WTN: Four O'er The Weekend...(short/boring)

Susan & I tried these over the weekend:
1. Herman J.Wiemer GWT Dry FingerLakes/NewYork (EB&G; 12.5%; www.Wiemer.com) 2009: Pale yellow color; very light pear/GWT slight lychee/floralslight mineral bit OscarMeyer weiner/smokey very low-key nose; off-dry (.5%-.6% RS?) light earthy/smokey slight floral/GWT rather soft somewhat dull flavor; very short light pear/GWT soft/underacid off-dry dull finish; a rather simple/dull GWT w/ slight varietal GWT character. $20.80
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2. Ch. de la Chauviniere Granit de Ch.Thebard (12%; Melon de Bourgogne; Muscadet Sevre et Maine/Loire; Ne colli/ni filtre; matured sur lie fine for 4 yrs in underground tanks; MeBalP) Y.etJ. Huchet/Vignerons 2005: Light gold color; rather chalky/minerally/earthy/leesy slight fruity/spicy nose; tart/lean/metallic very minerally/chalky/leesy/earthy/stoney little fruit flavor; med.long tart/lean rather chalky/leesy/minerally/stoney little fruit finish; pretty classic lean Muscadet but fairly rich in texture; cries out for a plate full of raw oysters. 1. $22.00
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3. Ridge Calif LyttonEstate Grenache (6% PS/6% Zin; DryCreekVlly; 14.6%; 46 brls; Bttld: May'07;
From 2 parcels planted in 1902 & 1963; Drk: 3/07-3/12: EB) 2005: Very dark color; rather strawberry/Grenache strong smokey/oak/DraperPerfume/RidgeRed some spicy/cinammon/dusty somewhat complex/interesting nose; tart rather tanic/hard/lean light strawberry/Grenache smokey/toasty/oak/pungent/RidgeRed some dusty/old vines flavor; med.long rather hard/tannic/angular somewhat lean/hard strong toasty/pungent/oak/RidgeRed light strawberry/Grenache finish; a pretty hard/angular/tannic rendition that speaks of Grenache but more of Ridge winemaking. Recent ATP release at $28.00
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4. Crasto DOC: Douro VinhoBranco (45% Rabigato/40% Gouveio/15% Roupeiro; www.QuintaDoCrasto.Pt; 13.5%) 2009: Pale yellow near colorless; strong citric/grapefruity/floral some stoney/minerally rather Vermintino-like pleasant nose; quite tart/lean/schreechy grapefruity/minerally/stoney/citric slight floral rather Albarino-like flavor; med.long citric/grapefruity/mineral/stoney very tart/schreechy finish; rather on the underripe/green side; interesting wine but not worth searching out; rather Albarino-like in character but more schreechy. $19.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Thebard: This wine kinda picqued my interest because it had no AC on the front or shipper's label. And the 4 yrs sur lie caught my eye as well. It's one of the better examples of Muscadets I've had. Alas, it needed a big platter of oysters just several hrs from the sea to make it a pleasant experience. Notta gonna happen in the boondocks of Northern NewMexico.
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2. Grenache: I've long ago made my peace w/ the Ridge Rhone program. They are simply Ridge's rendition of what those LyttonSprings grapes can give. They're very atypical of Calif Rhones, particularly the Grenaches. I seldom find them very attractive at release/in their youth. But they have this knack of developing w/ btl age into a pretty interesting old Ridge Red. They're not strong on varietal character and speak more of Ridge red winemaking. I can live with that one.
That said, this didn't strike me as one of Ridge's stellar efforts w/ Grenache. There's precious little old-vine Grenache in Calif and, maybe, this is the kind of wine old-vine Calif Grenache gives?? This particular Grenache seemed on the rather hard/tannic side. Given Eric's short-range drinking window for this; I don't see this wine evolving in another yr's time into anything exceptional. But, then, I don't know jack-$hit how wines evolve and leave those infallible predictions to Monktown attourneys.
Tom

1. Herman J.Wiemer GWT Dry FingerLakes/NewYork (EB&G; 12.5%; http://www.Wiemer.com) 2009: Pale yellow color; very light pear/GWT slight lychee/floralslight mineral bit OscarMeyer weiner/smokey very low-key nose; off-dry (.5%-.6% RS?) light earthy/smokey slight floral/GWT rather soft somewhat dull flavor; very short light pear/GWT soft/underacid off-dry dull finish; a rather simple/dull GWT w/ slight varietal GWT character. $20.80

I generally haven't liked Wiemer Gewurztraminers young. When I've tried them at the winery they've seemed flat. I have had a few that I've liked very much, however, and those all had over five years of age. I suspect that the 2009 will show quite differently in 4-5 years.

Funny, I've never cared much for Wiemer's Gewurz until recent vintages (I haven't had the '09). Maybe I haven't been drinking them with enough age. The '08 drank nicely right after release and I think it must have been a better wine than the one Tom describes.

quote: Alas, it needed a big platter of oysters just several hrs from the sea to make it a pleasant experience. Notta gonna happen in the boondocks of Northern NewMexico.

Reminds me of a dinner one night in Taos, back in '93 at a restaurant the name of which I've forgotten now (guy from Northern California, last name started with L) at the table next to ours, a guy asked the waiter: "Are these oysters local?"

But Steve, haven't you heard of Rocky Mountain oysters?

I generally like the Weimer "dry" Riesling, but the Gewurz hasn't generally appealed

Came across this thread while searching for discussions of Wiemer. Oskar Bynke, co-owner of Wiemer since 2007, led a tasting for our AWS chapter just last week. He emphasized that Wiemer is much more about agriculture than fiddling around with things once the grapes have been harvested. I believe he said that they ferment by indigenous yeast (hope I got that right). Anyway, among the wines tasted were a 2011 Dry Riesling and a 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling. Nancy and I had looked forward to them and they were enjoyable, but the stars of the show for us and for the group as a whole were the 2010 Chardonnay and 2010 Gewurztraminer. No matter what you think about American Chardonnays this is one to try. Big mouth feel, nicely muted vanilla taste and lingering aftertaste. I believe it did see some oak but I couldn't tell. Hermann Wiemer said years ago that Chardonnay had great potential in the Finger Lakes, but he and others had trouble finding a market for it. If this one is any harbinger that should no longer be a problem. The price is right too, as low as $11 at one place here.

Talking with Oskar beforehand, I mentioned that we had just returned from Alto Adige and had had a nice tasting of Gewurztraminer at Hofstatter in Tramin (where local lore has it that the ancestor of Gewurztraminer came from). When we got around to tasting the Wiemer Gewurztraminer, Oskar remembered that and asked what I thought of it. All I could say was that none of the Gewurztraminer I had in Alto Adige compared to it (I'm sure there are some at the high end that I didn't taste - please send along any candidates). Gewurztraminer, IMHO, can be lots of toos: Too strong, too sweet, too candied, abrasive, etc. This one suffers from none of them. It's just right. The price at the winery is $23, but I found it here for only $17.
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Edit April 26
How often have you tasted a wine, loved it, bought some, and then at home found yourself at least a little disappointed in it? That's what happened with the Gewurztraminer. Now, I find it somewhat cloying and sweet; there is nothing delicate about it. It would buy it again, and have, but my original opinion has changed. Not so for the Chardonnay. It's still great.