Rockss and Fruit

Thanks Alice Fiering for alerting me . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:59:00 +0000

. . .to this irresponsible and terrible article written by Lettie Teague. A writer I have never liked as her palate bores me and her writing style is a yawn. Her laughable claim that she, "When picking a wine, I care more about the integrity of the people making it (or for that matter, selling it) than the method they chose." Ummmmm.....so you should cross of your list a good amount of the world's producers as I know for a fact there are gun-touting, pedophiles out there making wine. In many cases worse. The integrity argument has more holes in it than Sonny at the tollbooth in the Godfather. Just because you don't know them does not mean they aren't doing it. Actually I guarantee Lettie has drank a pedophile's, person not paying child support, a Nazi's wine or someone's wine who has beaten their children etc. So that argument falls flat. So I say to you, Lettie Teague, and your star-struck ways (Matthew Modine....puh---leaase!) YOU do some more research on the so called "integrity" of your winemakers before you start bashing their ways. You cannot dismiss sustainable, organic, biodynamic, natural viticulture for the ridiculous idea of "integrity" in winemakers. I would like to see the food you eat, the products you use and if any of those pass your "integrity" test, then I am mistaken in calling you out. But I know am not mistaken. So you get back on that high horse and keep propagagating disinformation. And how about we call some spoofiliated Barolo producers traditional while we are at it? Ooops..already did that.

A perfectly acceptable bottle of Red Burgundy

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:26:00 +0000

I used to really like Girardin reds. Sue me. Palates change. Preferences change. Etc. So I was in the mood for some kindling and popped open the 1999 Vincent Girardin Pommard 1er Cru "Rugiens" which is one of my all time favorite vineyards in Burgundy. This had a nose of dark black fruits with some damson red fruits underneath but was a slight bit unyielding. After much swirling some soil-inflected aromas started to show themselves and dark mashed violets emerged with time. The palate started off tight tight tight. But it was all there. Loads of acidity and structure but the fruit needed to flesh out a bit. It was a slow process to say the least. But on day 2 there was lovely pure black fruits, earth and dark soil tones backed up by ripe tannins and really intense acidity. I must say I opened this too young. It was very good . . .not life-changing and was a nice midweek sipper. Now Girardin reds seem to oaky and "made" for me. But out of curiosity if I see a bottle of his 2005 Pommard Rugiens I might try it for curiosity's sake.

Nothing about wine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:07:00 +0000

Entertainment Scientists Warn Miley Cyrus Will Be Depleted by 2013

This was hilarious and had to post this.

Starbucks to close 600 stores

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:51:00 +0000

This is bad news. As I see it that coffee is like the CA Pinot Noir of coffee. Expensive and tastes like shit. So if that industry is suffering . . . can wine be that far off? I am getting worried that the wine biz will take a hit soon. Article here.

Consider that people are paying $16 for $10 wines or $80 for $50 wines when are people gonna get sick of it? I am surprised it has stayed as stable as it has. I won't say anything about my business as it is not my business but we could be in for some rough times ahead in the wine biz? What do you all think?

A Saturday tasting at the store with a teutonic twist

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:15:00 +0000

So tasted the first bacth of minor 07's to arrive at the stpre and they did not dissapoint. These wines that show up in June/July tend to be the lower end bottlings of the estate that are put in botttle early and designed to be drink early although a couple wines I see lasting past their 10th birthday.

The 2007 Keller Grauburgunder Trocken is a phenomenal wine that puts most Italian Pinot Grigio's at this price point or above to shame. A lovely mineral nose with pit and stone fruits on a very elegant frame with lovely ripeness and stoniness all over the palate. Nice fruit and great cut on the finish. Very long finish which is typical of many 2007's.

The 2007 Emrich-Schonleber Riesling "Mineral" Trocken was lovely and was one of three wins that will go 10+ years. Some '07 dry wines are just spectacular while others have left me flat. This one was spectacular. Nose of yellow plum, mineral (as the name suggests) red plum, yellow fruits. The nose is clean, concise and crisp. The palate has no shortage of acidity but is wonderful with hints of all types of yellow fruits and plum that probably needs four or five years to truly develop. Very complex now buy has more to say. Long minerally finish. Excellent trocken wine and maybe one of the best I have had from Schonleber.

The 2007 Emrich-Schonleber Bacchus Kabinett was a wild wine that split the crowd but I loved it. Bacchus is a cross between Silvaner/Riesling and Muller Thurgau. It is like a fruit cocktail wine. Tons of citrus fruit. Very juicy and ripe with lots of complexity derived from the fruit. Little or no mineral but there is some as this is Schonleber we are talking about. Could use a touch more acid but a fun summer quaffer and a great deal.

We then moved onto the 2007 Geil-Erben Bechtheimer Heiligkreuz Schuerebe Kabinett which was one of my favorites from the Terry Thiese tasting recently. All black fruits, lavender with some pineapple and citrus but not over done. Lovely sage undertones and great acidity. You leave this is the cave overnight and the black fruits really come out. A great inexpensive summer sipper. A great value!

