Aging trockens

Our "wine cellar" is barely deserving of the name. Among old items of furniture and various flotsam and jetsam, we have a number of bottles crammed into four different boxes. Trocken Riesling occupies most of the space, though this owes more to my curiosity a few years ago than than any particular preference for trockens. As GGs were still a very recent phenomenon at the time, I once decided to buy a case of Pfalz GGs from a winery in Bad Dürkheim from the 2005 and 2006 vintages respectively, plus a case of non-GG but more-than-decent 2006s from another winery in Ellerstadt. Just over half a dozen of all these are now left in total. On the very rough presumption that these wines may shake off their primary fruit and emerge on the "other side" with more complexity within five to ten years, I've been reluctant to touch them over the past couple of years. In general, 2005 in the Pfalz was probably better than 2006, which was a difficult harvest that entailed considerable selection and low yields due to rot.

Of course, the only way I'll find out how the 05s and 06s are now showing is to open a couple of bottles. With the Grosses Gewächs movement still in its relative infancy, knowledge is rather incomplete as regards how long such wines are able to age. However, without attempting to belittle their aging potential, the suspicion to date would be that trocken Riesling has less capacity to age than Riesling with residual sugar figures over the legal trocken RS ceiling of 9 g/l. The Rieslings of Bernd Philippi from Weingut Köhler-Ruprecht, who applies "old school" oxidative vinification methods, are a notable exception. His range of trockens from the Saumagen vineyard in Kallstadt are supposed to age exceedingly well and generally longer than most of their peers. Philippi chooses not the participate in the Grosses Gewächs scheme.

Anyway, the following couple of links are, however, enlightening. First an extremely informative thread from the Robert Parker board on the "Ageability of Grosses and Erstes Gewachs", which I found through Lyle Fass's blog, and second, an article on "The Rewards of Cellaring Riesling" from an old edition of the Riesling Report, a now - sadly - defunct publication, it seems.

Ambrosia

Here's a can of Ambrosia Devon Custard..



















And here's a bottle of Ambrosia..

Well, Ambrosia Riesling from Aloisiushof in St Martin, Pfalz, to be precise. First, though, I need to take you back to early 1997.

When I was studying languages during my university days in Scotland, I took the customary "year abroad" which involved teaching spoken English at a secondary school. My home that year was Germersheim in the Pfalz. Due to the proximity of the Deutsche Weinstraße, I decided to devote my obligatory dissertation to the local wine and vineyards. What then followed as preparatory "work" were numerous trips to wine country with other local British Fremdsprachenassistenten. The plan of action at every winery tasting room we entered was for me to mention my dissertation and use this as an alibi for us all to taste the respective wine estate's wines - purely for "academic purposes", I hasten to add...

This merry tour led us one March afternoon to St. Martin, a beautiful village nestled in the heart of the Pfalz at the foot of Kalmit, the highest hill in the Pfälzer Wald. The almond trees were in full blossom and all was well with the world. Whether we visited Aloisiushof, I'm not sure, but the chances are that we did.

The story sort of turns full circle now with the following wine, which I first read about on the Drink Tank blog. At half the price of a lot of top-range dry Rieslings, I thought it was well worth a try.

Weingut Aloisiushof, Riesling "Ambrosia" 2008, or to use the full name printed on the back label: "2008er St. Martiner Kirchberg Riesling Spätlese trocken - alte Reben - vom Rotliegenden - handgelesen."

Minerally on the nose. The aromas are still somewhat diffuse, but I can detect plenty of mouthwatering fruit in the second glass after an hour or so once I've got our Sunday dinner ready and we're sitting down. On the palate, the wine is powerful with, dare I say it, an almost a creamy feel to it. The acidity is ripe and just right, the finish long. And although it weighs in at 13.5% alcohol, the wine is very balanced. Elegant and poised, this has a bright future ahead of it, I would think. More of a supple, rounded character than a coiled spring, though.

