Oct 21st 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Sep 28th 2008
Price: $16.99
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Tasting Notes:
Choucroute Garni and gewurztraminer is a match made in heaven. This is a great gewurz. It's a deep dark golden color that looks thick and mead like in the glass. The nose is powerful with honey, lychee, quince, and pear mingling with rose petal and cookie spices. In the mouth this is a thick and heavy wine. It is sweet, but with enough acidity to handle it. I could drink this wine everyday.
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Sep 9th 2008
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Vintage: 1996
Purchased: Jul 5th 2007
Price: $18.93
Number on Hand: 1
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Tasting Notes:
This is an outstanding wine at the price I paid. Decade old riesling from a single vineyard for under $20? Are you kidding me?
This wine was a fairly deep golden. Not the light straw that you get from a young riesling. The nose was powerful and outstanding. Tons of petroleum, citrus, flowers, and a touch of honey. In the mouth this was a steely mineral laced wine. The fruit was muted at first but the acid and minerals were off the charts, but not in an out of balanced way. As it opened up more, the fruit flavors (apple and stone fruit) became slightly more prevalent. There was also an interesting spicy note on the finish.
I'm glad I have another bottle of this. I'd be very interested to try it again with a bit of a decant.
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Jul 7th 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Aug 6th 2007
Price: $16.93
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Tasting Notes:
Wow, this was a surprising bottle. I was expecting a thicker darker pinot gris like I have seen from some Alsatian bottles in the past. This was a very light straw color, almost completely colorless. The nose was very pronounced though not overly floral. Pear and apple dominated, but there was a strong mineral streak there as well. In the mouth this wine was very light with a crazy electric acid streak. I've never tasted a pinot gris with a backbone like this. The pear and apple were there, but muted and mingling with a lime zest and slatey presence. The finish was quite long with just a hint of allspice. I'm torn on this wine. I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected when I opened it. I wish I had another bottle to ponder further.
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Apr 16th 2008
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Dec 21st 2007
Price: $19.99
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Tasting Notes:
This is my first grand cru wine from Alsace, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I served it with a Vietnamese style braised pork shoulder salad.
In the glass it was a pale yellow, with just a hint of green in the color. The nose was a mixture of flowers, lemon peel, and green apple. On the first sip, I was surprised by the body. It was thicker than most riesling, however there was no perceptible sugar. The acid was nice, but it wasn't as racy as riesling can sometimes get. The fruit was muted, mostly lemon and green apple, but with a ton of minerals. I didn't detect and petrol notes that I sometimes get from riesling on the finish, but it was a long finish with an almost bitter grapefruit flavor mixed with a nutmegy spice and more minerals.
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Feb 21st 2008
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Jun 8th 2007
Price: $10.00
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Tasting Notes:
This is the second bottle of this that I've had. I really wish I had bought more at this price. It still has the classic roses and lychee nose. With tastes of peaches, spice and a hint of grapefruit. Where it beats most domestic gewurz is the texture. It's thick and almost oily. It just feels great in the mouth.
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Jun 25th 2007Comments(0)
Aug 31st 2007
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Apr 7th 2007
Price: $14.99
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Tasting Notes:
This wine reminds me how much I love a well done pinot gris. It also reminds me how sad I am that they are few and far between. Outside of Alsace, I've tasted maybe two or three that I would recommend. Maybe better domestic versions exist, but when I can get an outstanding wine from Alsace for under $20, why should I bother to look anywhere else?
This wine is a golden color in the glass, and simply opulent on the nose. There are strong aromas of pear and peach, and a slight smokiness to it. In the mouth it is thick and oily, but in a good way. It's off-dry, which is fairly unusual for a wine from Alsace, but it is balanced enough to handle it. The fruit comes forward first, mostly pear; but with a touch of honey. Then I tasted a slight floral component before a citrus zest acidity carried it to the finish. I would have been happy if had ended on that note, but the finish just kept going and a spice notes came to the forefront. I could taste both white pepper and anise.
