Lees, meadow flowers, yellow plum and lemon citrus on the fresh nose. All of that again on the fresh, breezy, creamy textured palate with a stony mineral quality to balance the surprisingly rich and rounded flavours. A lovely ‘village’ riesling from a producer who, in my limited experience, always seems to deliver.
Which begs the question, what’s in your glass this week ?
3 days into our Lebanon trip these are wines we’ve consumed so far, as opposed to tasting at cellar doors. My travelogue is posted on the relevant thread here https://community.thewinesociety.com/t/lebanon-visit/4433/23
For anyone interested
All these wines are from the Bekka valley region.
Latourba MC brut Blanc de Blancs NV
appears to be the sole sparkling brut made in Lebanon, surprisingly the winery / vineyards are way south in the valley. But it’s very decent, some nice acidity and autolytic flavours and a deep yellow colour suggesting some bottle age.
Cave Kouroum Petit Noir 2016
This winery is just “up” the road from Kefraya, cepages on the label. Very appealing rich crunchy fruit, nicely mature and very quaffable.
Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir 2017
Certainly the first to vinify PN in Lebanon and I’ve not seen others yet, but imho it doesn’t work. Whilst drinkable it feels a bit cooked and over-ripe, some burnt rubber, coffee grounds, no appreciable nose or much fruit. We tasted it at the winery, noted the bottle was 2 days’ open, and bought a fresh one and opened last night, but it was just the same.
Breaking my rule of not buying anything with Château in the title. I think, for the price, I love Alsace / Moselle Pinot Noir. Blind I’d probably think this is a Garnacha from Rioja matured in used French oak. Spicy, rich but without overpowering, with some deeper red fruit character. 14.5% so not that unlike, say, La Dula by Sandra Bravo. This one is a bit more smokey and bacony. I think I should serve them next to each other next time. Humm, I’ll order another bottle.
Sandra Bravo’s Garnacha is very Burgundian! But again, is that thing of something being non Burgundian being interpreted through a Burgundian prism. It kind of makes more sense with Garnacha, but it is interesting with what I assume must be an interesting Pinot clone not that prominent in Burgundy.
PS: love writing this without checking the internet so I can be proven wrong by it being 777.
Saarburger Riesling Alte Reben Trocken, Zilliken 2021. £24, 12%, bone dry (apparently)
I know virtually nothing about German Riesling - so this was bought on the strength of other member’s notes from the recent German walkaround tastings. And it is very good indeed.
Whilst ‘TWS (1) bone dry’ it has a richness and rounded mouth-feel of a fuller bodied wine, ripe with complexity… There’s petrichor, hawthorn (blossom and fruit), unripe pineapple, a hint of hazelnuts, burnt lemon, honey even, finishing on the expected lime cordial. A lot going on for a young wine.
With a Tuesday evening take on a Pho / Tonkotsu ramen. Homemade pork/ chicken wing broth, pork belly, soft boiled egg, Vietnamese basil, tenderstem broccolli, morning glory, green beans, udon noodles, fish sauce, XO crispy chilli sauce ! Cultural appropration indeed.
The wine - a revelation - Reisling I rarely buy yet this one is superb.
777 Pinot Noir clone from Burgundian stock. It is very widespread, in particular with new plantings in Oregon, South Africa or NZ, but also it does get back to Burgundy via replantings reducing the genetic diversity of Pinot.
Oh - that’s OK then - I wondered if ‘777’ was some kind of internet speak !
The Château de Vaux is one I always buy - if and when it appears - I’ve had great and ‘meh’ bottles, but I still buy it. Thoroughly confusing to work out where it’s actually from. So far I much prefer the P. Noir to the P Gris.
Agree! It doesn’t have the vivid red fruit I associate with most Burgundies (even aged ones) but it does have some of the bacony oak I get in some more oaky Spätburgunders without having their Pinot expression either. It’s quite a fun, puzzling wine, so I’m not surprised you keep on buying it. The structure is also spot on although I probably prefer more acidity: probably a warmer vintage? Tannins are present but fairly low and smooth.
A delicate and elegant Pinot, balancing nicely everything I love about the variety, and with a distinct cool climate feel to it. The nose opens up slowly showing notes of woodsmoke, forest floor/leaf mould, spice (cinnamon or clove) kirsch and raspberries with a nice whiff of pot pourri.
On the palate it is light as a feather but with real interest - a wine to get to know slowly; there’s tangy red fruit (red currants, sour cherries and strawberries) peppered with clove, a certain smokiness and a savoury edge which has a game-y quality to it. It’s poised and classy - but also very easy to enjoy. The opposite of me, then!
And with fromage which is not soft…full on hot summer fruit….this from an old Aussie import….it’s big and wondering if we opened too early….most enjoyable though.
Simple pleasures here tonight, a few sardines and a warm potato salad with an EVOO, capers, lemon, chilli, garlic, and basil dressing, with this to wash down the punchy flavours…
A sea breeze fresh nose with a distinctive note of ozone ( which reminded me of my days working in water treatment ! ), lees and green apples. Crunchy pears, green apples and their skin, and a saline mineral quality on the refreshingly tangy palate. It was spot on with dinner, and would be to all manner of seafood, shellfish especially, and thought it well worth the £9 paid.
BTW, have a lovely time on the Costa Brava @Inbar !
This evening another wine from the German walkaround tasting - Knipser Spatburgunder 2017 for an astounding £14.95
Absolutely ready to drink; stylistically it’s like a GOOD Beaujolais cru (but clearly P.N) pure enjoyment in a glass yet not too cerebral. Quite frankly it betters any Burgundy I have had for under £27.
Spatburgunder so more spice then Burgundy P.N. and dare I say it… a touch sweeter (well it is from the Pfalz).
Usually members finish a post along the lines of ‘a case into reserves’ - however in this instance I’m getting a case for inexpensive 2023 summertime drinking.
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