In hindsight, I should have decanted this, but, happily there's more where this came from.

Huck's musk

The following wine reminds me that I should try aromatic grape varietals more often. Get going on Scheurebe, for instance, and it's hard to stop me. (Far more interesting than Sauvignon Blanc, in my opinion.) Muskateller is another delight, if done properly. Weingut Huck-Wagner have nailed it with this one.

Weingut Huck-Wagner, Muskateller, Blansinger Wolfer trocken, 2008
A fresh and lightly spritzy appearance gives way to aromas that sing. Exotic, flowery spice enveloped in luscious blossomy peach. I rack my brain to remember when I last smelt something like that, and my mind takes me back to last summer and a beer I drank at my parents' house in St Annes. The resemblance is uncanny. (Incidentally, the Swiss and Germans - among others - may scoff at British claims to beer-brewing prowess - citing the ignorant stereotype of "warm ale" - but beers like "Golden Glory" are one of the things I miss here in Basel.)

A beer comparison would normally put you off a wine, but, believe me, this one shouldn't. The same sensations take over on the palate - all peaches (and I mean emphatically peachy, and not the peach people "get" in Riesling, when they quite possibly mean something else), with a refreshing, mouth-watering zing. So far, this beats "Essence" for next summer's wine of choice, me thinks (but don't tell Jenny).

EUR 6.40, bought at my local supermarket.

Wine tasting with Ziereisen and Zind-Humbrecht

This week, Jenny and I attended a special event hosted by Paul Ullrich AG, showcasing the wines of Weingut Ziereisen of Efringen-Kirchen (Baden) and Domaine Zind-Humbrecht of Turckheim (Alsace). Both winemakers were there in person, pouring the wine and chatting to the public. We both enjoyed what was a brilliant evening.

The Paul Ullrich wine shop is situated in Basel's old town on the corner of Schneidergasse and built on three levels - ground floor, upstairs and cellar. It was Olivier Humbrecht and his wines on the first floor which we made a bee-line for on entering. A lot has been written about Monsieur H and his fantastic biodynamic wines, so we wanted to see and taste for ourselves.

The setting was quite informal, so I hardly made any notes - see scanned list below (and the prices in Swiss francs - ouch!). That was just as well, really, because there was so much to take in, and, frankly, the wines were stunning. We started with the lovely Zind VdP, a blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Auxerrois, which is labelled as a simple vin de pays (VdP) because Chardonnay - while allowed in Crémant d'Alsace - is not permitted in AOC Alsace wines. We then carried on through a phalanx of top Rieslings and Pinot Gris - with the Rangen de Thann, Clos Saint Urbain grand crus of both grapes shining most strongly. Borne of volcanic soils, the 2004 Riesling in particular will stay long in the memory. Almost yellow-gold in appearance, unbelievably intense with flinty aromatics and kinetics inside my mouth.

Something of more anecdotal nature to point out is that Olivier Humbrecht is a very tall man! An absolute man-mountain, and he literally towered over everyone while conversing in German, English - and French, naturellement.

Afterwards, we headed back down the stairs to the sous-sol, where Hanspeter Ziereisen was holding court. In comparison, the feel of this downstairs area seemed more conducive to a relaxed atmosphere, although Herr Ziereisen's happy, down-to-earth manner also proved quite infectious. Whereas the Paul Ullrich staff seemed to be constantly hovering round their guest from Alsace upstairs, it felt like a more "hands-on" experience in the company of Herr and Frau Ziereisen.

These wines were fantastic as well. From Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder to Chardonnay, the Ziereisen whites were for me the biggest revelation of the evening. Hanspeter Ziereisen explained that his vines grow on limestone, pointing out that there is in fact a chalk quarry situated round the back of the hill. This was borne out in the lovely minerally and, at times, unusually citrussy character of the wines. The Gutedel Steingrüble, for example, is so unlike most other wines of that varietal that the Baden authorities refuse to classify it. Ziereisen chooses to sell it (and his other wines) as Tafelwein instead.