The 2007 Keller Riesling Kabinett was just perfect. Linear wine with crystalline purity and lovely elegance. Red fruit flavors and so lively on the palate die to great acidity. Cuts a deep swatch across the palate. Killer, concise and pure. What I have come to expect out of Keller. Loved it.

If this is any shape of the 2007's to come all of my 2008 wine budget will go to Germany.

Riesling-Fest at Grand Sichuan - Chelsea Outpost

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Had a lovely dinner at Grand Sichuan Chelsea styles the other night with German Riesling being the focus. Some great wines and some okay wines but all in all a great night and a great post Sichuan party to boot.

We started off with a Varnier-Fanniere Cuvee St. Denis NV which was somewhat of a two-faced wine. The nose smelled dirty and not too pleasant but the palate had lovely lime and creamy flavors with lovely purity. Good but I won't be going back for seconds.

The first Riesling of the evening was the 2006 Schafer-Frohlich Bockenaeuer Felseneck Spatlese Trocken brought by yours truly. A pure nose of lime, lemon, resin and brown spices. Palate was like a laser beam. A powerful laser beam. The palate was piercing lime fruits with great concentration. Almost like sucking on a lime rock. But a juicy one. Lovely sweet.sour with more sour on the finish. But a good sour. I loved it.

Next up was the 2004 Muller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Spatlese Trocken. This was initially served too warm. A broad nose that was kind of all over the place. Some nice floral notes though. Palate was hot and flat and just lacked excitement. It even was tasted colder and remained pretty boring.

Up next was the 2007 Keller Von der Fels which was in the running for one of the wines of the night. Just a brilliant wine. It is young vine fruit from Hubacker and Kirchspiel and is wonderful. Mineral, cereal-like nose with very pure floral aspects. Also a hint of pine resin. High-tones aromatics that just penetrated the inner reaches of your nostrils. The palate was very concentrated, pure and clean with great fruit and powdery tannin. I remember drinking the '01 of this for $15.00. Oh how things have changed.

Next up was the 2005 Clemens-Busch Pundericher Marienburg "Fahrlay" which was it's usual brilliant self. Nose of rich ripe peaches, lovely floral minerality and an explosion of citrus fruits on the palate. Just great, intense, bold, dry Riesling. A great showing.

We moved onto the first older wine of the night which was one I have had before and it was an unexpected suprise that time as it was this time. It was even better this time. It was the 1977 Kurt Darting Durkheimer Spielberg Spatlese and it was singing in a high octave on this particular night. Nice ripe and smokey nose with gorgeous purity and wonderful peach and apricot fruit. Great depth. I am still in shock after two bottles of this of how well it has aged. I wonder if the young cheap-o Darting's will age like this?

Next up was the 1990 F. Weins Prum Graacher Domprobst Auslese and this was to young and got drunk too quick. Guess that was a testament to how damn good it was. Nose of apple pie, mustard seed and spice. Great inner mouth energy and intensity on the palate with unreal depth and concentration. A baby. This needs twenty years. 1990 is the forgotten vintage in Germany. Was just talking to a client today on the phone how all anyone talks about is 1990 Bordeaix, Burgundy and Piedmont. 1990 Germany is probably the best of all those regions. More evidence by this bottle.

Next up was a wine from the most famous vineyard in all of Germany. It was the 1995 Hoffman-Simon Klusseratur Bruderschaft Auslese which was interesting but not great. It was ripe, had good acidity, tangy stone fruits but seemed a bit bitter on the finish. Some nice spice too.

There were other wines but my note taking became sparse towards the end. A great night and must be done again soon.

The Crappy Wine Tasting Series Concludes Here

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:24:00 +0000

As some of you diehard Rockss and Fruit fans know I embarked on a journey to taste through a case of "rare" wine some time ago. That links to the previous links and how the whole thing got started. Long story I got a case of leftover from a broker friend of mine who deals in cellars, parcels, some wholeslae etc. He sent me this case of "unsellable" yet "rare" wines taste through. It was supposed to be a series on the board that shall not be spoken about...but you know what happened there . . .anyway here are tatsing notes on the last three bottles.

I first cracked open the 1990 Rubini Merlot from Friuli. The Colli Orientali specifically. I must admit I had the highest hopes for this bottle as I have a soft spot for Friulian Bordeaux blends (Miani, Gravner, Radikon) buy it looked pretty commercial and Rubini just doesn't sound good. Too Italian corporate. Label is just bleh. Nose is a bit dity, tomatoey but with some interesting ashen and smoke aromas. Some rotting leaf and loads of menthol. An oaky nose. Palate was just screechy acid and no fruit. Definetly over the hill. Not there at all. Bitter Bitter, Uh. Getting worse. Need water. Weird spice. Medicinal. Vile. Down the drain.

