Last night I conducted a wine tasting for a group of non wine geeks. I decided to showcase the white wines of Alsace and the reds of the USA west coast. Overall the wines showed extremely well, with a few things being so stunning that they were able to penetrate the veil surrounding my senses.
2007 Trimbach Pinot Blanc
Showed richer than I expected (but I kow nothing about the vintage as of yet). Good balance of bright fruit and a steely backbone. Nice value.
2009 Hugel ‘Gentil’
A favorite of some folks for its showy aromatics (not that I noticed), but there was a bit of a bitter finish. Ok, but nothing more.
2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve
This has always seemed a bit un-Trimbach to me with a notable sweetness, but it's well balanced with the palate richness. Lots of folks liked this, but a few were put off by its sweetness.
2002 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile
This was the first stunner of the night. Amazing wine that is showing quite young, but also very open and delicious, with a bright lemony streak that then washes into an avalanche of minerals, only to give way to more back-palate fruit. I'm a huge fan of the '01 version of this wine, but the '02 may be even better.
2004 Albert Boxler Gewurztraminer
One of Laura's favorites of the night, this showed quite sweet and oily. We had some spicy hummus on the appetizer table, and it was a surprisingly delicious match with the Gewurz.
2005 Zind Humbrecht Muscat Grand Cru Goldert Vineyard
Typically aromatic, with flowers and spice as the dominant element (Laura told me about the flowers, I was able to get the spice). There's sweetness here (indice 2), but balanced by the extract and acidity of hte wine. Excellent.
2007 Thread (Santa Barbara County, CA – Grenache/ Syrah blend)
Very forward, with the Grenache showing through. There's a depth to the wine as well from the Syrah. Easy to drink, and a crowd favorite, if not one of hte absolute top wines of the evening.
2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard (Willamette Valley, OR)
Tight, tart and rather unforgiving right now. There's a lot of material, but it did not want to come out to play this night.
2007 Abeja Merlot (Columbia Valley, WA)
In contrast, this gives everything it has in a very easy to drink package. There's no way it would hold my interest for long, but for an easy, plummy, non-geek friendly wine it has all the goods without being too over the top ripe.
1999 Ridge Lytton Springs (Sonoma County, CA – Zinfandel/Petite Sirah/Carignan blend)
Wine of the night by a landslide! This is in a stupendous place right now. It still has oodles of fruit, the oak has (mostly) settled down, and the tannins are smooth. There's a ton of material in the wine, so I am certain it has miles to go, but it would be a shame to miss this phase. Wonderful.
2007 Wind Gap Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, CA)
Dark, spicy, meaty and not giving up much. It is much more of a piece than it was a year+ ago, but much more time is needed here.
2007 Betz Pere de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, CA)
Like the Abeja Merlot, this was showing the cards. More structured for sure than the Merlot, and also more complex. This is another wine that demands a ton of time to show more developed elements. I like the balance. Lots of folks liked this until they found out the price and availability issues.
All in all a very fun evening!
) - and barely any interest in Alsace. Saw a few lots with some top Alsace bottlings (Weinbach's l'Inedit, Zind's Rangen Riesling, etc) going at remarkably low prices, scored one lot myself where there was barely any interest (and where I'm certain I would have paid a LOT more for any of those wines a few years ago). Trimbach aside, there's really not much interest in Alsace these days - and this is from just about every end of the buying chain here. Consumers, importers, retailers...