Category Archives: Wine

Weingärten Weissenkirchen Wachau Smaragd 2007 Grüner Veltliner

Asparagus season isn’t over yet, so we decided to do another round. Last time around I decided to accompany the asparagus with an Austrian Riesling, but there was another Austrian wine lying around, so I decided to open another Austrian white wine. This time a Grüner Veltliner from Wachau by Domäne Wachau.

Grüner Veltliner is a white wine grape variety that stems from Savagnin and further down the line, Rotgopfler and Pinot Noir. Despite of the name Veltliner, the grape isn’t related to Roter Veltliner and Frühroter Veltliner. Most Grüner Veltliners are planted in Austria and to a lesser extent, Slovakia and the Czech republic, but more recently also in the United States and Australia. One-third of all the grapes planted in Austria is Grüner Veltliner. In Slovakia one-fifth and in the Czech republic “only” one-ninth of the planted grape varieties is Grüner Veltliner. Most Grüner Veltliners age well and accompany food excellently.

LabelEspecially in the Wachau wine region on of the following terms can be found:

  • Steinfeder: lightest version with up to 11.5% alcohol,
  • Federspiel: a slightly more powerful version with 12.5% ​​alcohol,
  • Smaragd: the most rich and powerful Grüner Veltliner with 12.5% ​​alcohol and often more. (Smaragd can be compared with the german term Spätlese, the grapes are harvested late and often ripen for a prolonged time on stainless steel or large casks). (This Smaragd is 13% ABV).

Finally, Weissenkirchen is one of Domäne Wachau‘s village-bottlings. Besides Weissenkirchen itself, it comprises of the villages of Joching, Wösendorf and St. Michael. The wines are elegant, full-bodied, fruity and quite mineral.

Color: Straw

Nose: Lemony and acidic. Smells very fresh and refreshing with whiffs of alcohol. You can already smell the balance between the sweetness and the acidity. Nosed blind this could have easily been from Alsace. Nice yellow fruits. Hints of peach and dried apricots, but also some sweat! (No that’s not a bad thing, in this wine). All in all, light and fresh, but with body.

Taste: Definitively more spicy. Fruity syrupy sweetness (high iron content). Apple treacle, raisins, tree sap with the slightest hint of licorice. Green apple skin. Some hints of wood, although this probably never came in contact with wood. Some unbalance when near the finish. Short, slightly sugary, finish. The sweetness in the finish is a bit “strange”.

Of the two Austrian wines we recently had with Asparagus, we liked the Riesling Better. Having said that, on its own, this one isn’t bad either.

Points: 81

Berger Kremstal DAC Riesling Spiegel 2008

Here in Holland the Asparagus season has started and nothing goes better with that, than a nice fresh white wine. This Berger Riesling was ogling at me for quite some time, since all Austrian wines have the Austrian flag on top, it is easily recognizable.

This Riesling (12.5% ABV), is wine from Weingut (Erich) Berger, Gedersdorf Austria. Gedersdorf is in the North-East part of the Kremstal (2200 – 2300 Ha.), next to the Danube River. Weingut Berger is one of 150 Winegut’s in Kremstal (and in fact Kremstal itself is not one, but three valleys). The region also has Three different terroirs. First, the vineyards west of the city of Krems are similar to those in the adjacent Wachau wine district. They are on a stony soil dating from prehistoric times. From these parts you can have a dry, minerally Riesling or Grüner Veltliner. Second on the south of the Krems Valley on the south bank of the Danube, small vintners in ancient villages make local wines in their own old-fashioned way. Third, to the east of Krems, towards Rohrendorf and Gedersdorf, there is löss in the vineyards which is noticeable in the wine, its softer and more lavish in style. The best wines from this region are called reserves.

Color: White wine.

Nose: perfect Riesling nose. Crisp and fresh. Lot’s of yellow fruits. Some grapefruit, banana, apple, apple skins. Definitely stoney and mineral. I really like these kinds of white wines from Alsace, Germany and Austria, and again a nose like this is perfect.

