A Boot-full of Wine Tasting notes from Italy

Here are some amazing wines I had the pleasure of tasting at a large, recent tasting. A plug for this particular vinoteca (wine shop) – they are serious about European, and Italian in particular, wines, and several times a year put on large tastings. They are located just outside Florence, on the doorstep of Chianti. These wines featured at a larger tasting of vigneron champagne, which I shall write about next week.

Reviewed

France- Burgundy

Lescure Chantal – Pommard – Premier Cru – Les Vaumuriens – 2005 (18.25). A fantastic wine for the price (31 Euro). All the classic hallmarks of a great Burgundy with the added stamp of 2005 – great acid, structure, tannins and cherry fruit, beginning to wind its way to some early compost complexity.

Sigaut Hervé – Morey St Denis – Premier Cru – “Les Millandes” – 2005 (18.25). Again reflective of a great year, austere, with high acid levels, complexity (including, I felt, some hints of chocolate) and length.

Domaine Bertagna – Clos de Vougeaot – Grand Cru 2006 (18.5). Sure, this wine needs more time, but – WOW! – such powerful fruit, tannins – power with elegance.

Pillot Fernand & Laurent – Pommard – Premier Cru “Clos de Verger” 2006 – (18.25). Varietally as faithful as they come. Beautiful cherry and strawberry fruit, with hints of coffee possibly derived from the oak.

Chablis

Bouchard Pascal – Chablis – Grand Cru – Les Clos – 2005 (17.5). Wet stones and citrus – superb minerally example of Chablis with just a whisker less acidity than I would have expected.

Defaix Daniel-Etienne – Chablis – Premier Cru – “Vaillons” – 2001 (17.75). Even more complexity and flint evident, superb persistence of core citrus fruit.

Defaix Daniel-Etienne – Chablis – Premier Cru – Les Lys– 2001 (17.5). An amazing wine, lively and spritely despite its age, with evolution evident, but with a core of steely minerality.

Defaix Daniel-Etienne – Chablis – Blanchot – 2003 (17.75). This didn’t hit me at first like the Premieres Cru, perhaps because of lower acidity owing to the hot year. However, its subtle flavour kept building and building, and then just hung on.

Defaix Daniel-Etienne – Chablis – Grand Cru – Grenouilles – 2004 (18). Apples, honey, brioche and lemon zest doing a dance on the palate. A long dance.

Languedoc

Prieuré De St Jean De Bebian – Coteaux Du Languedoc (Rouge) – 2001 (18). A mix of Syrah 40%, Grenache 40% and Mourvedre 20%, this wine was expressive, with sweet brambly and plum fruit, with some smoky notes, and undergrowth complexity – like a Frenchman’s armpit! Or so I’m told….

Austria

Brundlmayer (Kamtal) – Riesling – Zobinger Heiligenstein – 2006 (18). Clean, pure, crisp, and dry. Beginning to show early aged characters adding complexity to the pristine citrus palate.

Brundlmayer – Gruner Veltliner – Berg Vogelsang – 2007 (17.75). I tend to distinguish Gruner Veltliner from Riesling in Austria by the slightly “fatter” midpalate, by the mouthfeel, and profile of the fruit flavours (which can be similar to Riesling). This was a superb example, full of citrus and mineral flavours.

Brundlmayer – Gruner Veltliner – Ried Kaferberg – 2002 (18.5). Aged Gruners are one of Austria’s best kept secrets. Indeed, even most Austrians prefer to drink theirs young. Gruners age differently to Rieslings, not developing that kerosene flavour, but instead a kind of “sweetness” and complexity of depth of flavours. As was the case here.

Germany

Fritz Haag (Mosel) – Braunenberg J Sonnenuhr – Riesling – GoldKap – 2007 (18.5). With an amazing 135g/l of residual sugar, this wine is delicate and its sweetness exquisitely balanced with searing acidity: a whopping 8.9g/l! Alcohol levels are 7% – this wine would be at its best in 15 years+!

Prum Joh. Jos. (Mosel) – Wehlener Sonnenuhr – Riesling – Auslese – 2007 (18.5). Like the Fritz Haag, this is from the great Sonnenuhr (Sundial) vineyard in the Mosel. Honeyed sweetness, piercing clarity of fruit, bright acidity – this too calls out for time in the cellar.

Donhoff (Nahe) – Dellchen – Grand Cru- Riesling – Grosses Gerwachs – 2007 (17.75). This has an amazing 13.5% alcohol and 8 g/l of residual sugar – global warming effects? It is bright, poised and balanced, with slate and citrus, especially grapefruit characters. A slight bitterness on the finish (reflective of the higher alcohol?) caused me to mark it “down”.

Kunstler (Rhiengau) – Hochheimer Herrenberg – Riesling – QBA – 2007 (17.5). Most like the dry Aussie Rieslings we are used to, at 18 Euro I thought this was great value. A pure lemon-lime zingy palate, with a just hint of fruit sweetness. Though a QBA wine, with 8.1 g/l acidity, this would only improve after a few years.

Slovenia

Simcic Edi – Sauvignon – Riserva – 2006 (17.2). These wines, especially from this producer, were a great find for me, and illustrate the great things that are being done in the world of wine in Slovenia. Varietally spot on, without too many methoxypyrazines to overload the palate with “cat’s piss”; instead bitter stone fruit added to the flavour complexity. I cannot tell from the website whether this has had any contact with oak, but suffice to say it has a softer rounder mouthfeel than most other Sauvignon Blancs I have tasted.

Simcic Edi – Chardonnay – Cru “Kozana” – 2006 (17.25). Very Burgundian, with good levels of acidity and minerality to match. 17.75 pts Simcic Edi Malvasia Riserva 2007 An amazingly intense wine, with apricots, mint, eucalypt and aromatic herbs and spices – like nothing I have ever tasted before. Hard to think what food to match it with – perhaps fragrant, oily fish?

Ciao for now!

Brendan Jansen