July 2008
July 22, 2008
Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel-Hoh 2006
The reappearance of a crowned Wine of the Year!
Why this strange, earth-shaking occurrence? The fact of the matter is that we've been touting the merits of this kooky little Austrian white wine for years, in spite of the fact that the grape remains (even for us) very esoteric. In my Wine of the Year email I (ironically) wrote, "...this bottle will probably never score 100 points - so far as I can find, no one's ever even rated it..."
So you can imagine that my jaw dropped when I saw the Wine Advocate's belated report on the 2006 Austrians. Not only was the wine reviewed, but Stadlmann's little gem was given an impressive review and even more important to me personally, a great and inspired write-up by one of the most respected scholars of Austrian and German wine, David Schildknecht!
Despite the continuing depreciation of the dollar against the Euro, due to our support for the wine in the past we were able to obtain near-2007 pricing on a small but sizable quantity and I'm thrilled to offer my 2007 Wine of the Year - AGAIN - at virtually the same price as we did in December of 2007!
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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 11:51 PM
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July 21, 2008
2007 Muller-Catoir: The Tradition Survives
"Expressiveness bordering on the super-natural." - Terry Theise
The view within the Haardter Burgergarten vineyard; the Muller-Catoir estate is visible in the distance,
to the left, with the bright yellow awnings.
The 2007 collection at Muller-Catoir serves as a compelling testament to the survival of a level of craftsmanship once widely assumed to have deteriorated. Time to check your assumptions, because these are wines of stunning clarity and uniqueness.
The elite BAs and TBAs especially, are just absolutely psychotic (in a good way). They have a guillotine-like cut, an apocalyptic fireworks of bright fruits, herbs and flowers and minerals that glow like the neon blazing across Times Square. Words just don't do the singular uniqueness, and extraordinary quality of these wines, justice. So try one.
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Posted by Joe Salamone at 2:47 PM
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July 14, 2008
2007 Donnhoff: A Visit with the Master
The wines of Helmut Donnhoff have such power and complexity that their signature weightless feels seems nearly miraculous. One taste and you sense that magic. Donnhoff's wines are on par with the best of Germany in a very unique way - his sweet wines rival those of Prum and Egon Muller and the dry wines are mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Keller and Rebholz. Very few (any?) have this degree of versatility.
Approaching the estate in Oberhausen.
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Posted by Joe Salamone at 9:45 PM
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