WTN: Bubbles, Syrah, Riesling & a new adventure in cork

[David M. Bueker]

Friends over for dinner last night.

With the cheese fondue:

Gaston Chiquet Brut Tradition NV
A disorgement from 2005 that is only getting better. The fruit has deepened and there are more background aromas and flavors. It's drinking better now than it ever has over the last 4 years. Amazing stuff when you consider it was under $25 back then.

With herb & garlic marinated grilled pork tenderloin (which turned out better than I could have ever expected):

2007 Wind Gap Syrah Castelli Knight Ranch
This Syrah from the Russian River Valley is somewhere in between the California and Northern Rhone styles. I would say it's a bit more California style than ESJ to give a reference point. It is very good, with ample fruit but no sense of over the top ripeness or alcohol. I am looking forward to seeing this develop over the next few years. My first Wind Gap wine will not be my last.

Jean Milan Brut Carte Blanche NV
This 2006 disgorgement was D.O.A. The wine had zero bubbles - it was totally flat. I checked out the cork, and it was totally compressed and completely rigid. It did not spring back one bit after coming out of the bottle. It was also rock hard. Has to be a faulty cork. Sad.

A little extra for those who wanted white with the pork:

2008 Selbach-Oster Riesling Spatlese Zeltinger Himmelreich 'Anrecht'
Open, pour, drink, enjoy. Repeat. Both Salil and I have posted on this wine recently and nothing has changed. It's very accessible, balanced, fruity and delicious.

Yuck - first time I've heard about that sort of cork failure on a young Champagne. Shame. The rest of the meal sounds really enjoyable though (you will have to send me the recipe for the herb/garlic tenderloin sometime), and jeebus, there was a time when really good NV Champagne was under $25?

I should have asked this under Salil's orignal TN, but what exactly is this 'Anrecht''?

I should have asked this under Salil's orignal TN, but what exactly is this 'Anrecht''?

It's a subparcel from the Zeltinger Himmelreich vineyard that Selbach bloc-picked (in a single sweep through the site) to make a Spatlese. The label reads 'Zeltinger Himmelreich Spatlese' in standard lettering, "ANRECHT" is just designated below in much smaller lettering.

[David M. Bueker]

Anrecht is a sub-parcel of the Zeltinger Himmelreich, picked as a block (rather than typical multi-pass picking) and made into a lovely spatlese.

[David M. Bueker]

Well at least we agree!

2007 Wind Gap Syrah Castelli Knight Ranch
This Syrah from the Russian River Valley is somewhere in between the California and Northern Rhone styles. I would say it's a bit more California style than ESJ to give a reference point. It is very good, with ample fruit but no sense of over the top ripeness or alcohol. I am looking forward to seeing this develop over the next few years. My first Wind Gap wine will not be my last..

Interesting. I only heard about these guys in the context of their 'orange wine' but didn't realize they made syrah as well. Good for them.

And does this mean you never served the 05 Briords? Just for cooking?

[David M. Bueker]

I used a lot of the Briords in the marinade and the fondue. I also drank a little more. This was not a Muscadet group.

This was not a Muscadet group.

Hey, Champagne and riesling from Selbach Oster sound like pretty close cousins to Muscadet!

At least compared to Fat Chardonnay or Gewurztraminer.

Regardless, I see you were not lacking good wine.

David, Salil:

Thanks. Has the German labeling law always allowed such designations? If so, I'm surprised it isn't done more, given that producers could use it as an additional way to charge more for some parcel that is supposed to have special qualities (not that 'Anricht' might be worth a designation). It is much clearer than the usual secret handshakes (fuder numbers, gold capsules, etc.)) found in German wine geekery.

It is much clearer than the usual secret handshakes (fuder numbers, gold capsules, etc.)) found in German wine geekery.

I guess it could be clearer once the names of these parcels are known. But if everyone starts popping out with new parcel names then there will definitely be some confusion in the short-run. (Although to the extent that leads to even finer-grained terroir explorations I'm sure the German wine geekery contingent will be pleased!).

In some respects, fuder designations and gold capsules are simpler and clearer because you know they are going to be in a certain style : richer and potentially with more botrytis.

[David M. Bueker]

David, Salil:

Thanks. Has the German labeling law always allowed such designations?

It is quasi legal at best. In fact I have heard there may be a crackdown on using unofficial (though historically accurate) site/plot names on labels in the near future. I had thought the (good) genie was out of the bottle, but apparently the German wine authorities want to put it back in (all under the misguided guise of preventing the proliferation of names and thus making things easier for the consumer).

Too bad about the Milan bubbly.
I like the Anrecht, a lot. Hope labeling laws don't interfere. Of course, the other issue is if the best blocs are sorted out for microcuvees, I guess the regular bottling will suffer.

[David M. Bueker]

I like the Anrecht, a lot. Hope labeling laws don't interfere. Of course, the other issue is if the best blocs are sorted out for microcuvees, I guess the regular bottling will suffer.

I have not seen that happening with the other two (Schmitt/Rotlay), as the produce of those sites typically ended up in Auslese* or some other designated bottling. Going back a bit I am pretty sure that the '01 Selbach Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese* was the Anrecht plot.

And actually in the case of Rotlay, it used to belong to the Prums (the JJ side) prior to fleurbereinigung.