. Spatlese level and above in particular can show well after 10-20 years or more.
I am finding that German wines are also a very good deal. While there aren't crus in German as in France, you can buy what are considered by many to be 'grand cru' level wines starting at around 20 dollars.
To keep it simple and less expensive, I opted to try QbA level wines. This is a lower designation, though the grapes still have to come from a the area noted on the bottle, as well as be at least 85% of the grape noted on the bottle to be labelled such. Chaptalization, or the addition of sugar during fermentation to increase alcoholic content is allowed, as is the addition of sussreserve, unfermented grape juice of the same varietal and region added after fermentation to give wines that hint of sweetness. I realize that I should try this with wines all produced in the same year, but this is what I had to work with.
2006 Batterieburg "Detonation" Riesling- Rheinhessen, 11% abv.
C- a little gas in the wine. Light straw/green color.
A- Petrol/gas. Melon- honeydew, cantaloupe.
F- A little hot. Honeysuckle, fruit- peach and melon. Short finish, light mouthfeel, white flowers, minerality.
Overall- Ok, a little off balance. Could use more acidity. 82
2009 Schloss Vollrads Riesling- Rhinegau, 10% abv
C- again a little gas, larger bubbles forming in glass. Pale yellow green.
A- Lighter, peach, mineral, touch of melon.
F- Spritzy, light peach. Flowers, apple, short finish, coins.
Overall- Better than the last. Good value. 86.
2008 St. Urbans-Hof Riesling- Mosel, 9.5% abv.
C- Small bubbles, straw/green. Most concentrated color of the three.
A- Smells more there than the others. Light petrol, peach, minerals.
F- More acidity, but still in balance. Flowers, medium finish. Apricot, peach, mineral. Wet stone. Best of the 3
Overall- The most complex of the three, and still in the same price range. Great deal. 90.