Posts Tagged ‘Germany’
Three lighter reds
Württemburg 2014, Trollinger, Without All, Weingut Knauss ($28.00, private import, NLA)
100% Trollinger from organically farmed though uncertified vines. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. No added anything, whence the “without all.” Unfiltered and unfined. 9.5% ABV. Screwcapped. Quebec agent: Ward & associés.
A bit spritzy and reduced at first, then sour berries, slate and developing clay and animale notes. Light and fluid on the palate. Airframe tannins and bright acidity provide some structure and faint minerals some depth but this is mainly about the pure fruit. Lip-smacking, sweet and sour finish. Light-bodied almost to the point of lacking substance and yet refreshing and ultra-drinkable, this ethereal wine was a hit with several around the table, despite its high price. (Buy again? Gladly.)
Côtes du Forez 2014, La Volcanique, Cave Verdier-Logel ($21.80, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Based in Marcilly-le-Châtel, the certified organic 17-hectare estate grows Gamay and a little Pinot Gris and Viognier. This cuvée is 100% Gamay from old vines rooted in basalt soil. Manually harvested. Macerated 21 days at around 20°C. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Lightly filtered (earth filters) before bottling. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Sappy in the way of a good Beaujolais, though the red berries are a little candied and shot through with some greenness. Supple and tasty. Juicy fruit and sustained acidity play against a schisty backdrop while the tannins turn a little bitey on the sustained finish. Finely balanced yet appealingly rustic. To my surprise, this didn’t create the same sensation that the 2013 did (different contexts?). (Buy again? Yes.)
Quebec 2012, Pinot Noir Réserve, Domaine les Brome ($26.00, 12685879)
100% Pinot Noir according to the winery’s website (SAQ.com says the wine contains 7% Maréchal Foch). Macerated and fermented in stainless steel tanks. Matured 12 months in oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 1.9%. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Univins.
A nose that tasters described as “electrical fire,” “cordite” and simply “weird.” Reactions to the taste were similar, “copper penny” being the one I noted. The not very pinot-ish fruit is brightened by good acidity but deflated by saggy tannins and muddied by extraneous flavours. Odd-tasting finish. I’m hoping ours was an off bottle. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
This flight was built around the Trollinger and the other two wines were chosen in the hope that they might be close to its light body. Neither was. In fact, I’ve encountered only one wine recently that is: Domaine de la Pinte’s 2012 Arbois “Poulsard de l’ami Karl,” which we tasted back in October.
MWG November 12th tasting: flight 4 of 6
Trocken und korken
Rheinhessen 2014, Riesling, Trocken, Weingut Keller ($27.45, 10558446)
100% Riesling. Manually harvested. The must gets around 20 hours of skin contact. Cool-temperature fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place in stainless steel tanks and lasts two months. Matured on the lees with no stirring in stainless steel tanks for four months. Reducing sugar: 4.1 g/l. 11.5% ABV (12% per SAQ.com). Quebec agent: Valmonti.
Developing, minerally nose that turns a little perfumy, is shaded by lemon-lime-grapefruit and “vanilla ice cream” aromas and eventually gains green melon notes. Faintly spritzy in the mouth. Full of ripe fruit and minerals. Bright – not sharp – with acidity, showing some depth (age will bring more) and possessed of an appealing sour edge. Dry but not austerely so. Finishes long and clean. While this didn’t appear to push the assembled tasters’ buttons, I liked its focus and balance. Would make an excellent pairing for trout and other freshwater fish (all the better if there’s some bacon present) or a simple roast chicken, not to mention herb-inflected southeast Asian cuisine. (Buy again? A bottle to take to Nhu Y, for sure, and maybe a couple more for the cellar.)
Nahe 2014, Riesling, Trocken, Vulkangestein, Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich ($29.50, 12721454)
12% ABV. Quebec agent: Avant-Garde.
Corked. Which was a shame because you could tell this is, if anything, even finer than the Keller.
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 1 of 7
MWG February 19th tasting: Kung Fu fighting
One evening late last spring, friends and I were downtown and in the mood for good East Asian fare but not for waiting in line. We decided they would drop by Kazu for takeout while I’d hit an SAQ Express for wine. Predictably, the selection of compatible bottles at the store was pitiful. After much dithering, I ended up with a 2012 Kung Fu Girl Riesling and a crémant de Bourgogne. It was our first experience with the KFG and we were not impressed. In fact, I’ve never heard the end of it.
