It's the "dog days" of summer, and a time when many of our members are off gallivanting in some exotic location (like France or, even more exotic, Atlanta) or dealing with various priorities. Luckily, a few of us were around to participate in our search for an acceptable rose wine. We tasted 4 rose wines at our meeting and I have to say right off the bat, I immediately noticed how our palates have grown. For one thing, we were able to better describe smells and tastes, and for another, we could be very clear about what we liked or didn't like, and why. It was a very interesting exercise. Here go the results, in the Olympic spirit (thanks for the suggestion, Arthur!):
THE GOLD:
Turkey Flats Vinyards 2007 Rose -- I picked this one because of its origin, Australia's Barossa Valley, and because it was made partly from shiraz grapes. I figured we couldn't go wrong with that combo, and my theory proved correct. This rose was a meritage of 62% grenache, 22.3% shiraz, 9.7% cabernet, and 6% dolcetto grapes. On the nose, we picked up a lot of raspberry, and it smelled rather hot. The alcohol content was 13% but it smelled and tasted like more. On the palate, more berrylike fruits and more alcohol, but most surprisingly, the mid-palate was actually citrusy, a theme that would continue throughout the tasting. This rose was full-bodied, which we appreciated, and we liked it more the more we tasted. Definitely the winner among the bunch.
THE SILVER:
Paul Jaboulet Aire Parallel 45 Cote du Rhone Rose 2007 -- A great choice made by Mom, since we'd established we do like the Cote reds. On the nose, perfume, and hints of peach and strawberry. The palate was fruity, though not quite as full-bodied as the Aussie rose (surprising for a French wine). Most interesting was the finish, which was very much like sucking a lemon peel. You know when you've eaten all the fruit and there's nothing left but the white part and the peel itself? It was like that. A very interesting rose.
THE BRONZE:
Vitiano 2006 Rosato Umbria -- This Italian rose was the first one we tasted and based on this we thought we were in for a disappointing meeting. The nose was pure strawberry, very pleasant. But the palate was a letdown: nice fruit up front, but no mid-palate at all and a sharp bitterness on the back end. It wasn't a pleasant bitterness, either, like the lemon peel in the Cote du Rhone rose, it was just a betterness that lingered. We found it drinkable, certainly, but we thought it was too watery and I did not like the bitterness.
THE AGONY:
Oveja Negra 2006 Rose, Central Valley, Chile -- I got this as a bonus, because we'd never tried a Chilean wine before and the region is said to produce some awesome wines. Right off the bat we noticed this rose featured a darker color than the others, almost ruby. The nose was shockingly...vegetal! I picked up green peppers right away, which I thought was fascinating. The nose was straight grassy. Mom's description, which was spot on: "It's like driving through upstate NY at night with foliage whizzing by the open car windows." Clearly she should be writing this blog! Anyway, the letdown was in the taste. I couldn't pick up anything but alcohol. It certainly wasn't berry-like, which is what we expected. I suspect the taste was vegetal as well, and since we are so not used to that we couldn't identify what we were tasting. I tried it again tonight hoping the taste would have benfited from being open so long before sealing the bottle last night, but I still can't ID the taste, except to say "alcoholy." Arthur has 2 suggestions: one was that we try more Chilean wines to figure out what's going on with them, and the other was to actually go to Chile and bomb the place in the interests of national tasting security. We settled on the first suggestion, so look for Chile to be added to the agenda for the next meeting.
That's it! So we do have a couple of go-to roses to enjoy for what's left of the summer. Time to look forward to fall, which features cooler temperatures, and the return of two things we love: red wine and football! Look for updates on the next meetings on our calendar, as I'm pretty certain that dates will have to change. Until then, happy sipping!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
JULY WINE CLUB NEWS -- RIESLING BATTLE ROYAL!
The July meeting had two themes: hot and sweet! We met in Mom's backyard and BBQ'ed while we conducted our battle of the rieslings, pitting rieslings from different regions against each other to see which is our overall favorite. Now, it was about 90 degrees out that day, and there we were, huddled underneath a tent in the backyard (gracefully donated by the Williamses, Mom's neighbors), drinking wine, of all things, and it wasn't even Arbor Mist! So maybe we were a little crazy, but we sure enjoyed ourselves.
Nine rieslings were sampled that day, and they represented regions from Australia to Germany to Washington State. Here are the results of our battle (hope I get this right; it's been 2 weeks!).
THE WINNER
Donnhoff Norheiman Kirschbach Spatlese -- representing Germany, this wine came out on top for its sweetness without being syrupy. This wine was smooth and reminded us of our favorite Schmitt Sohn (more on that later), and tasted even better chilled. In fact, one member who shall remain nameless actually added ice to his glass. You know who you are!
2ND PLACE
Hogue 2006 Columbia Valley riesling -- representing Washington State, the Hogue featured a bright, lemony color and was fruity on the nose and palate. This was my personal favorite because it wasn't too sweet, though some members felt it was dry and a bit tannic.
