WTN: 3 I'm glad I bought- cheap Bdx, pricier Mosel, & Bojo

We flew back Sat AM, stopped at Fairway on way home. Dinner was artic char, broccolini, and French lentils in red wine.

Opening wine was 2009 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg 'Schmitt' Riesling. No pradikat given, but I'd put this well on the richer side of Spatlese, edging Auslese, but with fine balancing acidity. There's some real power here, but also a sensation of lightness. Mineral, white fruits, more slately mineral, fresh flowers, apple, mineral. Intense and interesting wine, really delicious, but I feel guilty drinking it now. A-/A

Cooking wine was the 2005 Christian Moueix "Encore Merlot” (Bordeaux AC). Soft, light tannins, black currants and plums, cocoa, mushroom, not especially long but identifiable as Bordeaux and a good value at $5.50. B-

Dinner wine was the 2009 Vissoux /Chermette "Cuvee Traditionnelle" Beaujolais. Pretty cherry fruit with a hint of smoke and earth, juicy with clean bright acidity, quite tasty but with upside potential. Another 09 winner. B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 

So tonight we had roast chicken (thyme jus), parsnips and carrots, braised endive, and farro with porcini. Tried all 3 wines again. All held well. The Selbach-O seemed even richer, like a solid Auslese from a high acid vintage. The Vissoux was round and lovely with chicken.

The Schmitt was wonderful when I had it at the DI tastings. Didn't buy it yet (there were a lot of others who impressed me, and some at lesser prices) but it's definitely in the shopping queue.

Though for about half the price, the 09 Anrecht isn't bad at all.

I am loving 09 Vissoux right now. Just trying to keep my hands off my Crus as I bought much too little.

[David M. Bueker]

I tried the 2009 Anrecht again last week, and don't really see the reason to pony up the $ for the Schmitt this year at nearly double the price. There's no shortage of big spatlese/auslese in the cellar which makes the decision easier.

I'll keep an eye out for the Anrecht.
I paid $35 for the Schmitt from Pops, the most expensive 09 I bought, but I'm happy with the QPR. I think the rest of my purchases were all Kabinett (Leitz, Donnhoff, Willi S) as that is what I drink the most of.

A thread in the other site enabled me to go for a few 2009 Foillard Morgon, pre-arrival. With all the thumbs-up TNs that I read everywhere on the vintage, I can't wait for my bottles to be delivered and see what the fuzz is all about.

OMG - Bordeaux at $ 5.50 a bottle retail?

Something is seriously wrong there IMHO.

I find that particularly surprising for a négociant with the reputation Moueix has.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[David M. Bueker]

OMG - Bordeaux at $ 5.50 a bottle retail?

Something is seriously wrong there IMHO.

I find that particularly surprising for a négociant with the reputation Moueix has.

Best regards,
Alex R.

Interesting. I figured you would be thrilled that Dale found a very inexpensive wine from Bordeaux that he considered worth drinking.

Alex,
I believe retail on this is typically $12-15. Either importer (Kobrand) or distributor obviously dumped to clear inventory. I got for $66/cs (split with a friend). Varmax in Port Chester actually has for $5 even. Rest of country seems to have at normal retail.
My take is there's just too much in the pipeline, and sometimes things get dumped.