Yet KFG regularly gets rave reviews from local and international critics: “Mid-priced marvel … great job” (Bill Zacharkiw in The Gazette); “91 points … Top 100 Wines … Best Value” (Wine Spectator); “clean, fresh, incredibly pure … rock star effort … 90 points” (Wine Advocate); “flat out delicious … 91 points … Best Buy” (Wine Enthusiast); “shows Riesling’s fun and funky side … 16.75/20 points” (Decanter); etc. Such praise seemed hard to reconcile with our impressions of the 2012.
Obviously a double-blind test was in order. And that was the idea behind this flight.
Okanagan Valley 2012, Riesling, Tantalus ($29.80, 12456726)
100% Riesling from five- to 35-year-old vines grown in several parcels. Fermented in small lots over two months, more or less. Blended and bottled in the spring following harvest. Screwcapped. 15 g/l residual sugar, 10.5 g/l total acidity, 2.85 pH, 12.8% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Fetching nose of creamy lemon-lime, quartz and flint. Smooth, fluid even rainwatery at first though turning richer as it breathed. Sweet-tart and fruity (“green apple Jolly Rancher” noted one taster) with lots of chalk and a long finish with some petrolly retro-nasal action. The sweetest (bordering on off-sweet) and most overtly Riesling of the three. The weightiest too, though not at the expense of liveliness. The exuberant fruit lasts through the finish while the acidity just zings. Minerals are there if you look for them. Initially winsome but coming across as a little slutty by the end. Several around the table said they’d buy it if, like the other wines in the flight, it were priced in the $20-$22 range. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Nahe 2013, Fröhlich Trocken, Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich ($21.25, 11897159)
In my flu-induced fog, I assumed this, like Schäfer-Fröhlich’s other wines at the SAQ, was a Riesling but it’s actually 100% Rivaner (aka Müller-Thurgau), not that the variety is mentioned anywhere on the bottle or the winery’s website. My bad. The grapes come from several parcels and the wine is made entirely in stainless steel tanks. 7.3 g/l residual sugar, 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Avant-Garde.
A nose more Sauvignon Blanc than Riesling: cat pee with the lime and apple relegated to the background. Definite sulphur aromas too that more or less blew off. In the mouth, it’s light-bodied and as minerally as fruity. While there’s not a lot of depth, a spritzy tingle lends height. The residual sugar is effectively neutralized by the brisk acidity. My initial reaction was meh but the wine grew on me until I quite liked it by the end. Would make a credible aperitif or summer evening deck wine and might accompany Thai food quite well. (Buy again? Sure.)
Washington State 2013, Riesling, Kung Fu Girl, Charles Smith Wines ($20.05, 11629787)
100% Riesling from vines planted in 1998 and now in the new Ancient Lakes AVA bordering the Columbia River. Given a long, cool fermentation. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Screwcapped. 13 g/l residual sugar, 7.9 g/l total acidity, 3.21 pH, 12% ABV. MSRP: US$12 but can easily be found for $1 or $2 less in the States. Quebec agent: AOC & cie.
Floral, boudoiry nose with pineapple and stone fruit in the background. Off-dry and fruit-forward on the attack but drying and hollowing out as it moves through the mouth. Short on acidity, depth and follow-through. Along with crushed rock, there’s an odd, vaguely chemical edge to the finish – one taster likened it to McDonald’s apple juice. Not awful but nothing to get excited about, especially when you can buy a superior German Riesling for less. Tellingly, this was the only bottle with a glass’s worth of wine remaining in it at the end of the tasting and nobody wanted to take it home. Why do critics constantly rate it so highly? (Buy again? Only if in dire need of a Riesling and nothing better is available.)
(Flight: 1/5)
MWG November 13th tasting: Pinot Noir v. Spätburgunder
Alsace Pinot Noir 2012, Les Jardins, Domaine Léon Boesch ($29.89, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from a 1.1-hecatre parcel of organically and biodynamically farmed vines averaging 20 years old. Manually harvested. The uncrushed whole clusters are macerated several days at 12°C. Fermented using indigenous yeasts with pumping over at the start, daily punch-downs and no chaptalization or temperature control. After pressing with a pneumatic press, the wine is matured 12 months in neutral barrels with top-ups every two or three weeks and no lees stirring. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Reductive at first, then exuberant red berries, cedar, gingerbread, wood-grilled flank steak and slate. Vibrant and mouth-filling. The tannic structure, bright acidity, depth and length seem positively Burgundian while the juicy freshness is anything but. Fun. (Buy again? Gladly.)