Now the "heavy lumber" came out with the 1983 Stonegate Merlot "Spaulding VIneyard" from Napa Valley. Good fill. Top shoulder. Cork broke in half. Maybe some lighter lumber than I thought? But with some late night cork-pulling precision skills it comes out and crumbles . . but comes out before it crumbles on table. Oh man. Nose is totally maderized and seems like there is some heat damage or this might not be the real Mccoy. Who would fake a 1983 Stonegate Merlot? Maybe with an '84? Hmmmmm...plot thickens. This nose is all alchohol, semi-wet leavs with gasoline poured on them, and menthol. Revolting. Almost as bad as the '84 Faivelely Echezeaux but with just so much more alchohol. Smells like something that would save me from a bullet wound. Palate is shrill and shrieking then quickly turns tannic and bitter with high-toned drying tannins. Yep this is the 1983 Stonegate. Not the '84. Those tannins are fierce and cling to the upper part of my mouth with rotting leaf and fruit flavors abound. Abomidable.

Now a Bordeaux classic came out. The 1992 Baron Phillipe Saint. Emilion which just looked scary. Supermarket Bordeaux from the worst vintage of the 90's. Maybe '91 was worse. I had a '92 Angelus at the estate blind that wasn't bad once. I always thought the supermarket Baron Phillipe shit was just Mouton Cadet. I don't know. Branded Supermarket Bordeaux confuses yet fascinates me. Malesan and all that stuff. It's big over there. Uh oh....smelled TCA as I opened the bottle. Not a good sign. Oh yeah. One of those Bordeaux that you can't tell is corked or earthy? Never a promising sign. Minty yet with earthiness. Roasted dark fruits. Not appealing at all, Almost smells like mid-grade garbage juice. Very alcoholic too. Ugghhh..worst palate. Just so dirty. Tastes like garbage and the plastic bag it comes in. Acid id bad but not as bad as the other two. Really really dirty. Alcohol not that bad on palate. But awful.

This was BY FAR the worst flight of wine I have ever put myself through. Something good will be drunk tomorrow night. The pics are all taken with my phone with little or no effort.

Two White Wines & a Red Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Having a creative lull when it comes to blog title posts. After 500+ sometimes "Two White Wines & a Red Wine" will do.

Started off with the 2002 Georg Mosbacher Ungeheuer Forst Grosses Gewachs and it was a mean wine. Bitter, astringent, acrid. Like eating orange skin. This was painful to drink. All acid and minerals and not balanced. The nose misleads you as it is very pretty with citrus, lime blossom and a floral component. But also a hint of rot sneaks in to detract. On day two it somewhat improves but still is a beverage I would not want to drink again. Too bad. I don't know if any of this will come around but I hear he Mosbacher has greatly improved since 2002 and his 2007's are the real deal. Only tasting will tell.

Next up was the 2006 Schloss Johannisberg QBA "Gelblack" which was singing. 2006 was somewhat a suspect vintage in the Rheingau but this wine was soaring as soon as I poured it in the glass. Just puts a smile on your face. Lovely nose of mineral, floral tones, citrus, sweet tart residue. The palate is juicy and ripe with lovely stoniness and small apricot and kumqwat fruit flavors. Lovely purity with a long mineral defined finish. Just great depth for a "simple" QBA.

The final wine of the evening was the 2005 Desvignes Morgon "Javernieres" (Upper Tier) which was absolutely soaring and was one of the greatest showings for this remarkable wine so far. Two bottles showed up in the basement and I quickly bought one to check as my others are at offsite storage. The nose is bramble city with fresh strawberries, raspberries and loads of wet earth. Burgundian to say the least. Lots of spice, menthol and mineral too. The palate is intense and dare I say, explosive with red fruits soaking up every inch of your mouth. Such density for Gamay. Incredible fruit and minerality with ripe tannins that spread way back on the palate. Wonderful wine and for the long haul.

Three White Wines

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Had some friends over last night and had three compelling white wines.

The first was the 2006 Wittman Morstein Riesling which was the fascinating wine it always is. The 2006 seemed like Clos des Briords meets the sacred terroir of that great strip in the Rheinhessen (Dalsheim-Florsheim) of which Morstein is one of many great vineyards. Kirchspiel and Hubacker to name some other great sites are also in this enclave. I have not had this since last August at the estate. It is a powerfully mineral and jagged wine with lime/lemon rock candy aromas, lavender, blood orange and some sugar snap peas. A very complex nose that is extremely high-toned. Just beautiful. The stank of a great site. The palate is generous, full of tiny citrus fruits and beautiful spice. Despite all of its power it is a delicate wine of building intensity. Great mid palate presence. It's juicy and has a great amount of fruit. I always find the Rheinhessen GG's from this area to have wonderful purity and more important, clarity of fruit. This will age though, as Phillip Wittman, pulled out an '89 in August that was stunning. A great wine and arguably one of the great dry wines of Germany. Cannot wait for the 2007.

Next up was my last bottle of the 2006 Rudolf Furst Silvaner "pur mineral" which was its usual wild self. Nose of onion skin, wet earth, scallions, mineral, and lime zest. The palate had that classic Furst crunchy minerality and an onion/scallion/lime mouthfeel and fruit presence. A good but not great showing though as it did show some warmth and was kind of all over the place on the palate.

