Blisteringly good

We bought the following wine almost a year ago at an Iberian wine tasting event; its time finally came recently. Remembering how inordinately minerally it tasted back then, we were looking forward to matching it with a nice slab of steak.

Doing steak, there is always a fine line between triumph and disaster. Prepare it for too long, and the meat will end up rubbery and hard. However, taking the steak off when you think it's sufficiently done (medium-rare in our case) is always a bit of a dare. That uncertainty until you finally cut through the steak can be unnerving. This time, the meat was perfect.

And the wine?

Joan Simó, Sentius 2006, Priorat DOQ, Catalunya
Opaque cherry/ruby with a minty and - yes, you've guessed it - minerally entry on the nose. It's not so much fruit that I come up against, but a complex wall of tannins instead. Full-bodied, soft and creamy on the palate. Said tannins are massive but velvety. They envelope the mouth and give off minty, greeny peppery notes here and there. Meanwhile, the minerality is positively blistering. The whopping 15% alcohol is hardly noticeable, though you already feel the effects after one glass. If there was ever a red wine that cried out for oak, this is it. Yet, what roasted notes there are remain discreetly in the background.

Grown on Priorat's slate soils, this is a blend of Garnacha, Cab Sauv., Merlot, Syrah and Carignena - and for the price (CHF 28.50), it's a top wine. Drinking very well at the moment, but I have no doubt it will continue to improve for some years. For the moment, everything is humming away behind a monolithic wall of radio disturbance. [Blimey, did I just write that?] If I were to borrow an analogy, I would probably pick the following song by Oasis. The year is 1996, and Liam and Noel are at their zenith but about to slide down the slippery slope of self-parody. Not that this wine is anywhere near the slippery slope yet, I hasten to add. Anyway, nifty helicopters.

Does exactly what it says...

Wine descriptions on wine bottle labels can often sound quite twee and samey. "Chief winemaker xyz has crafted a wine that evokes xyz's local terroir...fruit driven...picked at optimum ripeness...ideal with cheese and pork scratchings." (I made the last bit up.)

I'll save you my amateurish description of the following wine, not just because it has been covered elsewhere (I concur with the final comment at the bottom of this post, by the way), but because the label does my job for me.

I'll translate instead:

Weingut Ziereisen, Steingrüble 2009, Baden
"Fully ripened, hand-picked grapes from 25-year-old Gutedel (Chasselas) vines were spontaneously fermented in a large wooden vat, using the grapes' own yeasts. The wine was bottled after being left on its lees for 11 months. Flinty notes with ripe, elegant acidity and minerally hints on the palate."

Beer for Valentine's Day

My better half knows what I like...
















...and I like what she knows.

Ortswein

The castle overlooking the village of Wachenheim has to be one of my favourite places in the Pfalz. From there, you can survey the expanse of vines extending into the valley for about two to three miles beyond, and then further into the fertile plains of the Vorderpfalz and the Kurpfalz with the cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Ludwigshafen visible on a clear day. (Admittedly, Ludwigshafen isn't the easiest on the eye from closer up.)

From this vantage point, it is also possible to spot the various properties owned by Bürklin-Wolf in and around Wachenheim: an English garden, a croquet lawn, various stately mansions and courtyards, a small theatre... You get the idea.

Bürklin-Wolf dominate Wachenheim like no other property. My memory of them dates back to Easter 1997 when I took my parents there to taste and buy some wines. That's a long time ago now, but the nostaglia lingers.

But now to today's wine:

Weingut Bürklin-Wolf, Wachenheimer Riesling trocken 2009, Pfalz
Bürklin-Wolf adhere to the Burgundian classification system. This Ortswein is the equivalent of a Burgundy Cru Villages.

A whiff of citrus and herbs on an otherwise quite reticent nose. Acidity is this wine's friend. We served it with fish cakes and home-made tartar sauce on the first day, which dulled this effect somewhat. On the second day, the acidity was clearly there, but ripe and appley with a faint herbal tinge. Anything but a fruit extravaganza, this drinks well but has a certain austerity.

Now on a tweet near you

I've bitten the bullet and signed up to Twitter.

Let's hope I don't descend into any Kevin Pietersen or Darren Bent moments.

Beautiful Weissburgunder

I'll let you into a little secret: Jenny are I are currently in the deadly serious process of trying various white wines that could potentially make it on to the table at our wedding. Around nine months before the big day, and we've already decided on the red wine. I'm not naming any names, but it was a relatively simple choice in the end. Sourcing enough of the stuff could be the tricky part, but we'll see.

It could be a more complicated proposition with the whites, because there are a plethora of possible permutations. But first things first: you can never go far wrong with Weissburgunder. This wine was the latest in our exploratory mission.

Weingut Bercher, Burkheimer Feuerberg Weissburgunder Kabinett trocken 2009, Baden
Purchased in Freiburg last Saturday, along with the Laible and four other wines as a sort of "tester pack". Medium-intensity aromas of pear, cream and peaches. These translate into a succulent palate of pear and dried fruit. The wine is uplifting, pure and elegant. Relatively mild but still refreshing, Weissburgunder is kind of "everyone's darling", and I'm sure this one would stand up to scrutiny from our respective relatives and friends. I love it, but I might be tempted to go up one notch to the dry Spätlese for practical purposes. Anyway, it's still early days.

Andreas Laible

Baden isn't that famous for Riesling, but there are pockets of top quality here and there: in Ihringen, for example, and in parts of the Ortenau such as Neuweier and Durbach. The latter village boasts a small handful of excellent properties including Weingut Andreas Laible, probably the most renowned "Riesling winery" in Baden.

Andreas Laible's son Alexander is making a name for himself with his own variety of wines, one of which I tasted in 2009. Yet, it's Alexander's dad who's still the reference point for all things Riesling in Baden. Time to acquaint myself then.

Weingut Andreas Laible, Durbacher Plauenrain Riesling Kabinett trocken 2009, Baden
I chose this Kabinett as a light introduction. I wasn't disappointed.

A wonderfully floral nose eventually evolving into succulent peach and orange zest. More exotic peaches on a mouthwatering palate. Medium-light in terms of body, but with ripe acidity and so much flavour. The finish is satisfyingly dry and briny. Text-book dry Kabinett.