"... Nice dark colour with shiny crimson reflections. A sweet nose of sour cherries and raspberries with vanilla-oak tones hits your nose. On the palate then silky texture with a little grip of tannins still, but already quite evolved and easily drinkable. Mouth appears instantly sweet – too sweet for my taste - with marmalade-like impression of cooked sour cherries, very intense fruit. Of course 14,5% alcohol amplify the sweet madness and the acidity is too few to counterbalance it effectively. At least a few hints of liquorice are hidden behind that sweet wall (I somehow find liquorice in many wines these days). The length is satisfying but comes with some slight bitter notes which don’t really fit into the marmalade scheme.
As the evening passes though, I got a bit used to the sweetness and the wine felt more round; furthermore notes of cinnamon and clove appeared, adding a little complexity. My general impression though was still more towards disappointment, as the Alion seemed a bit made and overdone and couldn’t really live up to expectations set by the Duero label and the Vega Sicilia group to which it belongs. Maybe with time all the pieces will find together, but I really have doubts of how this one will develop. Something seems to be lacking, maybe acidity.
Actually this is the right counter-example for that nice Margaux I had earlier, which perfectly combined power, fruit and light elegance. I’ll have to recompare both in 10 years I guess. Need some pretty loyal readers here to share that experience then lol.
91 +- ??

Hier noch ein nachgeholtes Posting einer Verkostungsnotiz die schon ein paar Wochen zurück liegt. Der 2005er Bürklin-Wolff Riesling der Wachenheimer Lage Altenburg lag schon anderthalb Jahre im Regal bevor er jetzt ins Glas kam. Er hat eine schöne helle Farbe mit leichten goldenen Reflexen. In der Nase dann ein wenig Honig und auch Zitrus-Noten, aber anfangs eher verhalten. Am Gaumen zwar noch Gerbstoffe, aber ringsherum spürbare Klarheit und Brillanz (Nein, dies ist keine Spülmittelwerbung). Elegante Frucht auch am Gaumen, dabei ein wenig cremige Struktur . Mit der zeit erscheint der Wein immer druckvoller. Er wirkt dann immer mehr wie ein Monolith, wie gefestigte Balance, ohne viele Geschmacksvariationen zwar, aber dafür sehr gut harmonierend. Die Säure wirkt dabei punktuell mit leicht salzigen Anklängen (erinnernd an oxydative Noten). Der Nachhall zu guter letzt ist recht ordentlich und komplex.
Es ist schwer den Wein einzuschätzen da er sich von Minute zu Minute zu verändern scheint: Mal ist er schlank, mal druckvoller. Von der Struktur her hat er alles, nur fehlt vielleicht noch ein bisschen die Aromen-Fülle. Auf jeden Fall eine spannende Geschichte, mal sehen wie Sie weitergeht. Denke er braucht noch 1-2 Jahre. 89+

Der Wein zum Thunfischsteak. Tolle tiefdunkle, aber leuchtende Farbe. Feine Nase nach Cassis und Teer, elegant und nicht aufdringlich, etwas Würze. Am Gaumen direkt verführerisch: Samtig weich trotz seiner Jugend, beziehungsweise mit so feinen Tanninen, dass sie gerade einen angenehmen Widerstand erzeugen. Er vermählt Power und Eleganz, Frucht und Frische. Trotz 13,5% fühlt er sich leicht und elegant an. Eine Aromenvielfalt von Teer, Minze, Cassis und Leder sorgt für die notwendige Komplexität - auch im Nachhall, der schön lange anhält.

Wow, dachte ich, der Wein hat’s in sich. Was mir besonders gefällt ist das nichts an dem Wein irgendwie gemacht oder überdreht erscheint, er gibt sich einfach wie ein Monolith.

Nachdem ich von den 2005ern vor allem Pauillac‘s probiert habe, die allesamt noch behäbige Tanninbomben sind, die erst in Jahren wahren Genuss bieten werden, ist dieser Boyd-Cantenac der erste zugängliche Wein des Jahrgangs, der sich darüber hinaus in einer tollen Phase befindet. Jetzt bin ich natürlich gespannt wie er sich entwickelt, aber ich denke nicht, dass ich mir ob der Lebensdauer keine Sorgen mache muss, da er genügend Substanz zu haben scheint. Er hat bestimmt noch einige tolle Jahre vor sich.

Jetzt verstehe ich auch wieso Margaux 2005 von den Kritikern besonders gelobt wurde. Für meine Teil, kannte ich mich sowieso nicht gut aus mit Margaux, werde aber nach diesem Erlebnis vermehrt mein Augenmerk darauf konzentrieren, ich glaub jetzt nämlich, dass ich irgendwie ein Margaux-Typ bin.

93-94+

Genau das ißt der echte mediterrane Cowboy der ich bin. Thunfischsteaks, schön kross gebraten (jaja echte Männer essen's blutig, aber das war halt TK-Ware), dazu gegrilltes Gemüse mit Unmengen an fast verkohltem Knoblauch. Der Romantiker im Cowboy (rechte Gehirnhälft hat halt jeder) zupft noch Thymian über das ganze. Doch mit brachialer Gewalt wird dann das ganze in bestem Olivenöl versenkt (da hätte ich übrigens eine Topempfehlung. So zufrieden mit einem Olivenöl war ich schon lang nicht mehr), bevor es dann mit scharfem Maille-Senf reingeschaufelt wird.
Dazu trinkt der harte Cowboy eine Flasche 2005er Urgewalt im Samthandschuh, nämlich einen Chateau Boyd-Cantenac aus Margaux, ein echter Leckertropfen (dazu später mehr) Yeeeeha!

nice weather outside, fabulous wines inside...

