April 2009
April 29, 2009
Wittmann
Philipp Wittmann took the helm of his family's estate in 1999 and it is without a doubt one of the most impressive estates in the Rheinhessen. Strangely, while Wittmann has a monster reputation in Germany, they are all but unknown in America. They are, like Klaus-Peter Keller, dry Riesling specialists - 90% of their production, in fact, is dry Riesling. Here Philipp Wittmann stands in one of the cellars of the estate. As you can tell, old wooden casks are used widely.
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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 4:43 PM
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Wittmann: The Secret of the Rheinhessen
Powerful - Staining - Mineral - Dry Riesling
"Wittmann's uncompromising pursuit of quality...make for some striking vinous characteristics. Who would believe ... his top sites have higher Riesling acidity than those of his wife Eva Clusserath on the Mosel?"
- David Schildknecht for the Wine Advocate
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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 12:35 PM
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April 28, 2009
Translation of an Interview with Teobaldo Cappellano
The following is translated from the YouTube intervew with Teobaldo Cappellano. Translation provided by Bill Shube.
We have one terrible defect here in the region, with regard to the social set-up. All of a sudden we have Estates. The estate had always been a very tiny thing in our region.
Previously, the only Estate was that of Marchese di Barolo, and they had 450, 500, 600 hectares of vines, and then woods. But 600 hectares in Tuscany, or in Sicily, [is nothing.] You're talking 5000 hectares or more there.
And all of this 'property' [gestures outside], has been around since 1690 and began to take shape even earlier, in the 1500s. The Roman subdivisions of all these regions here, they still remain, effectively --not much has changed. And this has formed our character, at a very fundamental level.
There's a story, I don't know if you've heard it, where a farmer walking around in the area finds a lamp of a fairy, a genie, and the genie says, "Tell me your one wish, but know that whatever you ask for, your neighbor will have double." He thinks for a minute and finally says, "Take away one of my balls."
This is truly a way of life for us here, because [previoiusly] my competitor wouldn't have been a landholder, so I wouldn't have been a farmer-winemaker, so I've lost the aspect of democracy. It's absurd, because in dictatorship, it's as if there can be more democracy than in an area like that where everyone has a landlord. But my competitor is also my neighbor, because he'd come to help me with the harvest, out of his own goodness, and he'd profit from it, too.
Posted by Bill Shube at 12:37 PM
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April 24, 2009
2006 Chalone Cabernet Sauvignon
The $10 Cali Cab Friday Steal!
Something about Chalone
We've written this before, but it's true: Most bottles that cost under $10, taste like bottles that cost under $5. Sure, you're not spending much, but you actually get less than what you're paying for.
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Posted by Tom Stephenson at 5:20 PM
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April 21, 2009
2007 Vatan: Concentration Meets Elegance
2007 Vatan Sancerre "Clos la Neore"
"Clos de la Neore is by any stretch of the imagination
one of the world's greatest white wines." John Gilman
With Stephen away in Germany , I'm filling in as "captain" of the Crush email program this week.
In preparation of his trip, we've squirreled away some of our favorite wines. So, today we'll start strong, a personal favorite at a great price: the most recent edition of incredible Sancerre from Edmond Vatan, who at 80 years old, continues to coax the best from his renowned Clos La Neore vineyard.
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Posted by Tom Stephenson at 4:20 PM
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April 15, 2009
2006 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanee
"Vosne-Romanee is the greatest Pinot Noir village on Earth" - Clive Coates
I've written this before, but it's true: The greatest sin of 2006 Burgundy is that it came after 2005 Burgundy. (Naturally, it didn't help that prices rose due to the deadly combo of growers bumping their prices and the weak dollar - though don't worry, today we correct this pricing issue drastically.)
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Posted by Ian McFadden at 6:56 PM
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