WTN: Jacquesson, Janasse and Gewurz

Short notes on wines at lunch, all courtesy of Jojo. Although I missed the excellent dim sum at Shang Palace as I was held up at work, I did manage to make it in time to try most of the wines.

Champagne Jacquesson Avize 1996 - Nice and bready but lightish. Good length with rather bracing acidity. Not aging too well in my opinion. The acidity is just too pronounced.

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape 1999 - From magnum. Leathery, with a bit of tobacco . Some cough syrup. Sweet fruit. Generally soft on the palate but firms up on the finish. Dried herbs, and much later, a rubber component I usually associate with South African wines. Rather pleasant and easy.

Champagne Jacquesson 733 NV - Very pleasant and floral and sweet nose but on the palate, very acidic and unpleasant. This just arrived so some of us surmised that maybe it needed to rest after being shipped. Hopefully this will get better.

Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim 2007 - Sweet, creamy, classic lychee nose and flavor. Some bitterness on the finish but that adds to the wine's complexity. Very good.

[David M. Bueker]

So the bitterness in the Wintzenheim was not overpowering? That's always been my one hang up with the lower level Gewurz from ZH. I love their richer wines, as they go so well with Indian food!

So the bitterness in the Wintzenheim was not overpowering? That's always been my one hang up with the lower level Gewurz from ZH. I love their richer wines, as they go so well with Indian food!

I didn't find the bitterness overpowering. It was very obvious but didn't bother me. The higher end stuff is also available here and I'll give those a try as well.

Jay, your TN on the Jacquesson reminds me of a pair of questions I've long been meaning to ask you. How are wines generally shipped to Manila and are delays in port much of a problem?

Jay, your TN on the Jacquesson reminds me of a pair of questions I've long been meaning to ask you. How are wines generally shipped to Manila and are delays in port much of a problem?

The fine wine importers use reefers. I don't know about the guys importing only cheap ($4 to $5) wines. I do know one fine wine importer who does not use reefers but I've never had a problem with their wines. There are occasional horror stories about shipments at the port for days but that's pretty rare.