QbA Rheinhessen 2010, Spätburgunder, Holzfass, Battenfeld-Spanier ($33.95, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The up-and-coming 28-hectare estate is located in Hohen-Sülzen near Worms. It has been organic since 1993, began working biodynamically in 2005 and is now a member of La Renaissance des appellations. This 100% Pinot Noir is fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in new 1,200-litre oak barrels. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Less rich and more peppery than the Boesch. Fluid, spicy, dry. The fruit is clean though there’s not lots of it. On the other hand, the streaming acidity, light but resilient tannins, slate and wood substrate and bitter finish give the wine a severe appeal. Among the more impressive German Pinot Noirs I’ve tasted. Would make an interesting ringer in a flight of similarly priced Burgundies. (Buy again? Sure.)
(Flight: 6/9)
MWG June 12th tasting: Hi yo, Silvaner!
Rheinhessen 2012, Grüner Sylvaner, Trocken, Battenfeld-Spanier ($26.60, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 28-hectare estate is located in Hohen-Sülzen near Worms and has been organic since 1993, began working biodynamically in 2005 and is now a member of La Renaissance des appellations. This 100% Grüner Sylvaner (aka Silvaner and Sylvaner) is fermented with indigenous yeasts and sees only stainless steel until bottling. Screwcapped. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Flinty minerals, lime zest, apple, grass, hints of smoke and ash. Clean and dry (especially on the finish), tense with acidity. The fruit is shot through with minerals and gains an appealing sour note and hazelnut-skin bitterness. Long. In contrast to some Sylvaners, there’s nothing rustic about this wonderfully tonic wine. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG February 13th tasting (1/5): Dry Riesling shoot-out
The idea for a flight comparing dry Rieslings from Germany and Australia came from a couple of recent Gazette articles (here and here) by wine critic Bill Zacharkiw, who says he plans to devote a good number of column inches in 2014 to promoting this underappreciated grape variety. All four wines were highly recommended, and rightly so (though in our case the Leitz was done no favours by being served last).
Riesling 2009, Eden Valley, B3 Wines ($24.55, 11034935)
B3 is shorthand for the three brothers Basedow who own and run the estate. This 100% Riesling sees only stainless steel. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
Textbook nose of lime, green apple, white flowers, chalk, slate and petrol. Smooth and muted at first but gaining complexity. Quite dry and very present. The clean, bright fruit glows against a slatey backdrop while the acidity and minerals are intense enough to produce a faint burning sensation on the finish. The sulphurous note would have dissipated if I’d carafed the wine a half hour. (Buy again? Sure.)
Riesling 2012, QbA Rheinhessen, Trocken, Weingut Keller ($25.30, 10558446)
100% Riesling. Fermented at low temperatures and with indigenous yeasts. 12% ABV.
Lime, green pear and flowers on the nose – the fruit lightly candied, even a bit caricatural – along with an unexpected grassy note. Lighter and more rainwatery on the palate than the others and a little less dry, the better to balance the sharp acidity. The fruit takes a backseat to the crystalline minerality. A jalapeño note adds intrigue to the finish. And it’s all lifted by a faint carbon dioxide tingle. Focused, balanced and, as Zacharkiw says, fun. (Buy again? Yes, despite the high price for an entry-level wine.)
Riesling 2012 Springvale, Clare Valley, Grosset Wines ($38.25, 11625081)
100% organically farmed Riesling. Manually harvested. Sees no oak. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
Deep if restrained nose: dried lime, yellow apple, chalk and meadow. The richest, weightiest and steeliest of the four. Bone dry too. The fruit is tightly wound around a talc-like mineral core. The acidity gives great cut. A saline note adds tang to the impressively sustained finish. There’s at least a decade’s worth of ageing potential here. Would make an interesting ringer in a flight of Alsatian grand cru Rieslings. (Buy again? Indeed.)
Riesling 2012, QbA Rüdesheimer, Leitz Weingut ($20.25, 11688402)
100% Riesling. Fermented with selected yeasts and matured in stainless steel tanks. Screwcapped. 12% ABV.
Sweet and sour lemon/lime, green apple and a hint of spicy peach. Relatively simple but appealingly fresh. Full of acidity but not sharp. The fruit is light and pure, the minerals tend to chalk, the finish is clean and long. In the vin plaisir category. (Buy again? Sure.)
Other than the wines themselves and seeing that Australia could easily hold its own, what was most striking about this flight was the lack of excitement it generated around the table. The tasters – who as a group are receptive to white wines and new experiences – were generally unenthusiastic. It’s not that they disliked the wines or couldn’t recognize their high quality. It’s that the wines didn’t push their buttons. Why that’s the case isn’t obvious to me, a Riesling lover from birth, but it would be interesting to know the answer.
