May 17, 2007

THE Summer Sipper! 2005 Berlioz Chignin

The thermometer is finally rising - as are your requests for an imminently sippable, crisp and classic white wine to pair with the 80+ degree days that are already upon us.

Yes, it's time to "Back Up the Truck" for summer! From vineyards that date back to the 11th century and vines that are 30 to 80 years old, Berlioz's 2005 Chignin is a wine whose delicacy belies its searing intensity. While the wine is delicate and crisp, on the palate it unleashes powerful citrus fruits, lemon and green apple, touches of pear and a chalky minerality that's peppered throughout the long (long) midpalate.

This is a wine that, at under $20, is one of the best values going for summer sipping!

Posted by Tom Stephenson at 12:28 PM

May 5, 2007

2006 Rudi Wiest "Riesling Preview" Barrel Tasting at Grand Sichuan

Joe Salamone and I were lucky enough to attend this excellent lunch in February which highlighted barrel samples from a medium swath of Rudi's producers. Here are our long overdue notes:

We are reticent to provide any definitive conclusions based on this modest (but fun) selection of barrel samples, the most impressive wines seemed to fall within two camps :

1) Vineyard sites that offered some protection against the fast developing botrytis that resulted from an August filled with nearly continuous rain.

2) Growers who had enough resources and sincerity to practice ridiculously rigorous selection. (Rudi told us that the yield at Rebholz's Kastanienbusch vineyard in the Pfalz were only 12ha/hl.). Unfortunately their sacrifice may result in some pretty crazy prices.

Other important notes:

Though September was generally dry and warm, hail and rain were also present in late September/early October which hastened the harvest for most if not all estates. Conditions were extremely challenging: the fruit was ripening quicker than predicted and botrytis was beginning to rage so the harvest was done at lightening speed.

To us, the wines that seemed to miss the mark shared a penchant for their exotic flavors becoming unfocused with a prevalence of overripe tropical fruit. Those that were spot-on had unparalleled concentration and structure.

It's seems clear that dry wines, lower pradikat levels, and QbA wines will be minefields in 2006 - not only was production down by 35-50% in general (due to harsh selection) but few if any true "Kabinett" wines exist as many grapes were harvested near 130 Ochsle!. Moreover, growers that believe in adhering staunchly to traditional style (like Manfred Prum) actually made zero QbA and Kabinett wines and only a bit of Spatlese.

Posted by Tom Stephenson at 6:21 PM