Taste: Quite simple, but great balance in the acidity and sweetness. Again apple come to the fore. Light body and medium finish. Especially the finish is quite mono-dimensional, showing almost nothing else than (sugared) lemon. This is a wine for big gulps, drinks great that way and it concentrates the flavours a bit. Easy going and very accessible. What’s not to like here. Quite good with asparagus, but I can imagine this is a great wine for easy drinking in the summer. Simple, but I like it.

This wine was especially good the second day around. It was quite closed when freshly opened and the taste wasn’t rounded out and actually quite dull. The second day around it got smoother and sweeter, and the fruits al be it very light come through some more. Not a complex wine, but very likeable and stunningly fresh, and it won’t break the bank!

Points: 83

Santa Cristina Toscana IGT 2009

This is a widely available inexpensive blended wine from Cortona (an Etruscan settlement) in Tuscany, Italy. The first bottle of Santa Cristina saw the light of day in 1946 right after the second world war. The wine then was made by Marquis Niccolò Antinori. In 2006 a new winery was opened.

The wine is made of 60% Sangiovese, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. 13% ABV. The various grape varieties of the blend are fermented separately and aged partly in oak and partly in stainless steel. Harvesting of the grapes takes place in September and October, Merlot being harvested first. Ageing takes place from the end of winter through spring and by the end of spring the wine was bottled.

Color: Dark ruby-red.

Nose: Creamy, with notes of hot dry earth. Soft notes of raspberries and other ripe red fruits. Ripe because it comes across as soft, and doesn’t have a lot of sourness to it. Lots of strawberry jam.

Taste: Again the strawberry jam and it does have some acidity. Nicely blended to a balance. It’s quite light and lively, but on the other hand nothing really pops out, and it does have a short finish. As I said, easily drinkable, but also easily forgotten. Still I like this, just don’t expect too much. Nicely priced also.

It’s blended to a soft wine, that is very easy drinkable, and will go with anything. Just stay off game. The nose is light and balanced, but very nice, you can imagine the surroundings in summer, where the grapes are grown. It certainly shows where it comes from. The taste however is a bit more anonymous. It’s well made, and it will not repel anyone, as there are no obvious faults. The only thing that disappointed me a little was the finish, it breaks down a little, and is quite short and again anonymous. One to have a lot of fun though and it isn’t going to break the bank. good with food and for carelessly sipping away on the couch.

Points: 80

Château Les Tresquots Médoc 2003

Very typical Bordeaux blend. This one comprises of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The ABV is 13.5%. The grapes were harvested by hand and the wine was put on oak casks for one year.  The grapes that grow on vines are 30 to 40 years old. grow in the heart of the Médoc region near Bégadan, where the D3 crosses the D103 (for those who were there). Saint Estèphe is just up river.

For what I read, people weren’t too happy about this one when is was younger, so it was no problem to let this lie for a couple of years. I left it for almost 10 years, but now it was time to have a look how it is doing.

2003 was a very special year for the region. The 2002 harvest was very dry and the winter that followed was cool and wet. In march it was already warm (and dry) so growth started early. The following period stayed dry which means low yields. The summer, well, heat wave! So in June, July and August, the grapes got roasted.

Color: Very dark, with deep sparkling red. Almost doesn’t let light through.

Nose: It might be heavy, according to the text above, but for me this is quite lively. Grape skin, hot earth, dry but with a lot of depth. Elderberries with some acidity. Yeast and a little hint of sterile wood. Altogether very balanced. I might be biased by now, but this oozes hot weather.

Taste: Deep, this has some tannins. Thick grape skins and plums. Lots of ripe cherries. Not the red ones but the sweetish black ones. It’s not bitter nor woody, but it does dry the mouth quite a bit. The fun is to be had taking big gulps and the effect this has on the palate. Finish is quite short and a bit anonymous. This is very much recommended with food (meat).

In the end not very complex, but with a lovely nose. And I like the shift toward the black cherries. Especially the taste is ‘simple’ but it doesn’t overpower you, nor does it have any other flaws, apart from the tannins that dry your mouth extensively. Considering early report about this wine, I can say that ageing this is a good idea.