The final wine of the night was the 2004 Domaine MACLE Cotes de Jura which stole the show. Macle is considered the top guy when it comes to Vin Jaune and Chateau Chalon. I have note tasted those but I am dying too as his Cotes de Jura was out of this world. Easily the most elegant Jura wine I have ever had. Typical nose of maderized notes of butter, squash blossoms, peanuts, popcorn, salt, and some slightly very nutty fruit. The palate is extremely elegant with amazing levels of concentration. I have had Batard-Montrachet from great producers that has not been this concentrated. Flavors of citrus, fig, grilled nuts and some spice. Long and perfectly delineated finish that is almost endless. Just an amazing wine. This is mostly Chardonnay and maybe the greatest Jura white I have ever had. 8.78 billion points.

The Official Joe Dressner way to taste wine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:30:00 +0000

First, look at the wine.

Second, listen to the wine.

Third, smell the wine.

Fourth, feel the glass on your face.

We did not get as far as actually tasting the wine.

My first ever visit in Burgundy ever with Sylvain Dussort

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:28:00 +0000

Yea I know not the biggest name but we carry the wines and it was my first appointment during my February jaunt through Beaune so I am blogging away. Sylvain Dussort is a solid grower in Meursault but at Chambers we only buy the Bourgogne Blanc but this was my first ever tasting at a Burgundy estate so I feel compelled to write about it. Dussort is a pretty boring guy and his wines are ok but his Bourgogne Blanc "Cuvee des Ormes" is a killer QPR for under $20 which is very difficult to find these days. So here are some notes on some O6's and 07's.

2006 Aligote - Lime zest and minerals on the nose that was actually quite pungent. Pretty soft palate for the normally zingy Aligote. There is nice minerality and concentration but this is nothing special.

2006 Bourgogne Blanc Cuvee des Coutures - Lovely nose of apple, pear on the very big and ripe nose. The palate continues with the ripeness theme with nice acid and scratchy minerality. Nice purity with good sappy flavor on the finish. Good.

2006 Bourgogne Blanc Cuvee des Ormes - This is the cuvee we buy every year as it is so obviously better than the Cuvee des Coteaux. Nice ripe minerally and even complex nose. Wonderful focused minerality is present on the nose and the palate. High acidity marries all the excellent sappy and pure apple, pear and quince flavors. It is dense and despite the acidity being high it is playful and brings everything together very nicely.

2006 Meursault - MIneral nose but almost comes of as sweet. Soft, ripe and round on the palate with very good acidity and lovely purity. Fnishes off with a wallop of spice. Seems a bit disjointed at this stage. But has material.

2007 Aligote - This was still in malo. Fun! my first wine tasted in malo. Gassy nose with good acids and lovely mineral purity. Young to say the least.

2007 Bourgogne Blanc Cuvee des Coutures - Again in malo. Gassy nose with mineral and lees notes. Smells like it is still in the uterus.A preemie wine nose. Some weird aromas going on here. But the palate makes up for the nose. Crisp and light with nice clean minerals. Better than the '06.

2007 Bourgogne Cuvee des Ormes - In full blown malo. All I can say is crispy, light and mineral. Delicate yet detailed. A notch below the 2006.

2007 Meursault - Ripe and sappy with lowish acidity and very ripe. Almost sweet but still had thrust from acid.

2007 Meursault Tesson - Really the most intense acid so far with tons of grip on the palate. Young. Painfully young but good.

2007 Meursault Le Limozin - Crisp and minerally palate with lovely purity and grip. Excellent harmony. Light and elegant. I really liked this.

All in all a so-s0 visit. Bought the Ormes. It's very good for the money but everything else here is pretty average. Potential. Love to see what he can do with Tesson. Love that site.

A lovely Sunday night with some great wines

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:31:00 +0000

Had some co-workers over and killed a lot of great bottles. One TCA casualty but otherwise everything was wonderful. Started off with some of the the 2006 Mathern Niderhauser Kertz Kabinett "vom porphyr" which showed lovely thick 2006 fruit with some cassis, apricot and lime zest on the nose. Not showing much complexity over the two day period it was open but it will come with age. A shame Mathern is no longer being imported into the country.

Next up was a corked bottle of the 2006 Pascal Cotat Chavignol Rose which was a shame as there was real pretty fruit under the TCA. Well I needed some Cotat rose so luckily I had a bottle of Pascal's brother in the cave and it was glorious. The 2006 Francois Cotat Chavignol Rose was glorious. It exhibited wonderful Pinosity had lovely salty undertones and an incredible florality. Layers of fruit on an elegant frame and just some lovely purity. Long crunchy finish. Did not quite live up to the legendary 2005 but was a lovely drink nonetheless. Lovely juice though.

