WTN: Excellent weekend stuff: Biffar and Drouhin

With a lunch with family I opened up my last Biffar wine and a DDO and both were just wonderful. The lunch was a bit of a mixed affair with various smoked fish for starter and salmon and pork in chantrelles as mains, but I thought one Riesling and one Pinot should provide good matches.

Biffar Deidesheimer Grainhübel Riesling Spätlese Trocken 1998 13%

In my previous taste (from last summer IIRC) I noted a spearmint/toothpaste smell on the nose - something I have found in quite a few warm year Rieslings. This bottle however didn't show that, and I am glad. It is ripe and pure with very expressive essence-of-Riesling-fruit with a slightly honeyed edge. Though fully dry, this has vibrant enough fruit that I don't mind the lack of RS (and this is rare in my experience of German Trockens). It withstood the smokey fishes well and was nice with the salmon and pork - I wonder why I didn't bring two Rieslings instead!

Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir 2001 Willamette Valley 13,5%

Well, this was very nice with pork. It is bright and fruity, with an almost metallic note which is attractive and somewhat akin to minerality as I percieve it with my nostrils. The wine had slight notes of damp earth (making it irresistable with the chantrelles in the pork), but the bright and pure Pinosity is foremost. The palate is a touch sweeter than Burgundies, but just by the aromatics and earthyness this does seem Burgundian. A very lovable wine. I sadly have only one of these left and that I promised to Anders. I hope I manage to keep my hands off it until he comes to Finland! I'll try my best, but please forgive me if I can't.

My family don't seem to be great drinkers, so I had small drops of both to enjoy at dinner and chat time yesterday also. They were not good pairings with a slightly soft Beira Baixa cheese from Portugal. The cheese coated the mouth and made the wines seem "dirty" in taste - but ever the intrepid explorer, I had to try it out though I did guess the outcome.

-O-

Just curious, Otto. Do you remember how much the Drouhin cost? their current Oregon Pinots are priced at the level of 1er Cru Burgundies, and I usually prefer the latter. ($75 US)

[David M. Bueker]

Otto,

1998 a warm year in Germany? It was instead perhaps the last high acid year we'll ever see.

[Jenise]

$75 for Drouhins now, Brian? Wow, things have changed; I'm still thinking they're in the $55 (for the Laurene) and $40ish arena (for the regular).

I'm with Jenise, I paid about $30 for the 01 DDO not long ago

[James Roscoe]

I just checked the website of the local BAWS where the prices are usually pretty good. It's $69.99 for the Laurene and $39.99 for the regular bottling. No vintage was given. I assume it's the latest vintage available.

Brian, it was 39,50€ for the brief time it was available here.

1998 a warm year in Germany? It was instead perhaps the last high acid year we'll ever see.

Hence my initial surprise at such a spearminty smell last summer. But then I thought that the fruit really did seem quite a bit more warm-year-like than the '96 I tasted last summer alongside it. Yes it does have acidity, and it may be the last refreshingly acidic vintage, but still the fruit to me does seem a bit warmer. BTW, I haven't tasted many of them yet, but don't you suppose that '04 might be a refreshingly acidic year? What I haven't understood is why '01 is considered such, my experiences are quite different...

-O-

don't you suppose that '04 might be a refreshingly acidic year?

Sounds about right.

What I haven't understood is why '01 is considered such, my experiences are quite different...

I don't know about 'refreshingly acidic' but many 2001 wines show much more regal and crisp acids in comparison to the subsequent High Profile Vintages (03, 05).

[David M. Bueker]

When we're talking about acidity in German Rieslings it's all relative and tough to generalize, but I'll do it anyway...

1996 was crazy acidic. Many wines top 11 g/l of acidity & can taste sharp. A few are starting to mellow out into something more socially acceptable, but not a lot

1998 was also high acid, if not 1996.

2001 is sort of classical acid levels. Lower than 1996 or 1998, but easier to achieve balance. For those who want their Riesling to say "CRISP ACID" with every sip sure 2001 can seem lower in acid, but it's probably about the best balanced vintage in memory short of say 1971.

2002 and 2004 are more forward with the acidity, but neither is anything like a 1998 or especially 1996.

2005 is low acid, but with enough backbone to ensure that in 20 years there is going ot be some monumental drinking.

2003 is maple syrup.

David, thanks for the generalisations! What about '97? I've only tried a few from Ruwer and those were wonderful - though not perhaps high in acidity, but well balanced anyway.

-O-

[David M. Bueker]

'97 was especially great in the Ruwer (best in Germany IMO), and while lower in acidity still quite enjoyable in the rest of Germany. It was sort of a preview vintage of current acid levels without the crazy ripeness levels.