Points: 81

Fattoria La Vialla Passito 2009

Fattoria La Vialla Passito 2009Here is another bottle from Fattoria La Vialla that found its way into my castle. Click here for the review of the NubeRosa 2010. This is exactly why I keep the draw-bridge down a lot, so things like this come my way. It was brought in to accompany dessert. This Moscato di Sicilia is a dessert wine @ 14.5% ABV. The bottle here is a 375 ml. which is a fine size for many über-sweet wines. The bottle I’m about to review is from lot 29 17082011.

Color: Copper

Nose: Sweet (obviously). Musty, but also has a distant acidic freshness to it. Gravy, with a little bit of smoke and cold tea. Some small hints of peaches. The nose is nicely balanced. Over time it becomes less sweet and maybe somewhat more acidic.

Taste: Not as syrupy or sweet as I’m used to. Again nicely balanced between the sour and the sweet. Dried apricots, but no sign of raisins. Due to the acidity, the whole is rather fresh.

It’s a dessert wine, but less sweet as one might think. Absolutely better than I thought. The whole comes across as being honest.

Points: 80

Thanks go out to Nicole for bringing the wine!

Langa Calatayud Rosado (Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon) 2009

Bodega Hermanos Langa was founded in 1867 by Mariano Langa Gallego, and is located near the city of Calatayud in Aragón, Spain. Best known city in Aragón is Zaragoza. Today the fifth generation is at the helm of the company. Combining knowledge with respect for nature is the recipe for making good wines. The Bodega works 100% ecological. The region where the grapes grow is known as “Los Yermos”. The grapes grow on extremely dry soil that lies 600 metres above sea-level.

Langa Rosado 2009This is the Rosé wine Langa makes. This 2009 is made of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The newer versions are made with Merlot rather than Syrah.

Color: Ruby red rosé.

Nose: Slightly acidic and fruity, very fresh ánd warming. Lots of red fruits. Sweet raspberry, but also meaty. Not your regular extra-easy Rosé. It seems as a Rosé with character. A little hint of vanilla and wood. Nicely balanced and it smells like something you’ll drink in a few minutes (and want another bottle).

Taste: Nice. Just the right combination of sweet and sour. Again some vanilla. It’s creamy and it tastes like vanilla to me, not much, just a hint. A lot of red fruits again and very easy drinkable.

I know people think of Rosé’s to be the perfect summer wine. This is precisely that, bu in the middle of winter with typical italian food, this Rosé is perfect too. Not to complex, as the food, but a very good companion. It’s also very nice and easy when you drink this by itself, not to mention it’s quite cheap too. That’s a bg plus today with spanish wines. Now the Syrah got replaced by Merlot, I’m keen to try that one to. I hope they did that to improve the wine. Well I already like this one, so the Merlot version should be great. Recommended!

Points: 81

Heim Riesling Grand Cru Praelatenberg 2006

Christmas time is here again, and I needed a decent bottle of wine for Christmas dinner as a companion to sauerkraut and fish. I do like Alsace, so this time I pulled out a Grand Cru Riesling from Praelatenberg. Praelatenberg is one of 51 Alsatian Grand Crus, that got this status in the big expansion of 17 December 1992. It is located between Kintzheim and Orschwiller, and is the most southerly of the Grand Cru sites of the Bas-Rhin.

PraelatenbergAbove Praeatenberg towers the Koenigsbourg castle, built in the 12th century. The altitude of Praelatenberg slopes ranges from 250 to 350 metres and has an east-south-east orientation with a size of 18.7 Ha. The granite bedrock that underlies all Alsace vineyards is very close to the surface. The soil is heavy, covered with loose schist, and is rich with silicium. Dotted with stones rich with iron, quartz and other minerals. This helps the warming of the ground and lets water through easily.

Heim is now owned by Bestheim, a cooperation that was founded in 2000 by the merger of two smaller cooperations from the villages of Bennwihr & Westhalten, together with the house of Heim.

Color: Straw Yellow.