We moved onto the 2006 Pfeffingen Weilberg Grosses Gewachs and this just has to the bast damn QPR in Grosses Gewachs going these days. It was decanted for four hours before it arrived at my house and this decant job did this wine wonders. Screaming nose of peach fuzz, peach skin, red slatey minerality and some talcum powder. The nose kept changing as the wine was a real chameleon. Lovely palate with thick 2006 fruit and unreal balance. Peaches, apricots, tangerines all in a very fleshy style. A soft texture but not lacking in acidity. A lovely long finish with almost some tannic grip. Curious how long these will age as I have some in the cellar. Seems like a ten year wine.

Up next was a duo of CDP's from Bois de Boursan, which is by far my favorite producer is CDP. We started with the 2005 Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf-du-Pape which was amazing. A lovely nose of soil components, florality, garrigue, black and green olive and dark cherry and cassis. The palate was big, rich and structured with lovely grippy tanins. A great fruit soak on the finish lingers for what seems like minutes. This has years to go but was great to get s snapshot where this wonderful CDP is right now. It inspired me so much that I had to open the 2001 Bois de Boursan Chateaneuf-du-Pape for comparison. I love '01 in the Southern Rhone as it was a perfect vintage. Not to hot and the wines have a cooling minerality plus wonderful bright acids. This wine had one thing the 2005 did not have. Amazing freshness. Just sick, twisted amazing freshness combined with cooling minerality, lovely kirsch and cherry fruit that was stunningly pure and a long finish. Just so damn balanced, fresh and pure. Truly amazing and the WOTN.

A great night with some great wines.

Grand Puba - 360 (What Goes Around)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Sometimes when hip-hop artists go solo it does not quite work out but Grand Puba's solo stuff is brilliant in the Brand Nubian style but it's all Puba rapping. Sounds stupid but when a rapper goes solo these days the album has a billion guest stars and is not really a solo album. This is a nice uptempo early 90's jam. Love it. And it's got that classic early 90's dancing. I am so glad I was learning and discovering hip hop in the early late 80's early 90's because if I was today I would shoot myself it is so horrible. Kanye is good but I would take a million random early 90's people like Scientific, Jeru, Organized, Pharcyde etc. over Kanye any day of the week.

Sisters Graduation Dinner Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:52:00 +0000

As my sister enters the next phase of her life, college, we celebrated at Blue Hill with a lovely dinner in their wonderful private room. The whole family was there and she seemed to be having the time of her life. My duty was the wine. I went with a natural wine selection. Shocking, I know. We started off with a lovely bottle of the 2005 Francois Chidaine Vouvray "Le Bouchet" which had a captivating nose of apple skin, almonds, mineral, pear and some nuttiness. The palate had lovely fruit, texture and purity but needed around thirty minutes to get there. My girlfriend commented it was bitter in the beginning. The wine definetly was angular to start off with but soon integrated into a lovely little Vouvray with great depth and richness and just a hint of sweetness. Still though it seemed about 80% expressive. So I would hold for 3-5 more years and then this will really be singing. Then for the red I chose the 2006 Jean Foillard Morgon "Cote de Py which sucked last time I had it. But Dressner was in last Saturday pouring Beaujolais and it showed much better so I thought I would give it another shot. I am glad I did as this is the wine I remember in February at La Dive Bouteille in Deauville. It was glorious. Lovely pure and unadultertated nose of fresh red fruits, spice and mineral. The palate had lovely acidity, purity and freshness. So easy to drink. Maybe the best showing for this bottle yet. I asked the sommelier to aggressively decant both bottles. The bottle at the Dressnerfest was also decanted so if you decide to drink an 06 Foillard decant that sucker or you might have a mess on your hands.

Sorry . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:10:00 +0000

I have not been blogging much recently. Just been crazy busy But had a killer Foillard '06 last night for my sis's graduation dinner. Report on that coming soon + more from my travels.

Thoughts from the 07 Terry Thiese German tasting

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Talk about overhyped and underwhelming. I thought this was the second coming of 1971 not 1997. It was just a normal vintage. As usual with every Terry tasting the standouts were Donnhoff, higher end Christoffels, Schaefer, Spreitzer, AJ Adam, Leitz and then a smattering of wines from producers that usually produce mediocre wine but in this vintage just hit it. Here is a list of those wines plus other ramblings.

The wines are pure and balanced and everything German Riesling should be except that the acid again was not where I like it to be. 2006 the acids were great. The highs in 2006 are much better than the highs in 2007 and one day down the road people will realize how friggin' good 2006 is. I love 2006 and will defend it till the day I die. Yes you had to do some work to find great wines but the great ones are oh so great. I will cellar more 2006 than 2007. 2007 does not seem that great for dry wines either but I was at a Theise tasting so my sampling was somewhat limited. The Leitz dry wines were great, especially the Rudesheimer Berg Kaisersteinfels Riesling Trocken "Alte Reben." Dense, powdery and filligreed this wine was a stunner. The Eins Zwei Dry "3" was smoking again.

