WBW #45: Old World Riesling

May 04, 2008 |  WineBlogWeds_Posse (2) |  Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers |  1 comment

I will admit, we have been remiss in not doing more WBW episodes, but we came back with a bang for WBW 45’s Old World Riesling.

It was an interesting evening, which brings to mind the question that I first started to ponder after reading an article on regional / ethnic preferences in wine. The overall consensus of this Bay Area based crew was that these wines were not to our style, but could be enjoyable in specific situations. Is it because we were raised primarily on the New World varieties like the classic California Chardonnays of yesteryear and their heavy, oakey body or the crisp Sauv Blancs from New Zealand that have flooded the market? Or is it simply because we have limited access to some of these Old World varieties, and we haven't’ had the drinking history with them? Nature or nurture, what develops your palate more? There is some evidence to suggest that certain ethnic groups have a natural disposition to certain types of wine, but how much of it is what is readily available? Is living in the capital of the New World wine country skewing our tastes toward those types of wines? I wonder, and will continue to explore the Old World trying to find something that suits my taste as much as a New World red would.

The Top 2

Out of the five wines tried, our favorites were:

2006 Ulrich Langguth Riesling

Hessische Bergstrasse

Germany

Avg rating 89
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Tropical fruit, citrus, lightly sweet with good body, but lacking finish. Effervescent.

2004 Trimbach Alsace Riesling

France

Avg rating 88.7
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We also really enjoyed this crisp Alsatian sample, that we could swear was a Sauvignon Blanc given it’s acidity. Pale, Crisp, light. Grapefruit, apples & lemon show big acid. Scents of hay and green grasses on the nose.

The Other 3

In our opinions, these last three were only mediocre, and not something we would rush right out and spend our economic stimulus checks on.

2004 Rheingau Riesling Qualitätswein

Germany

Avg rating 86.5
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Sweet pink grapefruit & jujubes. Apricots and honeysuckle, very fruity. Funky smell.
A little funk/cheese with some leather and something — maybe. Some white pepper, too.

2004 Grans-Fassian Piesporter Goldtröptchen Riesling-Spätlesse

Germany

Avg rating 85
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Sweet and almost tingling / sparkeling. Tastes a bit like cream soda or honey. Goes well with spicy foods.
Needs to be colder or to have more brawn due to sweetness. Not my style.

2006 Niersteiner Riesling Kabinett

Germany

Avg rating 82
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Very fruity, with mango and spice. Very acidic, lots of green apple.
Tastes like a sparkler or somebody dropped an alka seltzer in it.

— Thea, for the Vinquire WBW Posse

Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers

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Wine Blogging Wednesday: Petite Sirah

Dec 11, 2007 |  WineBlogWeds_Posse (2) |  Wine Tasting |  5 comments

For Vinquire's first foray into Wine Blogging Wednesday, we recruited nine friends to sample ten California Petite Sirahs. They ranged from very characteristic Petite Sirah styles, to tame, crowd-pleasing California reds, to what some of us found to be Italian-style reds.

Overall, some of us doubted that Petite Sirah could stand on its own. The core flavors were marzipan/licorice, some metallic iron, and a general wildness and disparity of elements—those who liked it call it "savage and brambly", those who didn’t simply called it uneven and inconsistent. Our general opinion by the end: while the varietal has some potential, it clearly doesn’t stand on its own as a classic.

Now the reviews!

Tier 1: Our two favorites were quite clear:

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards Durif, McDowell Vineyards, 2004

Read Reviews, Buy
Avg points 87.4

We felt like this one was the truest expression of the varietal.
Nose: rust, iron, marzipan, soy sauce, smoke
Mouth: Tart, licorice, smoke, heavy bodied, salted plums
Finish: Evolves from licorice to tar

Storrs Petite Sirah, Santa Cruz Mountains, 2004

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Avg points 85

Nose: mineral and blood
Mouth: blackberry and brambly fruits, savage and wild with lots of spice
Finish: a bit hot and burning, with notes of unripened berries

Tier 2: The middle-of-the-road wines:

Huntington Petite Sirah, 2005

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Avg points 84

Note: for 2 of us, this was in the top two!

Concannon Petite Sirah, Central Coast, 2004

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Avg points 83.75

A nice California-style wine, that still had some of the marzipan and licorice that we decided was the Petite Sirah core. A decent everyday wine but with little character.

Bogle Petite Sirah, 2005

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Avg points: 83.75

An easy to drink, fruit forward, with a hint of peppercorn, and generally more consistent wine that most of us agreed stood out: it had a very different, smoother, character than the other wines we tasted.

Amphora Petite Sirah, Dry Creek Valley, Mounts Vineyard, 2004

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Avg points 83

We decanted this for a while, since it was so tight and tannic when we first tasted it. But after two hours, it hadn’t opened up much. It was a very meaty red, inky, blueberry jam and dried overripe blueberries, with a very tight, astringent finish.

Fearless Petite Sirah, Central Coast, 2005

Buy
Avg points 80.66

To some of us, this smelled like a Pinot: vanilla and strawberry, sour cherries, tobacco, leather with notes of herbs de provence.

Stonehedge Reserve Petite Syrah, 2005

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Avg points 79.5

Some of us (notably the person who bought this bottle) tried hard to like this wine—and even they failed! Avoid the 05, we have some positive feedback from the 03 though.

Oak Grove Reserve Petite Sirah, 2005

Buy

This turned out surprisingly Italian-style. Violet, camphor, salty caramel, with smooth mint and a tart finish. No average points … we were apparently getting tipsy!

Inheritance Petite Sirah, 2005

Buy

The dominant note was ether: sweet medicinal. The mouthfeel, though, was watery, and the finish short. What did I say about tipsy?

Wine Tasting

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