This wine was almost a baby gewurztraminer. I would be happy drinking this on any occasion.
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Aug 27th 2007
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Vintage: 2003
Purchased: Apr 12th 2007
Price: $15.00
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Tasting Notes:
On a Friday night with no plans, Kathrine wanted an easy dinner. So we went to the store and picked up some bread, cheese, salami, peppers, and pickles. I thought a nice light red would go well, and have had this pinot sitting around.
2003 was a very weird year in France so I'm not sure that this pinot would be representative of other vintages, so keep that in mind.
In the glass this is a deep violet color. Much darker than I would have expected. The nose is pleasant with cedar, violets, and cherry. I also noticed a hint of raisin, that I've never picked up from a pinot before. The raisin aroma had me worried that it might be over ripe. On first taste, I realized that was not going to be a problem. The wine still had a great acidity. More similar to a Loire cabernet franc than a pinot in acid. The fruit flavors were good, with a strong cherry taste. I also got an impression of cola. The acidity was so high it almost felt effervescent. Combining that with the cherry and cola flavors almost made it seem like a soda. The finish had nice soft tannins, and spiciness that I assume came from oak.
This is a good wine, especially at this price point. It's a well balanced food wine. It's not very representative of the varietal though. If you can find this for around $15 it's worth buying as it is very interesting.
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Aug 21st 2007
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Vintage: 2000
Purchased: Apr 7th 2007
Price: $16.99
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Tasting Notes:
I've been waiting to try this for a long time, and thought it would go pretty well with some spicy corn fritters.
The first surprise was the color. It was a dark deep golden color. You could tell just by looking at it that it was old. The nose was intoxicating. Lychee, violets, and honey were the most prominent smells; but it was very complex. On the first taste, I was taken back by how thick it was. This was a very thick and opulent wine. The lychee flavor came first with a bit of honey notes, before the floral component took over. On the finish I could taste orange peel, clove, and allspice. I wish I had more of this, because at this price, this was a great gewurz!
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Jul 16th 2007
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Apr 12th 2007
Price: $13.00
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Tasting Notes:
I wanted a simple Sunday dinner, since we'd made a more complex dinner on Saturday. Just a nice green salad with some pancetta, tuna, and a nice vinagrette. Add a good cheese, bread and wine to that; and you've got a winner.
I decided to go with a pinot blanc for this dish. It's a wonderful, but not overly complex wine. Tasty and refreshing, it's usually a great value from Alsace. This was a nice golden color in the glass. The aroma was muted, but that is normal for the varietal. The tastes were of ripe apple, peach, orange blossom, and just a hint of citrus. It was very full bodied, but the crisp acid cut right through that. A wonderful wine that could be drunk on it's own or with a variety of meals.
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Jun 25th 2007
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Jun 8th 2007
Price: $10.00
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Tasting Notes:
On a Friday afternoon, I get a email update from the Seattle Wine Outlet informing me that this gewurztraminer is going to be on special. You probably know that Alsatian gewurztraminer is my absolute favorite wine. You can't drink too much of it because it can get tiring, but I love to have it around.
Kathrine and I were having a simple dinner of sweet and sour mango slaw and smoked pork loin. That's a lot of complex flavors there so I need a wine that could hold up. I thought this would fit the bill. In the glass it is an absolutely beautiful golden color. The nose is super rich with aromas of rose petal, lychee fruit and honey. In the mouth you notice it's off dry and thick feeling in the mouth. The lychee, rose petal, and honey tastes dominate; but there is also a hint of pear. On the finish the rose petal lingers mixing with a strong sensation of spiciness. Nutmeg is the first thing to taste, but then it moves into something that reminded me of white pepper. The peppery finish lingers on for quite some time.
This wine is why I love Alsatian gewurztraminer. Where as American versions can have the same flavors and aromas, they very often taste flabby. There was no flab here. Just a complex opulent wine.
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Feb 21st 2008Comments(0)