Kerpen Wehlener Sonennuhr Spatlese
Jackoby Mathy Kinheimer Hubertuslay Riesling Spatlese "Goldkapsel"
Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Steinacker Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken (not a mediocre producer, mind you)

Jakob Schneider must get a special mention as a Nahe producer that just rocked it in 2007. The following wines were all great.

Riesling Kabinett 2007 in 1L
Niederhauser Klamm Riesling Kabinett
Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese (the poor man's Donnhoff, truly great wine)
Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese
Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese "Junior"

Other wines of note . . . .

Spreitzer Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Erstes Gewachs - A stunner. Just so filigreed and crunchy.

Spreitzer Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Spatlese "303" - Maybe the most finesse-driven version of this typically big and botryized wine. Great stuff. Also not much botrytis in the wines in 2007 but what was there was very clean.

Willi Schaefer made five Kabinett's in 2007 and I tasted two. The Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett #2 was a stunner with crunch, slate, apples and astonishing purity. The The Graacher Domprobst Kabinett #16 was nice but a bit too plump for me. The Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #12 was stunning with what my note says as "fucking minerality!" Long on the finish. The Graacher Domprobst Auslese #17 was just sheerly amazing and genius. Best vintage here for a while. On Par with the supernatural 06's.

More later. Too hot to continue typing. Have to write aboue the Geil-Erben wines which are the value leader in the Rheinhessen for my dollar.

A visit to Van Volxem

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:31:00 +0000

On my last trip to Germany this past February I visited the wonderful regal estate of Van Volxem and stayed there for three days. It was a lovely experience. Roman Niewodniscanski’s estate is grand and regal and he has a stunning collection of the top vineyards in the Saar. He is the heir to the Bitburger and Gerolsteiner fortune and his put that money into making his estate the best in the Saar and if it was not for Egon Muller, I would be hard pressed to say Roman's estate isn't. No wines are over 12.5 percent in alcohol, all natural yeast spontaneous fermentation and his estate riesling from young vines are 30 years old minimum! Tons of his vines are old and some are pre-phyloxxera. His vineyards are some of the steepest in the Saar. Truly remarkable. From when Roman bought the estate in 2000 till where he is today he has makes great strides in quality improvement. We tasted mostly 06's and I was very impressed. The 07's are supposed to light years ahead of the 06's. If so wine lovers are in for a treat.

Roman also loves wines from around the world so I will sneak in a pick of some wines that line his living and tasting room.

The last pic is Roman's amazing Weimaraner.

The first pic is me, Roman and Dominic, his winemaker in front of the estate.

2006 Schiefer Riesling - Lots of mineral and steel on the nose with some nice hints of apple. There is a definite cool climate character and a nice crisp finish. Simple classic dry Saar Riesling.

2006 Saar Estate Riesling - Beautifully mineral nose with a lean apple aspect and crunchy minerality. Refreshing yet very grippy. Lovely estate Riesling. Cannot wait for the 2007.

2004 Saar Estate Riesling - Nose of mineral, apple and spice with a really focused fruit aspect with the minerality being in the background. The palate is full of fruit. Very round, Nice wine.

2006 Alte Reben Riesling - Dynamite minerality with apple, pear on this heavenly nose. The palate has a lovely creamy texture with astonishing purity. Nice crunchiness to contrast the creaminess on the finish.

2006 Wiltinger Braunfels Riesling - Aromas of mineral, apple, sweet fruits with a sappy intense mouthfeel. The finish is long, minerally and almost endless. Amazingly focused wine.

2006 Volz Riesling - Nose of apple blossom, mineral and pungent spices with a sappy palate that is extremely intense and flavorful. Gets into every nook and cranny of the palate. Wonderful purity and a long intensely mineral and juicy finish. A great wine.

2006 Scharzhofberger Pergentsknopp- Deepm penetrating nose of minerality is the first impression. The palate is very dry due to the high minerality. Incredible density. Very fresh and focused fruit and after some aeration comes some incredible complexity. Really a wow wine.

2006 Gottesfuss Alte Reben - Incredible showstopping nose of minerals, apples, spices but on the palate this is obviously painfully young with creamy citrus fruits, marmalade and a long finish. Young and closed but the red slate and iron soils come on strong in the finish. After a while in the glass comes a plummy character. Really profound wine.

2006 Altenberg Alte Reben - Lovely nose with pear and spice. Very structured palate with extreme elegance and powdery minerality. Very interesting and complex wine with an incredible beating pulse. A showstopper even though my note may not show it. This was the real deal.

2005 "1900" - This is the debut vintage of a special wine that consists of the oldest vines of Altenberg and other vineyards some which are pre-phylloxera. This is an astonishing wine. A wowsers incredible nose with much nuance. Honey, fiji apple, savory incense and rich intense minerality. After some coaxing it gets a mineral/sweet tart confectionary quality. The palate is huge but seamless with a ridiculous amount of sap. Just bonkers.

2007 Saar Estate Riesling - A bit tough to taste but lovely, apple, yeasty nose. Plummy fruit on a lovely balanced frame.