On Sunday I was lucky to attend the VDP Weinbörse in Mainz, a wine fair, where many of Germany’s top winemakers presented their collections of the 2007 vintage.

And for those who didn’t read it yet, 2007 was a blast! The summer wasn’t too hot and rather dull, but then in autumn, nice weather held on throughout the harvest season permitting the grapes to ripe out comfortably. The pros’ say that this situation where the grapes have a lot of time to ripen is much better than a burning hot summer where the grapes ripe faster and might yield higher must-weights, but do not reach the right physiological ripeness due to water stress of the vines.

But are there also any flaws in 2007? I couldn’t find any. The only difficulty in this vintage is to find wines which stood out among all those delicacies. It’s much easier to detect the better wines in bad vintages, and I guess for a lot of winemakers less good vintages bear a bigger opportunity to distinguish oneself through intense work in the vineyards and talent in the cellar. So 2007 might be the year of the lucky wine buyer with sufficient quantities and excellent overall quality.

It is the least to say that those are some good auguries for visiting a vintage presentation. So I strolled through the fair, knowing that I only had time to try a few of these allegedly fantastic wines, and thus I visited the stands of some familiar winemakers and of some others I heard much about.

And I can only confirm, the big picture is certainly fantastic in Germany for 2007, and even at a smaller scale you can barely find disappointments. So rather than giving a detailed review (which I couldn’t do since I didn’t try enough of the wines) I decided to post some of my impressions, things I personally found noticeable.

First, while strolling through the Rheingau booths, I was really impressed with Künstlers’ 2007 vintage. Künstler creates a style of Riesling that only he can make, so mineral and fruity, and yet slim and elegant. And this vintage we really have a Künstler in perfection for me. All the wines have an incredible elegance while being so rich in minerals and texture. Wow!

Secondly I was thrilled to try the amazing Robert Weil TBA, with dazzling golden color, rich oily texture and feeling like an explosion of caramel and exotic fruits on your palate. The length is incredible and holds for minutes… The other wines of Robert Weil, I also found outstanding by the way.

Now that I mentioned Weil’s TBA, I also have to mention Schloss Johannisbergs’ which is a little lighter, but still of unbeatable intensity with caramel all over.

The wines of Josef Leitz came a little less on the fruit but instead were loaded with minerals and spiciness as usual. Some were a little more slender with finesse, some heavier with loads of power - all of them had nice mineral substance. The Berg Kaisersteinfels Alte Reben showed some wonderful creaminess on the palate as did also the Berg Rottland. I was even lucky to sneak a peek of the famous Goldkapsel: what a monument of power and minerality!

In the Pfalz, Christmann also showed up with an outstanding Riesling collection. What impressed me a lot there was the very good quality of the entry Riesling, so full rich and balanced, just yummy. Furthermore, the very luscious Königsbach “SC” might be a promising indication for the yet to come Idig GG.

Staying in the Pfalz, Knipsers’ Sauvignon Blanc, which has already been acclaimed by the press also received my blessings ;=). It’s a very clean wine with clear fruit, refreshing and 100% cat pee free. Of course, at Knipser estate one cannot overleap his reds, even if they had nothing to do with 2007, the youngest poured being a 2004. They’re convincing as usual, marrying finesse and power, but still very young with sharp tannins.

So back to the whites of 2007. I was running out of time and went on to Rheinhessen, but only tried very few wines there and missed out plenty of top producers. At Kühling Gillots’ booth I spotted one very interested Michel Bettane - I bet he also liked the Qvinterra Riesling, which has a vibrant texture, a certain spiciness and is all in all a luscious wine. At Heyl zu Herrnsheims’ the Rothschiefer was an equally good wine.

So that was it. The day just passed by too quickly and in the end just too many wines remained untasted. I missed out on entire regions like Saar, Baden, Nahe and only had a few tries of Mosel, Rheinhessen and Franken. But in the end the conviction that 2007 is a fantastic vintage is built up and pretty much cemented and hopefully there will be many more tastings over the next few months and years.

A well-known rooster...

I always had, and still will have after that on bottle the image of a Gallo wine being an industrial supermarket wine.
It is so common to see this brand on the shelves everywhere, and many bring these wines to parties or gatherings, sometimes even me. The success of Gallo is based on the steady quality of industrially produced wine which evokes in each one of us the trust we can have in a brandname.
But this one bottle of Estate Cabernet we had was none of the supermarket stuff. This was one of Gallos' premium wines and it was the first time I had one of those. So how does Gallo label it so that we see it's not the regular stuff? Pretty hard task, but the marketing team found a solution and it nearly looks ironical (at least I had to smile big time)-everything on the label is written both in French and English, even the alcohol content indication. So premium... even the French buy it huh !?! On the other hand I was quite impressed when I pulled out a damn long high quality cork… Now I stopped smiling, this cork raised expectations and it was time to get serious.

But we weren't disappointed. Wow, the colour was amazing, black ink with some slight purple hues. The nose was quite intense and developed over time. It started with berries, such as blueberries but had more and more a tendency towards prunes with a hint of cinnamon. It also had a Cabernet-typical slight Paprika edge. Very satisfying nose.
On the palate tannins were very finely grained, but still were adstringent at the beginning. They softened up quite quickly though with a little aeration. The fruit was again very nice with prunes and berries, and a small mint like freshness in the finish, which developed into a huge and complex eucalyptus note. Very beautiful length also.

Well well, this Cabernet shows great winemaking talent in the end. The most convincing Californian Cabernet I had actually (I didn’t have many though). It was already 13 years old and had aged perfectly. I even thought it could still improve for some years. If only this stuff could be in each Gallo bottle. 92-93+


... in case Europeans can't read American numbers ;)