Frau Ziereisen, with whom we had a lovely and amusing conversation, told us that her personal favourite from their whole collection was the 2007 Grauburgunder Alte Reben Jaspis. She said that the Jaspis plot was situated near the top of the hill not far from where the various local carnival clubs light their annual fire (Fasnachtsfeuer). Needless to say, the wine didn't disappoint. That and the Pinot Noir Jaspis were the two highlights of his collection, I felt. Honorable mentions for the Syrahs, too, though maybe I'd like to taste them again at the beginning of an evening - and not at the end!

As Paul Ullrich were offering a 10% discount on all the wines that evening, we thought it would be rude not to splash out on six bottles: 2 x 2007 Pinot Gris Calcaire (Zind-Humbrecht), 2 x 2007 Weißburgunder Lügle, a bottle of the aforementioned Grauburgunder and - as a little treat - a bottle of the 2007 Pinot Noir Jaspis. Comments on these wines to follow at a later date.

Fischerstube

After our Sunday walk along the Rhine, Jenny and I visited this micro-brewery pub on Sunday for a snifter. Situated in the old town on the northern Kleinbasel side of the river, this establishment is a little haven and the purveyor of some of the best ales in town.

The service was friendly and speedy, although the waitress wasn't exactly rushed off her feet either. I ordered a large glass of Reverenz (lovely, cloudy, hoppy and unfiltered beer) while Jenny had a small glass of the darker, maltier Robur. Both very tasty indeed.

Essence

I had been eyeing this wine for some time: at EUR 5.99, a very affordable off-dry Riesling by a well-known Mosel producer - and very sleekly branded, too.

S.A. Prüm, Riesling "Essence", 2008, Mosel
Orange peel and red apple on the nose. Same pleasant orangely tang on the palate with a squeeze of lime. There are obvious sweet and sour dynamics going on there. Not sure how much residual sugar there is, but, essentially, the medium finish tastes dry once the sweet fruit hits the juicy wall of acidity. For the record, I would place this in the halbtrocken (feinherb) category, though, frankly, who cares? At 10.5% alcohol, this is nice and quaffable - nothing more, nothing less. What's not to like?

Jenny certainly loves it and has instructed me to buy more bottles forthwith.

Mini-rant: [For those who might regard the following as an overgeneralisation, apologies in advance.]
Within Germany, such wines are being passed over increasingly by consumers in favour of all that is trocken. Rieslings that are off-dry or sweeter (on paper, if not sensorially) tend to be regarded as overly sweet and dismissed with contempt as "wines for the export market". Sometimes, even legally trocken Rieslings which - to my mind - often feel more balanced with a few reconciliatory grams per litre of residual sugar are subject to sniping about their Zuckerschwänzchen. There's no accounting for taste, it seems.

Domaine Nussbaumer, take two

Domaine Nussbaumer, Gutedel, Aesch, Vordere Klus, 2008
Unusually, the German name is used here, and not Chasselas. To tell the truth, I went into the local wine shop with the intention of purchasing the Räuschling I mentioned in my previous blog post. That would have been interesting. Alas, they don't stock it - I would have to contact Nussbaumer directly - so I went for the Gutedel instead.

With 11.5% alcohol, this wine is light on its feet. Vegetative nose with - bizarrely - a whiff of fish. This dissipates completely after a little while, leaving a pleasant coolness and a slightly nutty (or peanutty?) aroma which carries over to the palate. Minimal acidity - unlike the previous wine, it could maybe do with more acidity, if anything. Not exactly testing on the complexity front, but with an agreeable, cool texture. Hm, I suppose it tastes better than that description just sounded. Not exactly the text-book wine for these cold winter nights, but it redeems the first impression I had of Nussbaumer at the weekend to a certain extent. Price: CHF 16.10.