2007 Rotschiefer Riesling Kabinett - Lovely fruit cocktail nose with beautifully deep pitched apple and honey tones with a great harmony on the palate. Awesome. 2007 Grand Cru's must be killer at this estate.

This was a great tasting and my friend David is now importing these wines into New York for a company called Acid Inc.

Look for them over the summer and the fall.

An Ode To Brooklyn Guy - Friday Night Marcillac

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 02:34:00 +0000

So in honor of Brooklyn Guy I will try and drink a wine every Friday night from a wacked out strange and/or unfamiliar appelation. Who knows how long this will last but I will do my best to keep it going as long as I can. So tonight we have Marcillac where the grape of choice is Fer Servadou which reminds me of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Gamay. Earthy and woodsy but with very pure red fruits is the way I would characterize the grape. One of the top producers in the region is Domaine du Cros and the wine in question this evening is the 2004 Domaine du Cros Marcillac "Cuvee Vieilles Vignes" which is a stunningly good bottle of Marcillac. Had the '02 some years ago at the end of a drunken night but I do remember it was delicious. This wine has a nose of deep dark cherry fruit with mineral, menthol, earth and dried leaves. Just lovey. Rustic but a refined rusticity. The palate is very concentrated with high-toned cherry fruit, nice inner mouth florality, and ripe, spicy tannin. Great finish where the fruit keeps pumping. This extremely peppery and cuts a real swatch across the palate. I have not tasted much Marcillac, well actually only tasted wines from Domaine du Cros and I am thoroughly impressed. This wine is an incredible value and I already know just by tasting this it will be even more delicious tomorrow. There is still value in the world.

A tomato-like bottle of Cahors

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:06:00 +0000

I love Cahors . . .especially the two benchmark traditional estates, Domane de Cayrou and Clos de Gamot. Never had a bad wine from them till now. Took home a half-bottle of the 1995 Domaine de Cayrou Cahors and boy did it smell like stewed tomatoes. The palate was rich but still had that stewed tomato element that just did not go away. There was a mintiness that added complexity and rustic tannin which made the fruit quite blocky. I only had a glass or two and some aspects of the wine I liked (rich, dense fruit and mint) but other aspects I hated (tomato city), but it was not a total failure. It did not go down the drain and that is a good thing. Not much else to say . . .just had to get that off my chest and avoid this wine if you see it.

Burgundy Hater and Burgundy Lover - - Who's Right?

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Robert Parker is notorious for his position on his hatred for Burgundy and how Cali Pinot trumps Pinot and is less expensive. He used the old company line that it is a minefield and the risk is too high to get a great bottle. Maybe it has to do with Faiveley suing him and his general dislike for the Burgundians and their not so hot view of him. You can read here his latest Burgundy bashing and Cali Pinot Noir championing.

The money quote is below:

None of them is inexpensive, but most of them will eclipse almost any red Burgundy made today.

That is a statement that is so ridiculous I cannot even comprehend it. Hmmmm......2006 J. Rochioli Estate Pinot Noir versus let's say 2006 Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "Les Fuess." Of course the Rochioli would trump it. Crack-pipe smoking emoticon goes here. What is this guy smoking?

Next up is Eric Asimov's (a self-proclaimed Burgundy lover's) thoughtful article in today's Times on the consistency of Burgundy today and how it has never been better. Pus his great blog post that follows up the article in today's Times.

Considering Robert Parker has been pretty much banned from Burgundy and is extremely out of touch with the scene there and is probably basing his assumptions on tastings done in the 80's when there was bad vineyard management and an overall lack of care in winemaking, I can cut him a little slack. But small appellations like Santenay, Pernand-Vergelesses, Marsannay, St. Romain etc are making wines better than they have ever before. There is a new generation as Asimov explains in his blog post that is coaching the even newer generation who was coached buy the older generation. Yes the top bottlings have gotten expensive but there is a slew of Burgs out there to satisfy any palate at any pricepoint. Just because I have been priced out of 1er and Grad Cru wines does not mean I am not collecting regional wines, village wines and Bourgognes.

Anyway we all know my point of view but I find it interesting that these two articles were published the same day and am curious what my readers think as to who's right.

Been a while . . .here's a Riesling

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Been digging my teeth into the '07's which are slowly infiltrating the marketplace and enjoyed a lovely bottle of the 2007 A.J. Adam Kabinett which is mostly from Hofberg, which is his Grand Cru site. Actually it might all be from Hofberg. Need to check that out. Well this wine was slamming on all cylinders. Really had those Hofberg flavors of exotic tropical fruits and a lovely figginess along with cake-icing-like fruit and brilliant cleansing acidity. Long on the finish and chewy but has wonderful opacity at the same time. So crisp, so pure and so clean. Classic slatey nose with guava, mango, fig and more slate. Some slight bubbles from being so young and lots of fruit on the attack while the finish is slatey and mineral. Just like the '05 Hofberg Reserve this has that wonderful almost Batard-like texture while being light as a feather. Wonderful and seems like a Kabinett with legs. Great great wine. Glad I have two more. Nice to throw some "real" Kabinetts in the cellar for a change.