Nose: Very clean and citrussy. Lemon. Through the freshness and the acidity there is another layer, that at first seems sweet, but also has a creamy peachy element to it. A sort of light non-fat whipped cream of lemon and peach. Very nice. Sweet as in coffee-caramel sweets we know over here as Haagsche Hopjes. Also a slightly meaty sensation.

Taste: It starts with a nice fresh and not overly acidic lemon and chalk. Do you know those little vitamin C pills by Roter? Well, that too. Again a tiny hint of peach. Really subdued and elegant. The finish comes quick and is soon gone, what really is a shame. Always there, is that little bit of acidity that makes your mouth water, and lest not forget that added creaminess. Not very complex.

The taste maybe a bit too simple, in the nose maybe a little bit too. Still it’s a nice wine. It does have a nice balance, but overall it could have done with some added depth and complexity. Easy to drink, and should hold well when aged. ABV is 12%.

Points: 82

Picture is for the Riesling Reserve. Our Grand Cru looks similar (brown glass).

Fontanafredda Torremora Langhe Dolcetto 2006

Langhe is a hilly area to the south-east of the Tanaro river in the Cuneo province in Piedmont, northern Italy. The black grapes used for this wine is the Dolcetto grape that is widely used in this region, where wineries favour Nebbiolo or Barbera. These wines need a long time ripening. Dolcetto on the other hand is one that doesn’t require a long time ageing, two years will suffice.

Fontanafredda was founded in 1878. The total size of the domain 250 ha. which is spread over several areas located in the villages Serralunga d’Alba, Barolo and Diano d’Alba at a height of 200 to 400 metres. Not all wines are made with grapes from their own vineyards. Fontanafredda also buy grapes from other wine makers. For generations, it cooperates with some 500 smaller wine makers in Piedmont. The origin and the quality of these bought grapes is strictly monitored. The Torremora tasted here has an ABV of 13%.

Color: Dark ruby-red.

Nose: Meaty, mouldy, fresh plum and warm plum confiture. Boiling potatoes and wet earth. A hint of glue and something fishy. Bicycle inner tube tyre. This all may seem strange but I can assure you, it is very nice.

Taste: Fruity, but not super fruity and light in a sence that it doesn’t have a lot of tannins, enough for an easy wine. Cherries and prunes with a slight bitter edge. Just the right amount of acidity. It finishes a little bit bitter, nutty and dry. Almonds, or maybe better, the skins that you can find in walnuts.

Based on the nose and the color I expected a more heavy wine (in taste), but it’s not. It’s quite young too. I aged this a little longer than was advised (three years extra), but this didn’t do the wine no harm. On the other hand, it didn’t help the wine forward either. Still it has a great balance. The strange composition of the palate fortunately goes great together. Easy drinkable and very nice. It has a dry or woody edge to it and it has some tannins. Great with lots of typical (not to heavy) Italian foods. I wouldn’t match this up with meat though, for this it is too light. Obviously spaghetti and pizza will do quite nicely. Not overly complex and very agreeable. Nice.

Points: 84

Gonzalez Byass Cristina Oloroso Abocado

Some casks of Gonzalez Byass lying around...

Gonzalez Byass is an often seen cask in Scottish warehouses. These casks already find their way into making some excellent whisky. As we all know, the best results come from Oloroso casks, so here we have the opportunity to try a nice Oloroso from Gonzalez Byass.

This Oloroso is made of Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximénez (both white grapes!). Up to 95% of all grapes used for sherry is Palomino. Since this Sherry is sweetened with the PX-grape, this is essentially is a cream sherry. Usually three types of Palomino are grown: Palomino Fino, Palomino Basto, and Palomino de Jerez. Of which the first one is considered the best for making Sherry and especially today the latter two are grown less and less. Besides these Palomino’s, only Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes are used for Sherry.

Gonzalez Byass Cristina Oloroso AbocadoEssentially, there are three types of Sherry:

1. Fino (including Amontillado and Manzanilla)
2. Oloroso
3. Palo Cortado

Fino Sherries arise under flor. This means that when the must is fermented a ‘flower’ of yeast (flor) grows on the surface, and no oxygen can pass through. This also causes the finished wine to have that fresh yeasty taste.