MWG January 16th tasting (4/8): A white red orange
Saar 2010, Orange, Weigut Orea ($24.00, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Pinot Noir vinified like a white – a blanc de noirs, in other words – which , if I understand correctly, the winemaker, Hervé Bar, considers an orange wine of sorts, not that I know how that works with a red grape. Spontaneous fermentation. Hands-off approach to the wine-making, including no chaptalization, fining or filtering and no or minimal added sulphur. 11.5% ABV. The estate has reportedly ceased making wine, Bar having followed his wife back to his native Bordeaux.
Colour somewhere between an orange wine and a rosé. People toyed with bouquet descriptors like lemon cookies and lime zest before one of them pegged it: flat champagne. The wine has a silky, caressing texture. The sweet-ripe fruit (apple, mango, mangosteen) is brightened by acidity and dried by a faint hint of tannins. There’s a certain depth and good length. Emminently quaffable, far more so than other still white Pinot Noirs you might name. Popular with many of the assembled tasters. (Buy again? Yes.)
The estate’s Rieslings are well regarded and its Chardonnay has been compared to Chablis.
A hexing Hexamer
Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg 2010, Riesling “Quarzit”, Weingut Hexamer ($21.65, 11885684)
As far as I know, this is the first Hexamer wine offered in Quebec and also the first product brought in by a new agent, Roland Bambach, a caterer and chef-for-hire whose wine portfolio appears to consist solely of this estate’s products. Based in Meddersheim in the Nahe region, Harald Hexamer believes wines are made in the vineyard, not the winery. This 100% Riesling comes from a plot in the Rheingrafenberg vineyard that is almost pure quartzite. The grapes are manually harvested, whole cluster pressed and fermented cold. The wine sees only stainless steel. Screwcapped. 10.5% ABV.
Beautiful wafting nose: lime zest, lemon verbena, linden blossom, quartz. Faint carbon dioxide tingle. The texture is rich, even luscious texture yet the wine is barely off-dry. Peach joins the expected citrus while piquant acidity adds a rhubarb-like tang. Long finish. Not a lot of layers here but as the fruit fades it reveals a plane of chalky quartz and leaves a faint sourness that erases any memory of residual sugar. If anything, the wine was even more impressive the next day. It may not have the dazzle of an MSR but its weight, wininess and subdued aromatics probably make it even more versatile with food. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Doktor who?
Riesling 2011, Dr. L, Mosel Qualitätswein, Weingut Dr. Loosen ($14.45, 10685251)
The estate’s entry-level Riesling is a négociant wine made from grapes bought under long-term contracts. Vinified in stainless steel tanks. 8.5% ABV.
Fresh, classic German Riesling nose: lime, grapefruit, white peach, quartz and slate. Off-dry, though the sweetness is quickly cut by crisp acidity and evanesces before the end. The flavours are light, almost rainwatery, with lemon-lime and green apple overtones. There’s a soft tingle – whether from carbon dioxide, acidity or the minerals is anybody’s guess – and a clean, slatey finish. Surprising that a wine so slender and slight can stand up so well to a fiery pad thai. You can find Rieslings with more substance and backbone for $5 more but you won’t find a better one at this price.
Brett happens 
Sweet and low
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Riesling 2011, Mosel Qualitätswein, Mönchhof (Robert Eymael) ($18.60, 11334920)
Mönchhof’s so-called estate Riesling. Most of the fruit comes from the renowned Würtzgarten vineyard in the town of Ürzig. 9.5% ABV according to the label; 9% according to SAQ.com. Whatever. It’s low.
Faint sulphury matchstick aroma blows off leaving a subtley complex nose: chalk, lemon-lime, white flowers, hints of roast chicken juices and petrol. Light, tingly and a shade sweeter than off-dry. Apple and lemon with minerals and spice in the background. Bright acidity sours and saves the finish. With more presence than the Dr. L, this worked well enough with stir-fried shrimp in garlic chile sauce, though I wouldn’t have complained had it been drier.
Mini rant: What is it about German wineries that prevents them from providing even minimal technical information on their products? Want to know where and how the grapes are grown, how old the vines are, how they’re pressed, what kind of yeasts are used, what kind of containers the wine is fermented and aged in, whether malolactic fermentation is stopped, whether the wines are filtered, fined, sulphured or cold-stabilized? You won’t find any answers on the Mönchhof or Loosen websites and precious few from their distributors and retailers. Who do they think they are? PECers?!
Written by carswell
February 20, 2013 at 10:14
Posted in Commentary, Tasting notes
Tagged with food pairings, Germany, screwcap, Under 13 percent