ried last night at dinner:
1. Trimbach Riesling AC: Alsace (12.5%) 2007: Pale yellow color; very attractive classic/R/floral some steely/minerally perfumed talc aromatic nose; somewhat tart bit minerally/stoney/metallic light floral/R somewhat watery/dilute flavor; med. totally dry tangy/steely/minerally/metallic/stoney light floral/R bit dilute finish; a very attractive classic Alsace R nose but seems a bit dilute on the palate; don't see much potential w/ age. $20.00
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2. MokelumneGlenVnyds Lodi Dornfelder (13.8%; www.MokelumneGlen.com) 2006: Very dark/black color; very strong/intense grapey/licorice/Dolcetto-like some earthy/smokey/pungent slight boysenberry/huge fruit light earthy nose; tart/rich/mouthfilling very grapey/licorice/pungent very Dolcetto-like slight earthy/smokey somewhat hard/tannic very interesting flavor; very long rather hard/tannic/tangy very grapey/licorice/pungent/boysenberry quite Dolcetto-like quite structured finish; one of the most authentic Italian-style Dolcettos I've had from Calif; very interesting red that should improve w/ age. $15.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Trimbach: I hadn't tried a Trimbach wine in a fair number of yrs and when I saw a post last week drawing parallels between Z-H and Trimbach, decided I should try a recent one.
When I first started drinking Alsatian R back in the '70's, before Z-H totally changed the style of Alsace wines, my criterion for a great Alsatian R was that it must hurt to drink it young because of its high acidity and lack of fruit. Those were the wines that with, 10-20 yrs of age, became amazing old bones. In those days, the Trimbachs were the epitome of that kind of R.
So...I was interested if the current Trimbachs had gone over to the dark/Z-H side. Well....probably not from this one data point. It had that well-focused/laser-sharp varietal character that I remembered of the Trimbachs of olden days. It was totally dry and didn't have that lush/ripe fruit of many of today's Alsatian R. But I was a bit disappointed that on the palate it had a somewhat watery/dilute/unfocused character that I don't recall in the Trimbachs of old. It certainly has the acidity to get better w/ a few yrs of age, but I just don't see the wine making good old-bones with 10-20 yrs of age.
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2. MokelumneGlen: This is a wnry located just East of the town of Lodi along the MokelumneRiver. The Koth family there focuses on German varieties. In Lodi?? Not an obvious choice at all. We tried there white several months ago and I was rather underwhelmed by them; interesting but lacking acidity and flavor intensity.
So I had a spare btl of the Dornfelder that I thought I'd finally try it. Well...their Dornfelder...'tis a whole nuther beast. It had plenty of acidity, plenty of flavor. Many of the German Dornfelders I've had from SouthernGermany (maybe 12-15 in number) have been pretty underwhelming, soft and rather thin; though I've had a couple made in the "international" style that I've liked quite a bit, their lack of terroir being a given. But this MG Dornfelder I liked a lot; a big rough/rustic/rambunctious sort of red. Not knowing really what Dornfelder varietal character is; I thought it a dead-ringer for a very good Piedmont Dolcetto. It had plenty of rather abrasive tannins, lots of acidity, and heaps of intense grapey fruit. A very interesting & well-made wine that can go w/ robust foods, and BarBQue.
The only other Calif Dornfelder I know of is NormHuber's from down in the StaRitaHills. It, too, is as black as the ace of spades, a bit more oak, a bit rounder in tannins; maybe the world's best Dornfelder?
This MG Dornfelder has the acidity and the tannins that suggest it will age well. But who the heck knows? It may be like Italian Dolcettos and age in a very erratic or not at all fashion. I'm clueless.
Tom