Posts Tagged ‘screwcap’
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.
An OK wine but a middling Pinot
Pinot Noir 2010, Marlborough, Yealands Estate ($20.00, 11640521)
100% sustainably farmed Pinot Noir. The estate is also carbonZero-certifed. Contrary to the SAQ’s claim, the grapes are from the Awatere Valley in Marlbourough, not Central Otago. Cold-macerated for about a week, then warmed and inoculated with selected yeasts and fermented fast and hot with regular manual punch-downs. After pressing, the wine was transferred to French oak barrels (30% new). Fined with egg whites before blending and bottling. 13% ABV according to the label; 14% ABV according to SAQ.com.
A little cherry on the nose along with some spice, charred aromas and a whiff of alcohol: it doesn’t pinote. Medium-bodied, the texture a bit glyceriny. Not exuberantly fruity, though the fruit is more apparent than on the nose. There’s a strong undercurrent of acidity and some light tannins. The finish is an odd combination of heat, vanilla and milk chocolate with a bitter streak that outlasts them all. The wine sweetened and gained a licorice note after 30 minutes, the bitterness turning more peppery, the components integrating into a more harmonious whole, so carafe and chill slightly before serving. You’ll then find yourself in the presence of an OK wine but a middling Pinot.
Rosso di terrazza
IGT Toscana 2010, Casamatta, Bibi Graetz ($15.45, 11372441)
The name means “crazy house.” 100% young-vine Sangiovese. Fermented in stainless steel, aged in barrels after malolactic fermentation. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
Sour cherry, raspberry, leaf mould, a floral note and a hint of kirschy marzipan. Underpinned by light tannins and buoyed by acidity, the sweet and tart fruit leads to a softly astringent, bitter-edged finish. This welterweight may be simple and commercial but, lightly chilled on a hot summer evening, it’s also quite enjoyable in its juicy kind of way. Serve with grilled Italian sausages, braised beef or just about anything in tomato sauce.
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