In Oloroso (‘Scented’) Sherries the flor is suppressed by fortification at an earlier stage. Since the lack of this layer of flor, the Sherry comes in contact with air through the porous walls of oak casks, and undergoes oxidative aging. Due to the ageing, the wine becomes darker and stronger.

Palo Cortado is a rare kind of Sherry and is placed between Fino and Oloroso. Palo Cortado resembles Oloroso in color and taste and has the aromatics of Amontillado (sort of long aged Fino), and it doesn’t arise under flor.

Color: Golden Brown. Amber.

Nose: Nutty and fragrant. Diluted PX, so notes of raisins. Very floral and maybe some fresh wood and vanilla. Toffee. Baked banana. Actually quite nice.

Taste: Sweet and sour, with lots of depth. Clean lemony acidity. Not cloying, thin compared to PX. So I guess not a lot of PX was used, nor should it have been used, to me this seems just right. Actually I quite like this. Easily drinkable and for me a thirst quenching Sherry. Recommended.

I’m quite new to Oloroso’s. I just had only one before and that was a bone dry one. This one, at 17% ABV, has some PX thrown into the mix and therefore is more palatable than the dry one I remember. Time to expand more into Oloroso Sherry, since a new world has just opened itself to me.

By the way, I found out that good bottles of Sherry are far less costly than the most recent offerings of whisky, which seem outrageous. Today a new 21yo Lagavulin (yes Oloroso Casks) costs almost 700 Euro’s. I think I’ll buy some more Sherries tomorrow.

Points: 87

PX Sherry: Valdivia Pedro Ximénez Dulce

Some casks of Valdivia lying around...Valdivia was founded by a supplier of building materials in 2003. He bought an old property in Jerez and completely renovated it. Next was locating some old stock to be able to release a series of old Sherries. This Series is called Sacromonte and are made up of 15 year old Sherries. Here we will try a PX from the ‘standard’ series. The modern look is aimed at the new trend-conscious generation. In its young history, Bodegas Valdivia already has its third owner.

Valdivia Pedro Ximénez (Muy Dulce version)Color: Mahogany. Dark brown with a fabulous red hue.

Nose: Wood, leather, raisins and figs, Lavas. Old books and syrup (not as strange as it seems). Hint of smoke and tar. Smells sugary sweet with a promise of nice acidity. Greenish. Fresh cut shrubs (a smell of working in the garden trimming various plants). Fabulous balance. It doesn’t smell only thick, as some PX do, nor has it a kind of mustiness, still it does smell elegant and ‘fresh’.

Color: Mahogany. It’s essentially dark brown with a fabulous red hue.

Nose: Wood and leather. Raisins and figs. This has even some lavas notes. Old books in syrup (what?). A hint of smoke and tar. Smells sugary sweet with the promise of nice acidity. Green. Fresh cut shrubs (a smell of working in the garden trimming various plants). Fabulous balance. It doesn’t only smell thick, as some other PX do, nor has it only a kind of freshness, but it does smell like a modern and elegant,’fresh’ PX.

Taste: Wow what a texture. Modern tasting. Sweet, but not raisiny as most others are. Some asphalt in the mix, but mostly clean sugar syrup and cough syrup. This should go over pancakes. Definitely a Sherry to accompany (sweet) foods, not only after dinner or as a dessert. The body is quite mild and the finish is short. Not what I’ve expected.

It’s good. Compared to the Lustau reviewed earlier, this is a less typical PX, less old skool and thus more modern. Even though it’s quite thick It lacks a bit in the taste department if you sip it like I’m used to. This one should be taken in big gulps en then, and only then, does this Valdivia show what it’s made of. Even the Elite I’ve tasted earlier has more going on in the taste department, what is a surprise considering the Elite had an ultra thin, velvety, texture.

Valdivia PX Dulce LabelFor me the nose is fabulous, and the taste a bit thin and short. Lacks a bit of complexity. When I finish this bottle, I will try the 15yo Valdivia.

Points: 83