3RD PLACE
Selbach-Oster Auslese -- hailing from Germany's Mosel region, known for riesling, this was a very sweet wine that Eslin actually described as like fruit juice only thicker and with a kick. Robin picked up honeydew on the palate. Loretta liked the long finish; she said the sweetness wouldn't go away. We nicknamed this wine the Cellblock, 'cause it just sounded cool, and 'cause we were probably suffering from inebriation and heat stroke by that point.
THE REST:
Jacob's Creek Reserve 2007 -- An Australian riesling that we found very minerally and fruity, dry but not very, with apple and melon on the nose.
Hugel Alsace riesling, 2004 -- A dry French riesling with faint hints of lemon on the nose and the palate. Laura described this as lemonade for adults and that was dead on. This wine really demonstrated that acidic quality that people love so much about riesling.
Dr Loosen 2007 -- We went back to Germany's Mosel region with the Dr. Loosen, a sweet riesling. We did try it behind two rather dry rieslings so that likely affected our palates, but you could tell how sweet this was just by the nose alone. If you're a fan of spatlese rieslings, this one's for you.
St. Urbans-Hof 2007 -- Another sweet Mosel riesling; this was actually too sweet for some of us. Strangely, Arthur did not find it sweet on the palate at all. Hmmm...
Schmitt Sohne Auslese -- An old favorite, and a smooth, pleasant German wine. The auslese is a sweet riesling, not as dry as the French or Australian wines we tried. If you like your rieslings drier, go for the spatlese or kabinett varieties.
Dr. Beckmann Auslese -- This is a pretty darn sweet auslese; Arthur found it way too sweet. By the time we got to this riesling we realized that yes, you can have too much sweet wine (without going over into port or sauterne territory).
Rieslings are known primarily for their fruitiness (typical notes are apple, peach, melon, and citrus fruits) and their acidity. The sweetness is something you can pick and choose according to your taste. Germany's Mosel region is the undisputed king in riesling grape production, so if you're looking to explore rieslings, you can start there and work your way around the rest of the globe. But be prepared, because rieslings can be just as varied in taste as any other wine. Remember, the point is to find one (or two, or three...) that works for YOU.
We tackle rose next, and the meeting is scheduled for Saturday August 16. Happy shopping!
Nine rieslings were sampled that day, and they represented regions from Australia to Germany to Washington State. Here are the results of our battle (hope I get this right; it's been 2 weeks!).
THE WINNER
Donnhoff Norheiman Kirschbach Spatlese -- representing Germany, this wine came out on top for its sweetness without being syrupy. This wine was smooth and reminded us of our favorite Schmitt Sohn (more on that later), and tasted even better chilled. In fact, one member who shall remain nameless actually added ice to his glass. You know who you are!
2ND PLACE
Hogue 2006 Columbia Valley riesling -- representing Washington State, the Hogue featured a bright, lemony color and was fruity on the nose and palate. This was my personal favorite because it wasn't too sweet, though some members felt it was dry and a bit tannic.
3RD PLACE
Selbach-Oster Auslese -- hailing from Germany's Mosel region, known for riesling, this was a very sweet wine that Eslin actually described as like fruit juice only thicker and with a kick. Robin picked up honeydew on the palate. Loretta liked the long finish; she said the sweetness wouldn't go away. We nicknamed this wine the Cellblock, 'cause it just sounded cool, and 'cause we were probably suffering from inebriation and heat stroke by that point.
THE REST:
Jacob's Creek Reserve 2007 -- An Australian riesling that we found very minerally and fruity, dry but not very, with apple and melon on the nose.
Hugel Alsace riesling, 2004 -- A dry French riesling with faint hints of lemon on the nose and the palate. Laura described this as lemonade for adults and that was dead on. This wine really demonstrated that acidic quality that people love so much about riesling.
Dr Loosen 2007 -- We went back to Germany's Mosel region with the Dr. Loosen, a sweet riesling. We did try it behind two rather dry rieslings so that likely affected our palates, but you could tell how sweet this was just by the nose alone. If you're a fan of spatlese rieslings, this one's for you.
St. Urbans-Hof 2007 -- Another sweet Mosel riesling; this was actually too sweet for some of us. Strangely, Arthur did not find it sweet on the palate at all. Hmmm...
Schmitt Sohne Auslese -- An old favorite, and a smooth, pleasant German wine. The auslese is a sweet riesling, not as dry as the French or Australian wines we tried. If you like your rieslings drier, go for the spatlese or kabinett varieties.
Dr. Beckmann Auslese -- This is a pretty darn sweet auslese; Arthur found it way too sweet. By the time we got to this riesling we realized that yes, you can have too much sweet wine (without going over into port or sauterne territory).
Rieslings are known primarily for their fruitiness (typical notes are apple, peach, melon, and citrus fruits) and their acidity. The sweetness is something you can pick and choose according to your taste. Germany's Mosel region is the undisputed king in riesling grape production, so if you're looking to explore rieslings, you can start there and work your way around the rest of the globe. But be prepared, because rieslings can be just as varied in taste as any other wine. Remember, the point is to find one (or two, or three...) that works for YOU.
We tackle rose next, and the meeting is scheduled for Saturday August 16. Happy shopping!
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