WTN: '08 Mokelumne Glen "Dreirebe", late harvest white

On the heels of Tom Hill's exploration of Lodi Dornfelder comes this late harvest white. (Hey, I figure I have to try to at least get close to following this from the very beginning!) "Dreirebe" means "three grapes" and that's what this wine is made from. Unfortunately, neither the label nor the website reveal which three grapes they are. What we are told is that they were harvested at 33.3 °Brix and fermented to 11.6 g/dl residual sugar. Alcohol is 12.4% and the price was reasonable (although I can't remember exactly what it was, I think it was just under $20/750 mL bottle.

We opened this to go with an apple "pie" which was more of a cakey thing that had a bit of cardamom and cheddar cheese worked into it. The wine had a forward nose of tropical fruit and similar lush flavors. It was thick-textured but not syrupy or cloying due to a decent level of balancing acidity. Overall, an excellent value in a delicious wine. I'm not sure it would be worth putting this down as I don't know that I'd like it as much with any reduction in acidity or with any oxidation. It's extremely tasty right now.

[David M. Bueker]

11.6 g/dl? So 116 g/l? That needs acidity all right.

11.6 g/dl? So 116 g/l? That needs acidity all right.

Well, that would be about 11.6% (right?) which would put in in Sauternes or Auslese-Beerenauslese range.

In any case, the stuff wasn't overly goopy.

[David M. Bueker]

I was just trying to clarify the g/dl, since I usually see g/l Wanted to make sure it had as much RS as I thought it did. I would actually like to try a bottle some time. Sounds like an interesting wine.

When it comes to sugar a lot of winemakers just like to deal in degree Brix which by definition is the (almost) same as g / 100ml of solution (g/dL), especially when no sugar was actually added to the finished wine. The term g/L to some might indicate that sugar was added.
Mike just finished checking out their website, definitely a place I think you should check out. They are pretty “secretive” of their “classic German grape varieties”

Salute

[David M. Bueker]

The term g/L to some might indicate that sugar was added.

First I have ever heard of that. I see g/L all the time regarding German wines, even from those who decry sussreserve.

Just think of it this way David, a knowledgeable chemical engineer would probably know the periodic table pretty well, a knowledgeable machinist would probably memorize most of the decimal equivalents chart (fractions, mm, wire drill sizes, letter drill sizes, tap drill sizes etc). For winemakers it’s SG, degree Brix, potential alcohol charts.

Salute

Mike just finished checking out their website, definitely a place I think you should check out. They are pretty “secretive” of their “classic German grape varieties”

Salute

Indeed, Victor. I would be happier if they were willing to divulge the grapes used in this wine.

And David - it's quite an interesting wine. Nothing terribly profound but tasty and a very good pair for a fruit-based dessert.

[David M. Bueker]

Victor,

I am just saying that I have not generally run into winemakers focused on g/dL. Even in those cases where informaiton is divulged on labels it is either RS% or g/L.

Most admit I haven’t used the services of an Analytic Wine Laboratory in a long time. Basically I used them in the beginning, when I first started this wonderful hobby, just to confirm the accuracy of by “numbers”. As of January 2010 the Wine Institute Technical Committee has made changes to reporting units. Check this out;
http://www.etslabs.com/resources/public ... units.aspx

Salute

I often see the sugar expressed as gm/100ml, which is essentially % RS.
We taste sugar in wine as the %RS (though modulated by the acidity level for the untrained). It frustrates me when I see on the label
the RS expressed as degreesBrix, which does NOT correlate w/ our taste of RS in wine. Brix is a specific gravity measurement and is modulated
by the (lower density) alcohol. There is a neat nomograph out there that you can use to get the %RS, given the wine's alcohol % and the Brix.
Maybe I should write some software that'd do that calculation?? Fame & fortune would, then, surely be mine!!!
Tom


From my tasting of 12/23/09:

13. MokelumneGlenVnyds Lodi Reserve LateHrvst Dreirebe (12.4%; SaH:33.3 Brix; RS:
11.6 gm/100 ml) 2008: Light yellow color; strong/ripe floral/grapey/pineapply rather spicy/hand lotion/
lanolin slight medicinal rather interesting/strong nose; very sweet ripe/lush/pineapply/sugary slight
floral/spicy/pepperminty rather soft/fat flavor; med.long rich/lush very sweet somewhat pineapply/floral
rather soft/fat finish; lots of lushness but lacking a bit in flavor and a lot in acidity. $20.00
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And the usual stuff from the BloodyPulpit:
1. MokelumneGlen: I've been very impressed by many of the recent wines coming out of Lodi. Some of the whites
from the EasternFoothills have been as good as any in Calif. As I was browsing thru Lodi, I came across
MokelumneGlen and took a look/see. The WebSite noted that they specialized in German varieties. In Lodi??
That's not an obvious choice. The vnyd is owned by the Koth family and located along the Mokelumne river
just to the East and slightly North of the town of Lodi. So I ordered a selection for my group to try.
I really wanted to like these wines (whites only). They were pleasant enough and certainly reasonably
priced. But I found them to be badly lacking in acid (not unexpected, being from Lodi) and they seemed
to be lacking in flavor, as if made from grapes that lacked physiological maturity. They just seemed
rather flat and unexciting, especially on the palate. Maybe it's not the right place to be growing
German white varieties. Maybe GrunerVeltliner would be a better choice?
I hold more hope for their reds, which we have not yet tried. Dornfelder and Lemberger/Blaufrankisch.
I would think those varieties would be more suited to that area.
But the wines were of sufficient interest that I'd like to try them again in a few yrs to see what
they're doing with them. Certainly, I applaud their intentions.

Interesting, Tom! (I somehow missed that note.) I expected this wine to be pretty flabby given where it came from but it didn't strike me that way. The other drinkers at the table all agreed that it was a pretty nice version of a sweet white. Maybe a bottle thing or maybe not - I expect that further research is called for.

Interesting, Tom! (I somehow missed that note.) I expected this wine to be pretty flabby given where it came from but it didn't strike me that way. The other drinkers at the table all agreed that it was a pretty nice version of a sweet white. Maybe a bottle thing or maybe not - I expect that further research is called for.

Mike,
One explanation might be that I tend to serve my whites at a bit warmer temp than most folks. So that would have accentuated
the lack of acidity. From my notes, I found the MG whites to be rather soft & fat. Served right out of the fridge might have presented them
a bit better. The only one of the MG I've really liked thus far was the Dornfelder. Yet to try the Lemberger.
The wines were interesting enough and I applaud their efforts, that I will probably revisit them in a few yrs.
Tom

You may have hit on it, Tom. Although this did not come straight from the fridge, it was still fairly cold when I served it.