My palate evolved quicker than the wine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:44:00 +0000

So when I was a young lad in the years 1999-2001 I liked Bordeaux. I will admit I liked Parkerized Bordeaux and bought a bunch. Wines like Lascombes, Giscours, Barde-Haut, Grand Mayne, Gracia, etc. I'll admit it. I sold around 95% of that garbage to Crush when I was working there and am all the better for it. It also made some people who like those wines happy as they got them for really great prices as I gave Crush a great deal and they made their huge margins. I still kept a couple bottles for scientific reasons and last night went out to dinner and opened my last remaining bottle of 1998 Barde-Haut, a spoofilated wine from St. Emilion. It started off promising with a nose of deep cassis, slight oak tones, some minerality and a palate with ripe tannins and a nice earthy sweetness. But this wine quickly went downhill and I mean quickly. The oak tannins took over and made the wine extremely bitter and the heat started to show more and more till it became oak soup with some red fruits and lots of bitter fruit flavors. I can see some people liking this. Actually many people liking this. I thought if I gave it enough age it would age the suckiness out of it but no it integrated the suckiness even more. I am scared to open my last bottle of 2000 Bellisle-Mondotte.

I bought the the two bottles of Barde-Haut for $24.99 a bottle from Garnett and I just wine-searched it and the wine now goes for around $125 a bottle. Why did I not sell this?

The lesson here is that my palate has evolved much quicker than this wine and wines like that (right bank spoof bombs) that I used to love I detest more than anything. I mean this was flawed wine. The bitterness eventually overtook any and all nuance and flavor out of the wine and it had to be from the excessive oak treatment when it being raised. Uncle Bob gave it a 90 and said it could be drunk through 2018. This wine is ten years I would not serve to my cat . . .who has very discerning taste I might add.

To all newbies and wine beginners the advice I can give you is learn your palate before you spend your hard earned money on wine you might not like in 7-10 years. I really think these right-bank spoofers will not age well at all. These Bordeaux are meant to be drunk young. That is what they were designed for and I do mean designed.

Looks like someone on CellarTracker! drank it last night too and had an opinion that was a bit different than mine. And ooooh oooh...you get to see my note from 2005 where I liked it but it did close down after two hours. Looks like some people agree with me that this wine was crap but were a little more polite than me and others loved it. That is what spoof right bank Bordeaux does.....polarizes people.

What a L O S T finale!

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:57:00 +0000

I admit I am a LOST crack addict. During the writer's strike hiatus I watched the whole series over again and even read each of the episode summaries in Lostpedia and my obsession was taken up a notch. The finale did what every great L O S T finale does. Gives the viewers some answers but leaves many more questions than answers. The show is amazing and just gets better and better. Now I have to wait till February for more......arggggghhh! I might just watch the whole damn thing over again.

For all the Losties out there . . .Jeremy Bentham? What a twist there. Miles staying on the Island. The Island moving? Is Jin Dead? The Donkey Wheel? Claire - - -what is up with her? Sun is turning into a bad-ass. Is Ben gonna kill Penelope? So many questions . ..I have a summer/fall/winter to think about them.

"Eins-Zwei-Dry"

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:23:00 +0000

The title of this post is the name of Leitz's new QBA. The first Leitz QBA to cause an uproar in the marketplace was the "Dragonstone" and it was very good in 2002 but in subsequent years I felt it got too sweet and I lost my taste for it. Now enter the 2007 Josef Leitz "Eins-Zwei-Dry" which is the like the dry Dragonstone and 2007 is the first vintage. What a lovely wine. Crackling with minerality, some lime zest and pure sea and seashell aromas on the nose this is a great intro into dry German Rieslings and all the pleasures it can entail. There is a snappy label and it is in a screwcap. This seems like it won't make old bones and is an ideal candidate for a summer sipper. The Dragonstone, despite getting sweeter in recent years (probably due to hotter vintages), I think it will prove to be a better ager than the "Eins-Zwei-Dry." With all that said this is crisp, cracklin' and almost has a Muscadet-like minerality that borders on saline. Also the price is right. To pimp my own wares for a second . . .only $14.99 a bottle at CSW. A steal for wine of this quality and it actually is mostly sourced from an Erstes Gewachs site called Geisenheimer Rothenberg. Wegeler is who I think of it when I think of this vineyard but now Leitz, with this great value will enter my thoughts when I think of Geisenheimer Rothenberg. Granted, Wegeler makes some breathtaking wines from that site, but now Leitz makes a nice little wine from that site. A welcome addition.

Here is a pic but it was snapped with my Blackberry so sorry for the shitty quality.

New Cult Wine article but I only care about the first one

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Abe Schoener of Scholium Project gets great mention here as one of six new rising cult wineries. The others seem classic cult and pretty much undrinkable to my palate but Abe's wines I love as he is doing the natural wine thing in CA. I will soon write up a report on my recent visit to his winery.